Senior People Partner, Docker
Engineering and Security
$151.6-189.5k
Offers equity
More information about location
App development platform
Be an early applicant
App development platform
501-1000 employees
Be an early applicant
$151.6-189.5k
Offers equity
More information about location
501-1000 employees
Company mission
To increase the time developers spend on innovation, and decrease the time they spend on everything else.
Role
Who you are
- 7+ years of progressive HRBP/People Partner experience, including meaningful experience supporting Engineering and or Security (or similarly technical, product-focused orgs)
- Strong working knowledge of US employment practices and employee relations, with comfort navigating ambiguity and sensitive issues
- Experience supporting global, distributed teams, with particular strength partnering across the US and EMEA regions (leaders, employment practices, and cultural context)
- Demonstrated strength in org design, workforce planning, talent reviews, and coaching leaders through performance and change
- Data fluency: you use metrics to tell a story, make decisions, and drive measurable action (Excel/Google Sheets proficiency required)
- Clear, confident communicator who can influence senior leaders and build trust quickly
- High integrity, strong judgment, and consistent follow-through in a fast-moving environment
- Familiarity with HRIS systems and standard People tools
What the job involves
- As a Senior People Partner, you will be a strategic advisor and coach to leaders across our Engineering and Security organizations, helping scale teams and strengthen culture as the business grows
- You will translate business and org needs into practical people strategies across talent, performance, engagement, and employee relations, while partnering closely with the broader People team to deliver consistent, high-quality programs and leader support
- Serve as a trusted advisor to Engineering and Security leadership on org design, workforce planning, operating rhythms, and team effectiveness
- Diagnose organizational health (structure, spans/layers, talent distribution, engagement signals) and recommend clear actions
- Partner with leaders through change, including reorganizations, leadership transitions, and scaling moments
- Coach leaders and managers at multiple levels on performance, feedback, accountability, and team culture
- Build manager capability through toolkits, training, and real-time guidance, especially for new managers and fast-growing teams
- Support succession planning, talent reviews, and readiness conversations for critical roles
- Lead end-to-end performance processes for your client groups (calibrations, promotions, development planning, performance improvement)
- Partner with leaders to define expectations for high performance in technical orgs, including clear role scope, career paths (IC and manager), and leveling conversations
- Identify retention risks and development opportunities, and drive practical plans to address them
- Independently manage complex employee relations concerns with sound judgment, empathy, and consistency
- Partner with Legal and the People team on investigations, performance actions, and policy interpretation, ensuring compliance with US employment practices
- Bring an extra layer of discretion and care when supporting Security teams and sensitive business areas
- Champion inclusive leadership and equitable people practices in Engineering and Security
- Translate engagement, attrition, and sentiment data into action plans with leaders, then drive follow-through and measurable improvement
- Strengthen connection and belonging in distributed teams
- Use HR metrics and insights to spot trends, influence decisions, and evaluate impact (headcount, attrition, performance distribution, internal mobility, engagement)
- Share clear, leader-ready narratives from the data, not just dashboards
- Partner closely with Talent Acquisition on hiring plans and candidate strategy for technical roles
- Collaborate with Total Rewards, People Ops, and L&D to deliver programs that fit Engineering and Security realities
- Contribute to People Team initiatives, playbooks, and scaling improvements beyond your client group
- First month:
- Get oriented to our business, products, Engineering and Security org structures, and leadership priorities
- Build relationships with key stakeholders (Engineering, Security, Product partners, People Ops, TA, Total Rewards)
- Start owning day-to-day People Partner support for your client groups, with thoughtful prioritization and strong responsiveness
- Learn our systems, performance cadence, and any active org health or engagement signals
- First three months:
- Independently support core lifecycle moments (onboarding, exits, performance check-ins, promotions support, manager coaching)
- Identify top people priorities for Engineering and Security (capability gaps, retention risks, operating friction) and launch focused action plans
- Confidently lead or co-lead calibrations, talent discussions, and engagement follow-up for your groups
- Begin resolving ER concerns with minimal oversight, escalating appropriately when needed
- One Year Outlook:
- Be viewed as a trusted advisor to Engineering and Security leaders, known for practical guidance and strong judgment
- Lead complex org and talent work (restructures, succession planning, manager effectiveness initiatives, retention strategies)
- Establish a strong operating cadence for people insights and reporting that leaders actually use
- Contribute meaningfully to People Team scaling efforts by building repeatable playbooks and improving programs for technical orgs
Our take
Docker supplies a hub and desktop solution to simplify the workflow of app development teams. Originally known for popularising the idea of containerising software, it saw itself outpaced by Kubernetes. However, the company has identified a problem with the growing complexity of containerisation, with some apps consisting of dozens or even hundreds of containers - which is what it now addresses.
Docker has had a difficult time in the recent past, with 2019 seeing it sell off its enterprise business, reduce its workforce by hundreds, and change its leadership team. As a well known brand and ecosystem for containerisation, however, it aims to lure developers back to its product as well as to take advantage of the growing global demand for app development.
Returning to focus on developers rather than large companies was certainly a gamble, but one that seems to have paid off. The company has returned to profitability and raised Series C funding in 2022, which is cited to fund hiring new talent, ramping up its business, and continuing to develop and refine its product. It's also embarked on a series of acquisitions to bolster its business, with speculation mounting about its possible sale in the near future.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
47% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (last 2 of 11 rounds)
Mar 2022
$105m
SERIES C
Mar 2021
$23m
SERIES B
Total funding: $498m
Company benefits
- 100% company paid medical premiums for employees and dependents
- Flexible Time Off Policy
- “Whaleness” Days — At least 1 company wide day off per month
- Employer Paid Holidays
- Generous Maternity and Parental Leave
- Home Office Set Up Budget
- Monthly Technology Stipend
- Training Allowances
- Life and Disability Insurance
- Retirement Plans
- Virtual and In-Person Social Events
- Docker Swag
- Quarterly Hackathons
- Virtual Coffee with Co-Workers
Company HQ
China Basin, San Francisco, CA
Leadership
Don Johnson
(CEO)Previously Executive Vice President of Infrastructure at Oracle, was a Principal Engineer at Amazon and a Lead Software Engineer at RealNetworks.
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