Chainguard

Compensation

Full Description

The role, in a nutshell As a Staff Engineer on the Chainguard VMs team, you will help shape the future of Virtual Machines for Chainguard. You’ll help define and develop the evolution of zero-to-low CVEs virtual machines. And work on creating secure and reliable systems to solve customer problems. Your expertise will help develop a virtualized the most secure Linux operating system and expand it across multiple different platforms. You’ll work with a diverse range of open-source software, build tools, and programming languages. What You’ll Do Design, implement and optimize linux operating systems features. Collaborate in the creation of developer tools. Collaborate in the design, implementation, optimization or maintenance of secure, automated build and test systems in cloud environments. Improve quality and reliability by continuously refine testing, debugging and release processes. Collaborate with product and engineering leadership to set technical direction, drive roadmap execution, and establish process excellence. Mentor, review, and enable other engineers by sharing systems knowledge, debugging strategies, and "meta" tooling insights. Partner with internal teams (OS, Delivery, Sustaining) to ensure our product and services meet critical SLAs and SLOs. What We’re Looking For 8+ years of professional experience working on and building Linux operating systems. Proven experience working on upstream open source technologies. Proven experience building and packaging Linux software (APK, RPM, DEB or similar). Proven experience working with at least one major cloud provider (e.g. GCP, AWS, Azure) and cloud-specific integrations or agents. Proven experience working on bootable containers and/or micro vm technologies. Experience building, configuring or tuning the Linux kernel. Experience working across kernel and user space and related technologies (systemd, SELinux, AppArmor, etc). Experience with bootloaders and Secure Boot. Experience working with configuration management tools (e.g. Ansible, Puppet, etc) or first-boot configuration management agents (cloud-init, Ignition, etc). Proficiency in at least one programming language (Go preferred), with strong scripting and automation skills. Strong debugging and problem-solving skills at both the package, containers and virtual machine levels. Strong communication skills, proficiency in English, ability to work autonomously in a remote-first environment, take initiative, and seek help proactively when necessary. Passion for quality, security, and attention to detail. Experience with compliance frameworks (CIS, STIG) a strong plus. Experience with FIPS is a strong plus. Experience with Kubernetes and managed container/Kubernetes services (EKS, ECS, GKE, AKS) is a strong plus. Experience with VMWare vSphere and ESXi is a strong plus. Base Salary Range $170,000—$213,000 USD About Us Chainguard is the secure foundation for software development and deployment. By providing guarded open source software, built from source and updated continuously, Chainguard helps organizations eliminate threats in their software supply chains. Founded by the industry's leading experts on open source software, security and cloud native development, Chainguard has built the largest library of open source software that is secure by default. Chainguard’s mission is to be the safe source for open source. We live and breathe our company values: We are customer obsessed - We focus on delivering solutions to our customers that create value and make their lives better. We have a bias for intentional action - We prioritize, plan, try things, and fail fast. We don’t take ourselves too seriously (but we do serious work) - We are solving an important problem which takes focus, but we also like to enjoy the journey. We trust each other and assume good intentions - We’re transparent with decisions to empower team members to make well informed decisions. A few of the benefits we offer: Flexible & Remote-First Culture: Work remotely with team meetup opportunities, bi-annual destination summits, and a monthly stipend for coworking spaces, phone and internet costs. Our Approach to Equity: Receive stock options upon hire and promotion. Plus, you can participate in secondary offerings and have 10 years to exercise your options (yes, you read that correctly: 10 years!). 100% Covered Health Insurance: We cover 100% of your health, vision and dental insurance premiums for you and your dependents. Nothing comes out of your paycheck. ∞ Flexible Time Off: Take the time you need – to do our best work, we need to recharge and reset. 18 Weeks Paid Parental Leave: We offer 18 weeks for birthing parents and 12 weeks for non-birthing parents, with the option to use it all at once or throughout your child's first year. If your experience is close but doesn’t fulfill all requirements, please apply. We’re building the best team in technology and are focused on hiring “Chainguardians'' with unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. Chainguard is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. By submitting your application, you acknowledge that Chainguard will process your personal data in accordance with Chainguard’s Privacy Policy. ©2025 Chainguard. All Rights Reserved.