Software Engineer - Repositories

About Chainguard

Chainguard is dedicated to being the reliable source for secure open source software by providing hardened, production-ready builds that software engineers and AI agents can trust. Our clientele includes Fortune 500 companies and global leaders such as Anduril, Canva, Fortinet, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, OpenAI, Snap Inc., and Snowflake. Supported by prominent venture capital firms, Chainguard aims to accelerate secure software delivery, facilitate compliance, and reduce operational risks.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Software Engineer to join our Repositories team, a group responsible for customer-facing systems like package registries, APIs, and artifact-serving services. The team is expanding its scope to support multiple artifact formats including containers and APKs, building a unified repository experience. This role emphasizes backend infrastructure development mainly using Go, blending software engineering with production system operations. You will design, build, and maintain scalable, reliable services that underpin our artifact platform.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and enhance customer-facing registries and APIs for secure and reliable artifact delivery.
• Manage full project lifecycles: from technical design through testing, deployment, monitoring, and continuous improvement, partnering with experienced engineers.
• Create and operate backend Go services supporting libraries currently, with plans for containers and other artifacts.
• Contribute to efforts addressing scalability, system reliability, observability, performance optimization, and load testing in production environments.
• Engage in design discussions about service structure, APIs, data workflows, and operational strategies.
• Collaborate across teams to deliver a seamless repository experience to customers.
• Perform code reviews, share knowledge, and support a collaborative engineering culture.
• Help diagnose and resolve issues in production systems, developing operational expertise.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum two years of software development experience with a focus on backend or infrastructure projects.
• Proficient in Go or strong programming skills in another language coupled with the ability to learn Go swiftly.
• Experience delivering software projects through the entire development lifecycle including implementation, testing, and releases.
• A keen interest in developing customer-centric infrastructure such as package registries, artifact repositories, APIs, or developer platforms.
• Solid understanding of software engineering practices like testing, debugging, code reviews, and version control.
• Some prior exposure to deploying or managing services in production, or a strong willingness to build this expertise.
• Knowledge of cloud infrastructure or tools like Terraform is advantageous but not mandatory.
• A systems-thinking mindset with curiosity about how systems function and a passion for troubleshooting and continual improvements.
• Excellent communication skills and teamwork capabilities, especially within remote working environments, with the ability to seek help and receive feedback constructively.
• To demonstrate attention to application instructions, include the phrase “bonfires are my jam” naturally in your experience description.

Desirable Attributes

• Over five years of experience in building and maintaining production backend or infrastructure systems.
• Advanced proficiency in Go or equivalent backend systems expertise enabling rapid productivity in Go.
• Proven track record of ownership of backend or infrastructure projects from inception to live operation.
• Experience designing or managing customer-oriented infrastructure such as artifact repositories or APIs at scale.
• Strong judgment regarding reliability, performance, observability, security, and operational trade-offs.
• Experience working with cloud platforms and infrastructure-as-code tools like Terraform.
• Deep systems intuition to proactively identify and resolve potential issues and optimize system performance before customers are affected.
• Exceptional communication and collaboration skills conducive to remote, cross-functional teamwork and converting ambiguity into actionable outcomes.

Compensation

The salary range for this position is between $170,000 and $231,000 USD annually.

Company Values

• Customer Obsession: Dedicated to delivering valuable solutions that improve customer experiences.
• Bias for Intentional Action: Prioritize work thoughtfully, embrace experimentation, and learn fast from failures.
• Balanced Approach: Serious about work but also value enjoying the journey without taking ourselves too seriously.
• Mutual Trust: Emphasize transparency and empower informed decision-making within the team.

Benefits

• Flexible, remote-first working culture with options for team meetups, bi-annual summits, and monthly allowances for coworking spaces and connectivity expenses.
• Equity participation through stock options with a ten-year exercise window and opportunities for secondary offerings.
• Comprehensive health, vision, and dental insurance plans fully covered for employees and their dependents.
• Unlimited flexible vacation time to ensure employees recharge and maintain performance.
• Paid parental leave offering 18 weeks for birthing parents and 12 weeks for non-birthing parents, usable flexibly.

Diversity and Inclusion

We encourage applicants with diverse backgrounds and perspectives to apply. Chainguard is an equal opportunity employer committed to nondiscrimination on legally protected grounds. We also consider candidates with criminal histories, aligned with legal requirements.

Privacy

By applying, candidates agree to the processing of their personal data according to Chainguard's Global Candidate Privacy Notice.