{"id":3557513,"url":"https://alion.io/job/docker-principal-technical-program-manager-forward-deployed-engineering","title":"Principal Technical Program Manager, Forward Deployed Engineering","company":{"id":569,"name":"Docker","domain":"docker.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/docker","size_band":"201-500","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Ashby","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":79,"open_postings":8,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.625,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":61,"computed_at":"2026-11-04T06:34:25Z"}},"role":"Product","role_family":"Product","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"remote","remote_scope":"stated_countries","remote_scope_basis":"board_field","remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":[],"countries":[],"hiring_countries":["US"],"hiring_countries_total":1,"salary":{"min":162050,"max":254650,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":254650},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":10,"visa_sponsorship":true,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"AI Agents","optional":false},{"name":"Docker","optional":false},{"name":"Kubernetes","optional":false},{"name":"Model Context Protocol","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-30T22:25:04Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-30","last_verified_at":"2026-11-04T10:57:27Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":4,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":4},"description":"About Docker\nDocker has been one of the most loved brands in developer tooling, trusted by more than 20 million monthly users and over 20 billion container image pulls. From solo founders to the world's largest companies, developers rely on Docker to build, share, and run their applications across our suite of products including Docker Desktop, Docker Hub, and Docker Scout.\nWe are a globally distributed, remote-first team building the tools that define how software gets built and delivered. As AI agents redefine software development, Docker is at the center of that shift, providing the sandboxed environments, verified images, and secure infrastructure that make autonomous workflows trustworthy by default.\n_______________________________________________________________________\nAbout the Role\nDocker's Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) team embeds senior engineers inside our most strategic customers to solve their hardest deployment, integration, and adoption problems. FDEs then bring what they learn back to Docker Product and Engineering so that every customer benefits.\nAs the Principal Technical Program Manager for FDE, you define what good looks like for the organization and run the business that delivers it. You define the standards for how FDE plans, commits, delivers, and measures quality. You own the operating rhythm, track commitments Docker has made to customers, the commitments Docker Engineering has made to FDE, and the timelines and resourcing behind them.\nThis is a senior role that works with stakeholders across the business to drive outcomes for Dockers most important customers. FDE is where Docker proves it can deliver for the customers that matter most while the technology around us changes quickly. You will set the standard for how a small team of senior engineers earns and keeps the trust of customers, and you will make what they learn useful to the whole company. The practices you establish will become the model for how Docker engages with its largest, most complex customers.\n_______________________________________________________________________\nResponsibilities\nDefine What Good Looks Like\nDefine the FDE delivery standards, engagement model, and quality bar, and write them down so engagements are consistent across customers, regions, and engineers.\n\nDecide which metrics matter for FDE, set targets, and revise them as the team learns.\n\nTurn lessons from each engagement into reusable practice and product improvements.\n\nRun the FDE Business\nGive executives a clear account of what is on track, what is at risk, what decision is needed, and from whom.\n\nOwn FDE capacity management and staffing plans with FDE leadership and recruiting: which engineers are aligned to which customers, where the gaps are, where and when to hire to stay ahead of demand.\n\nOwn Customer and Engineering Commitments\nInstrument every commitment Docker has made to FDE customers, and every commitment Docker Product and Engineering teams have made to FDE.\n\nTrack commitments, map dependencies across teams, and surface risks early enough to act on them.\n\nNegotiate and confirm dates with teams that run on their own planning processes, and hold them to those dates.\n\nInfluence Across Docker\nRepresent FDE with Product and Engineering leadership. Make sure customer needs are well defined using data, and that product decisions map to achievable FDEs action.\n\nImprove the internal processes that slow collaboration between Field, Product, and Engineering, and bring those improvements to the wider company when they work.\n\nPresent FDE results and risks to Docker executives and customer stakeholders.\n\nLead the Program Practice\nSet priorities for junior TPMs, define the reporting FDE needs, and mentor them in program management practice.\n\nChoose the tools and standards FDE uses to track work.\n\n_______________________________________________________________________\nQualifications\nRequired\n10+ years of technical program management experience, including 4+ years at Staff level or above, supporting customer-facing engineering, professional services, or field engineering teams.\n\nA track record of delivering commitments on schedule for enterprise customers, including contractual or executive-visible deadlines.\n\nExperience defining standards, quality bars, and operating processes that other teams adopted.\n\nExperience running dependencies across many engineering teams that you do not manage, and getting reliable dates from them through influence.\n\nStrong technical background in cloud platforms, containers, and modern software delivery. You can read a design, challenge an estimate, and tell a real blocker from a vague one.\n\nExperience choosing metrics and setting targets, including working with incomplete data and deciding what is good enough to act on.\n\nExecutive communication skills, with the ability to deliver difficult news early and clearly to customer stakeholders, Docker leaders, and engineers.\n\nHigh agency and comfort working autonomously in a distributed, remote-first company where processes are still being defined.\n\nBachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.\n\nOccasional travel to customer sites and to Docker team gatherings.\n\nBonus Qualifications\nPrior experience supporting a Forward Deployed Engineering, Professional Services, Solutions Engineering, or Customer Engineering organization.\n\nFamiliarity with the agentic AI ecosystem, including coding agents, Model Context Protocol (MCP), and enterprise requirements for security and governance of AI workloads.\n\nExperience with regulated or compliance-driven customers in financial services, healthcare, government, or similar sectors.\n\nExperience at a developer tools, infrastructure software, or platform company.\n\nFamiliarity with Docker products, Kubernetes, and cloud-native development platforms.\n\nWhat Success Looks Like\nFDE has written delivery standards, a quality bar, and KPI targets that FDEs, Field, Product, and Engineering all know and use.\n\nEvery customer commitment and every Docker engineering commitment to FDE has an owner and a date, and strategic customer deadlines are met.\n\nFDE operating reviews run weekly, produce decisions, and close their actions.\n\nFDE capacity, hiring, and customer alignment are planned ahead of demand.\n\nVisa sponsorship: Docker considers visa sponsorship on a case-by-case basis based on business needs.\n_______________________________________________________________________\nCompensation & Equity\nAll full-time roles include equity. Final compensation is determined on factors including but not limited to experience, skills, qualifications, and location.\nUnited States: $162,505 - $254,650 base\n______________________________________________________________________\nPosting Information\nOpen vacancy: This posting is for an existing open role.\n\nAI in hiring: Docker may use AI-assisted tools during our recruiting process.\n\nInterview recordings: Candidates will be invited to opt in to interview recordings to support interviewer calibration and consistent evaluations. Recordings are optional and require explicit consent.\n\n______________________________________________________________________\nPerks & Benefits\nRemote-first by design - Work from your home, with offices in Seattle and Paris for connection and collaboration.\n\nFlexibility that fits your life - We trust you to manage your schedule while delivering great work.\n\nTime to recharge - Generous PTO, designated quarterly Whaleness Days, and a designated end-of-year Whaleness break.\n\nHome office support - Set up your workspace for comfort and success.\n\nTechnology stipend - Equivalent to US$100 net per month to help support your work.\n\nLearning & development - Annual stipend for conferences, courses, certifications, and continued learning.\n\nParental leave - 16 weeks of paid parental leave after six months of employment.\n\nEquity for all full-time employees - Share in Docker's long-term success as we continue to grow.\n\nComprehensive benefits - Medical, retirement, and paid holidays vary by country.\n\nDocker swag - Because representing the whale never gets old.\n\nDocker is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a team that reflects a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. 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