Staff Software Engineer - Golang

This is a remote, US-based role aligned to the Eastern Time Zone. We have team members located on the East Coast, West Coast, and across Europe. Aligning to Eastern Time provides effective overlap for collaboration and helps bridge teams across these regions.

Stacklok is on a mission to simplify and secure AI-powered tooling workflows, and we are seeking a Staff Software Engineer to architect the next generation of our ToolHive Model Context Protocol Control Plane. 

In this role, you will help define the technical vision, design and build scalable systems, and work hands-on across core subsystems. You will mentor engineers, promote technical excellence across teams, and establish best practices that keep Stacklok at the forefront of enterprise AI development.

You will collaborate with backend and frontend engineers, designers, design partners, and product managers to deliver reliable, well-crafted solutions that delight users. 

Beyond coding, you will mentor junior engineers, uphold engineering best practices, and develop technical examples and content that strengthen the growing open-source community around ToolHive.

If you thrive in fast-moving environments, excel at cross-disciplinary problem solving, and view versatility as a strength, this is your opportunity to make an impact at the forefront of enterprise AI.

• Technical Context Mastered: You’ve rapidly developed deep fluency in the ToolHive architecture, infrastructure, and design rationale by reviewing codebases, design docs, and engaging across teams. This enabled high-impact contributions and architectural leadership.
  
• Feature Delivery: You’ve taken ownership of the design, implementation, and launch of two or three major ToolHive Control Plane features that measurably improved developer productivity, deployment speed, or system security. Authored comprehensive documentation and technical blog posts for each feature to drive adoption and ensure proper usage.
  
• Led Engineering Team: You’ve built, led and mentored a focused team of 3-4 engineers dedicated to ToolHive. You set technical direction, established best practices, and fostered a culture of rapid iteration and knowledge sharing.
  
• Strategic Partnerships Formed: You’ve co-developed technical solutions with 2-3 key customers or technology partners, validating product-market fit and opening new market opportunities.
  
• Data-Driven Iteration Enabled: You’ve implemented telemetry and feedback systems that captured real-time usage data and customer insights. These informed architectural improvements and drove iterative solution refinement.

• Design and Ship MCP Control Plane: Architect and deliver production-grade solutions that address complex enterprise data challenges, making it secure and seamless for organizations to unlock and manage their data. You will own the full lifecycle, from system design and architecture to deployment, optimization, and continuous improvement. 
  
• Lead Discovery and Solution Design: Run technical discovery with customers and stakeholders to uncover automation opportunities, translate needs into technical specs, and prototype innovative agent workflows.
  
• Define Architecture and Standards: Set architectural direction and lead code reviews for AI systems. Establish scalable, reliable, and maintainable design patterns and development standards.
  
• Drive Continuous Improvement: Build and operate observability systems that surface performance metrics, user behaviors, and system dynamics to enhance reliability and effectiveness over time.
  
• Mentor and Grow Engineering Talent: Foster a culture of ownership, safety, and learning where peers feel empowered to take initiative and continuously develop their craft.
  
• Champion AI-First Engineering: Use AI tools and workflows to streamline development, inform decisions, and accelerate innovation in how software is built and delivered.

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 your unique perspective can make a significant impact. We want to hear from you!

• Programming Languages: Expert proficiency in Go (Golang), with strong backend development principles for producing clean, efficient, scalable, and secure code; additional experience with Python is a plus.
  
• Kubernetes Expertise: Deep proficiency with Kubernetes, including strong understanding of core primitives, resource management, scheduling, networking, and security patterns. Experience deploying and operating complex applications in production Kubernetes environments. Familiarity with Kubernetes extensibility concepts such as CRDs and controllers. Experience building a Kubernetes operator is a plus.
  
• Distributed Systems Architecture: Experience designing scalable, fault-tolerant agent systems using microservices, event-driven patterns, and proper state management.
  
• MCP Server Development: Experience building Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers or similar agent integration patterns. Understanding of protocol specifications and resource management.
  
• Cloud & Deployment: Proficiency with containerization (Docker), Kubernetes and cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure). Experience with CI/CD pipelines and production deployment practices.
  
• Testing: Proven ability to design and execute comprehensive testing approaches across systems, encompassing unit tests and integration tests.
  
• Communication Skills: Excellent written and verbal skills, able to explain complex technical concepts to diverse audiences.
  
• Collaborative Mindset: Proven ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams, contribute to code reviews, and participate in technical discussions and planning sessions.
  
• Continuous Learning: Demonstrated interest in staying current with rapidly evolving AI technologies and frameworks. Experience with open source contributions or personal AI projects is a plus.
  
• OSS Experience: Experience contributing to or maintaining open source software projects, with demonstrated ability to collaborate in distributed development environments.
  
• Startup Mindset: Self-motivated and hands-on. Thrives in dynamic, fast-changing environments and drives clarity through action.

Base Salary Range: $192,000 - $288,000