Senior Software Engineer - Developer Tooling

Stacklok is an innovative software supply chain security startup founded by Kubernetes co-founder, Craig McLuckie and Sigstore founder, Luke Hinds. Our mission is to make it easier to securely develop software. With our deep expertise in open source technologies and commitment to enhancing software security, we are seeking highly skilled and motivated individuals to join our team. This is a rare opportunity to join a startup at an early stage, and to be part of a team that is committed to building something truly innovative and impactful. Learn more about Stacklok’s mission, virtues, and leadership, HERE.

Location

This is a hybrid role that requires on-site work at our London office three (3) days a week. Our office is conveniently located in WeWork at 1 Mark Square, London, EC2A 4EG.

Elevator Pitch

Stacklok Cloud is a comprehensive security platform that combines open source package intelligence with a policy platform built on the open source project, Minder, allowing developers to securely consume open source software while enabling security teams to effectively manage and maintain a robust security posture across the entire software supply chain. 

We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer - Dev Tooling to help design, develop, and optimize the Stacklok Cloud developer experience. The primary focus of this role will be on creating enterprise-grade tools and services with an eye on delightful experiences that span command-line interfaces (CLI), Visual Studio Code (VS Code) extension(s), and package manager extensions to give developers supply chain security feedback as early as possible in their development process. This role involves close collaboration with end-users, the open source community, and our talented team to design forward-thinking solutions and drive continuous improvements.

The ideal candidate will be a polyglot programmer with experience building IDE integrations (VS Code) and with Language Server Protocol.

Join our team of exceptionally talented engineers and become part of a groundbreaking field that tackles critical challenges for developers and the OSS community. Contribute to an open source strategy that focuses on building and expanding an ecosystem for diverse OSS tools, and help shape the future of open source development with innovative and impactful work.re landscape and make the world a safer place -one repo at a time- this is the place for you!

Success In The Role:  6-12 Months Expectations

• Acclimatize to the Team: Familiarize yourself with our engineering processes. Build connections with team members, immerse yourself in our company culture, understand our virtues, and learn the way we work and collaborate. 
• Solid Understanding of Our Products and Services: Gain a solid understanding of Stacklok Cloud products and services, our vision of the platform as well as short and long-term goals to align your contributions to our objectives. 
• Deep Dive Into Stacklok Cloud Capabilities: Gain a comprehensive understanding of our cloud architecture and key features, focusing on identifying areas where the development experience could be improved and friction reduced to promote platform adoption. 
• Lead Feature Design and Implementation: Take ownership of designing and implementing development experience features. Manage key deliverables, set priorities effectively, collaborate with the engineering team, and maintain transparent communication about progress, challenges and outcomes. 

• Deliver a Stacklok Cloud Visual Studio Code extension: Collaborate with various engineering teams, product managers, and design partners to deliver a Visual Studio Code extension that helps developers make good open source dependency decisions based on enterprise policies. 

In This Role You Will Have The Opportunity To

• Build a Stacklok developer experience that delights: Create a seamless and delightful Stacklok Cloud developer experience by designing enterprise-grade tools that provide early supply chain security feedback within developer workflows. Work closely with end-users, the open source community, and our team to continuously innovate and improve the developer journey
• Mentor, Grow, and Build the Team: Guide and mentor junior engineers, fostering a culture that values empathy, curiosity and psychological safety. Conduct code reviews, provide technical insights and participate in technical hiring panels to bring on new talent. Your leadership will be key to supporting both the professional growth of team members and the expansion of our engineering capabilities. 
• Uphold Quality and Security Standards: Running software within a developer’s workflow is an earned privilege. In this role, you will champion the reliability, quality and security of our tools to ensure a trusted and high-quality user experience.
• Innovate and Challenge the Status Quo: Bring innovative ideas, challenge existing practices, and contribute to the evolution of Stacklok's software supply chain security strategies and practices. Development practices are rapidly evolving and this role puts you at the forefront of the latest trends.

We understand that not everyone will meet every requirement listed, and that’s perfectly okay! We encourage you to apply regardless of your self-assessment. We value a diverse range of skills and experiences and believe that your unique attributes can make a significant impact. We want to hear from you!

Desired Skills & Experience

• You are skilled in both UI (Typescript) and backend programming (Go, Python, Java, etc.) and write highly maintained code.
• Polyglot programming experience, you will work across multiple languages and frameworks to deliver high-quality developer tools.
• Comprehensive knowledge of testing methodologies, including unit testing, integration and end-to-end testing. 
• Experience with building Visual Studio Code extensions and Language Server Protocol
• Experience automating build pipelines and utilizing relevant tools and frameworks to ensure high-quality continuous software delivery, with proficiency in GitHub as a plus.
• Comprehensive knowledge of secure coding practices and frameworks  (e.g. OWASP, SSDF), alongside in-depth knowledge of software supply chain security, and the risks associated with open source components.
• Experience contributing to and maintaining open source projects
• Impact-Driven and Collaborative: Track record of delivering solutions that drive business outcomes; excellent written and verbal communication skills for engaging diverse stakeholders. Committed to fostering growth and continuous improvement within teams.
• Versatile and Self-Starting: Adaptable in dynamic, startup environments, comfortable in varied roles—from individual contributor to conference presenter—and skilled at making technical topics accessible to broad audiences.

#LI-Hybrid

Why Join Us?

At Stacklok, you will be a part of a culture that values open communication, collaboration, and innovation. We offer a competitive salary package and flexible work hours. If you’re a self-motivated and result-driven individual with a passion for designing and building secure, scalable, distributed systems, and you want to be part of the most exciting startup in the secure supply chain space, come and join us!

Stacklok Inc, is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all people and place great value in both diversity and inclusiveness. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to their, or any other person's, perceived or actual race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, or any other basis protected by law.