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Staff Software Engineer (Guarded OS)

United States - Remote

The Role

We are looking for a Staff Software Engineer to take a leading role on the services and tooling that build and update the software that makes up Chainguard OS. This includes Melange, our package build tool, and the Build Service, which runs package builds at scale across our repositories.

You will design, implement, operate, and improve the systems that keep Chainguard packages up to date. You will focus on reliability, performance, automation, and maintainability, and you will help the OS team build sustainable processes with shared ownership.

What You’ll Do

  • Improve and maintain Melange, including usability, testing, patch management, observability, and automation.
  • Operate and develop the build service, improving reliability, resource usage, extensibility, and support for multiple architectures.
  • Enhance automation for rebuild and transition workflows, including support for shared library transitions using build-time and runtime dependencies.
  • Contribute to the reliability and performance of update automation systems with a close eye on costs and operational efficiencies.
  • Improve monitoring, logging, dashboards, and general observability across services.
  • Define and deliver on a roadmap for build and update services within the OS team.
  • Document systems and reduce single points of knowledge within the team.
  • Be an integral part of the OS team helping out with distro level package updates and keeping Chainguard OS up-to-date and secure.

What We’re Looking For

  • 8+ years of software engineering experience with backend or distributed systems.
  • Experience with Linux build or packaging systems.
  • Strong programming skills in Go.
  • Hands-on experience with Kubernetes, Cloud Run, and cloud-native service design.
  • Familiarity with GCP services (e.g., BigQuery, IAM, Cloud Logging).
  • Experience with Terraform and CI/CD pipelines.
  • Strong debugging and problem-solving skills across distributed systems.
  • Ability to work independently and communicate clearly in a remote-first environment.

Nice to Haves

  • Experience contributing to or maintaining build, packaging, or tooling projects.
  • Observability and monitoring experience.
  • Understanding of dependency management and rebuild automation.
  • Experience with ARM64 build environments.
  • Familiarity with BigQuery or Looker Studio for data analysis.

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.

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