Staff Software Engineer – Build Platform

• Own the architecture and long-term technical strategy for RapidFort's Build Platform.
• Design and operate highly scalable distributed build systems capable of producing and maintaining thousands of production-ready container images.
• Build automated systems for image creation, validation, signing, publishing, and lifecycle management.
• Improve build performance, scalability, reproducibility, reliability, and operational efficiency.
• Design automation that eliminates manual engineering work while improving developer productivity.
• Develop internal tooling and platform services using Python, Bash, and modern cloud-native technologies.
• Solve complex Linux, dependency management, networking, container, and build-system challenges.
• Drive engineering standards around software supply chain integrity, reproducible builds, and platform reliability.
• Partner closely with Platform Engineering, Security Research, Product Engineering, and Infrastructure teams.
• Lead architecture reviews and influence technical decisions across multiple engineering organizations.
• Mentor senior engineers and help raise the technical bar across the company.
• Continuously identify opportunities to simplify systems, improve reliability, and reduce operational overhead.

• 10+ years of software engineering, platform engineering, infrastructure engineering, or developer platform experience.
• Demonstrated experience architecting and operating large-scale build platforms or distributed infrastructure.
• U.S. Citizenship required pursuant to applicable federal customer requirements.
• Deep expertise with Linux systems and operating system internals.
• Expert knowledge of Docker, OCI container images, and container ecosystems.
• Strong Python development experience.
• Strong Bash scripting skills.
• Experience designing distributed automation systems and developer platforms.
• Strong Kubernetes experience in production environments.
• Experience operating modern CI/CD platforms such as GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Buildkite, GitLab CI, or equivalent.
• Strong understanding of software build systems, dependency management, package management, and artifact lifecycle.
• Experience troubleshooting large-scale distributed systems in production.
• Strong Git-based development workflows.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills with the ability to influence engineering across multiple teams.
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical initiatives without direct management responsibility.

• Go (Golang)
• BuildKit, Bazel, or advanced build optimization techniques
• Terraform or Infrastructure as Code
• AWS, Azure, or GCP
• Helm
• OCI registries and artifact management
• Software Bill of Materials (SBOM)
• Sigstore, Cosign, SLSA, in-toto, SPDX, or CycloneDX
• Prometheus, Grafana, or OpenTelemetry
• Supply chain security, container security, or Kubernetes security
• Experience building internal developer platforms
• Experience working in high-growth startups or cloud infrastructure companies

We're looking for engineers who naturally think beyond individual tasks.

You will thrive if you:

• Think in systems rather than tickets.
• Build platforms that other engineers love using.
• Automate repetitive work instead of accepting manual processes.
• Enjoy debugging difficult problems that don't have obvious answers.
• Care deeply about software quality, reliability, scalability, and elegant engineering.
• Take ownership of outcomes rather than simply completing assigned work.
• Raise the technical standards of the engineers around you through collaboration and mentorship.

Within your first six months, you will:

• Become the technical owner of RapidFort's Build Platform.
• Improve build throughput, reliability, and scalability across the engineering organization.
• Deliver measurable improvements in build performance and developer productivity.
• Eliminate significant operational overhead through intelligent automation.
• Establish engineering standards for build systems, software supply chain integrity, and platform reliability.
• Become the engineering team's trusted technical expert for build infrastructure and container technologies.
• Deliver architectural improvements that enable RapidFort's platform to scale for future growth.

RapidFort?

This is an opportunity to solve difficult engineering problems that have real-world impact.

You'll work on technology at the heart of modern cloud-native security while collaborating with experienced engineers who value technical excellence, ownership, and innovation.

As a Staff Engineer, you'll have the freedom to influence architecture, shape engineering strategy, mentor other senior engineers, and build systems that become foundational to the company's success.

If you're excited about building the platform behind secure software delivery—not just maintaining it—we'd love to talk.

• Base Salary: $150,000–$200,000 , depending on experience and qualifications
• Annual performance bonus
• Meaningful equity participation
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k)
• Flexible PTO
• Flexible work environment
• Opportunity to work on cutting-edge cybersecurity and cloud-native technologies
• Direct influence on the architecture and technical direction of a rapidly growing cybersecurity company

RapidFort is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.