Principal Product Manager, Growth

Docker 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.

We 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.

Docker's Product-Led Growth (PLG) Unit is executing its next phase of evolution: accelerating time-to-revenue, scaling self-serve ARR, and driving high-velocity commercial growth.

To optimize our digital storefront and maximize funnel efficiency, we are operating via a matrixed, pod-based operational model mapped to core financial and user levers. As the Principal Product Manager , you will have sole, explicit product ownership over critical layers of our Product Growth Substrate , specifically Onboarding & First-Run Experiences and Product Attach Experiences. You will directly lead two of our core cross-functional tracks: Activation and Expansion . Working alongside dedicated engineering, design, and analytics partners, you will turn complex user behavior patterns into smooth, automated, high-velocity growth paths.

What Makes Someone Successful in This Role

• Data-Driven Growth Architecture: You deeply understand how micro-conversions influence macro financial levers like Gross Dollar Retention (GDR), Net Dollar Retention (NDR), and customer lifetime value.

• Mastery of PLG Mechanics: You have a proven playbook for optimizing developer or SaaS onboarding flows, designing contextual nudges, and building self-serve upsell paths without degrading the core user experience.

• Matrixed Leadership: You thrive in cross-functional structures. You know how to align dedicated engineering pods, product designers, and data analysts toward unified metric goals.

• Strategic Execution: You strike the perfect balance between launching rapid, high-velocity growth experiments and collaborating on foundational infrastructure (like reusable checkout modules or add-on SKU architectures).

Responsibilities

• Lead Growth Pods: Direct the cross-functional Activation and Expansion pods, managing execution and velocity alongside embedded engineering, UX design, and analytics resources.

• Optimize Onboarding & Setup: Reimagine the global workspace initialization and onboarding journeys within the inner loop of each product to eliminate mid-funnel drop-offs and accelerate time-to-value.

• Deploy Behavioral Frameworks: Implement contextual hints, in-app triggers, and the underlying rules engines to seamlessly guide users through complex developer workflows.

• Architect Product Attach Maps: Design and scale global navigation, headers, and persistent in-product discovery routes that reveal multi-product value and drive sequenced product adoption.

• Operationalize New SKUs: Partner with core product and packaging teams to turn advanced portfolio capabilities (such as Security and AI features) into distinct, self-serve purchasable paths.

• Stabilize Core Financial Levers: Take accountability for improving the self-serve active use conversion rate, driving Net Expansion Rate (NDR), and improving baseline Gross Dollar Retention (GDR).

Qualifications

• Extensive Product Experience: Strong background in software product management, with a substantial, dedicated focus directly within Product-Led Growth (PLG) and self-serve monetization.

• Proven Metric Impact: A clear track record of personally moving key SaaS growth metrics, such as Gross Dollar Retention (GDR), Net Dollar Retention (NDR), Trial-to-Paid velocity, or Activation Rates.

• Strong Analytical Literacy: Advanced experience leveraging product analytics tools and working alongside data science partners to map user patterns and run clean experimentation frameworks.

• Technical Familiarity: Comfort navigating developer ecosystems, cloud infrastructure, or complex multi-product software platforms.

• Collaborative Communicator: Outstanding skills in cross-functional alignment, with a history of successfully leading matrixed engineering and design teams.

What to Expect

First 30 Days

• Immerse & Align: Deep dive into Docker’s product substrate, user personas, and core growth metrics. Establish a strong collaborative cadence with your matrixed engineering, UX, and analytics team members.

• Funnel Audit: Evaluate the existing retention friction points and audit current global onboarding paths to identify immediate optimization opportunities.

• Roadmap Calibration: Review the growth operational blueprint, validate initial experimentation backlogs for the Activation and Expansion pods, and set baseline velocity expectations.

First 90 Days

• Ship Onboarding Upgrades: Launch initial inner-loop onboarding enhancements and behavioral triggers to increase activation rates and compress user time-to-value.

• Deploy the Attach Map: Deliver the first iterations of the Product Attach Map, integrating updated global navigation components and persistent discovery paths.

• Launch Add-On Architectures: Partner with engineering to operationalize initial distinct, purchasable self-serve layers for specialized portfolios like Security or AI SKUs.

One Year Outlook (First Year)

• Secure Core Lifts: Achieve measurable, sustained improvements in user activation velocity, multi-product attach rates, and baseline Gross Dollar Retention (GDR).

• Capture Growth Goals: Directly contribute to the PLG Unit’s self-serve ARR targets through high-performing Activation and Expansion engines.

• Scale the Engine: Establish a highly predictable, automated, and mature experimentation ecosystem that continuously transforms usage patterns into platform guidance and net new expansion revenue.

Docker does not offer visa sponsorship for this role.

We use Covey as part of our hiring and / or promotional process for jobs in NYC and certain features may qualify it as an AEDT. As part of the evaluation process we provide Covey with job requirements and candidate submitted applications. We began using Covey Scout for Inbound on April 13, 2024.

Please see the independent bias audit report covering our use of Covey here.

Perks

• Freedom & flexibility; fit your work around your life

• Designated quarterly Whaleness Days plus end of year Whaleness break

• Home office setup; we want you comfortable while you work

• 16 weeks of paid Parental leave (after 6 months of employment)

• Technology stipend equivalent to $100 USD net/month

• PTO plan that encourages you to take time to do the things you enjoy

• Training stipend for conferences, courses and classes

• Equity; we are a growing start-up and want all employees to have a share in the success of the company

• Docker Swag

• Medical benefits, retirement and holidays vary by country

• Remote-first culture, with offices in Seattle and Paris

Docker embraces diversity and equal opportunity. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our company will be.

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