Toptal is a marketplace for top Docker developers, engineers, programmers, coders, architects, and consultants. Top companies and startups choose Toptal Docker freelancers for their mission-critical software projects.
After years of developing distributed simulation systems for VR, Oliver's focused on DevOps engineering, particularly automation since 2017: (1) combining Terraform, Python, and Docker to automate the provisioning of Kubernetes clusters and cloud resources used by microservices deployed into those clusters; (2) engineering CI/CD pipelines; and (3) managing k8s clusters and helping developers integrate their work into it, standardizing in-house helm charts, and containerizing legacy applications.
Clark is an experienced DevOps engineer with a strong background in systems integration and programming. He has expertise in web, cloud, and database ecosystems and an affinity for the Go programming language and tools like Terraform and Docker. Clark helps clients build scalable cloud infrastructure, web services, REST APIs, and automation scripts, prioritizing efficient, tailored solutions with a commitment to on-time delivery and quick adaptability to new projects.
Charlie is a full-stack engineer with extensive back-end experience and a scientific background, having recently worked in medical technologies. He's proficient in cloud services such as AWS, in addition to Linux, Docker, and DevOps. Charlie possesses exemplary communication skills and excels at working with both technical and non-technical teams.
Rachel is a skilled full-stack developer with over ten years of experience that has seen her deliver projects built with React, Node.js, Docker, Angular, GraphQL, WordPress, Shopify, and CraftCMS. She has worked in large development teams and worked alone. In any case, she is passionate about writing consistent, efficient, top quality code.
Yauheni is a developer and systems engineer with over a decade of professional experience. He's skilled in Python and Bash and also confident in JavaScript, HTML/CSS, and Lua. Aside from his DevOps achievements, he's also gained extensive experience with Travis CI, Docker-based environments, code quality, testing, packaging for distributions, and measured test coverage on his OpenSource projects.
Gabriel is like a Lego builder, but his favorite blocks are GCP, Azure, AWS, Jenkins, Git, Puppet, Docker, Kubernetes, SQL, NoSQL, Linux, Regex, and all sorts of IT engineering—cake engineering included. A seasoned developer, he enjoys working on web and mobile development using Java, C, C++, Python, and Go languages, fields in which he has a successful track record.
Aditi is a senior DevOps engineer with 10 years of experience building and automating cloud infrastructure on AWS and Azure for numerous clients. She has helped integrate open-source tools such as Jenkins, Git, Docker, ELK stack, Argo CD, and Helm. Aditi is eager to work hands-on with the latest technologies and help clients simplify their tasks and achieve their goals.
Bogdan is a senior Linux system administrator, DevOps engineer, and IT department leader with 15+ years of experience. He specializes in storage, servers, Puppet, Terraform, Kubernetes, Docker, Linux, and AWS, and he has worked in the apparel, fashion, and cryptocurrency industries.
Konrad is an IT enthusiast and system administrator with considerable high availability and medium-scale infrastructure experience, including approximately 2,000 VMs and 100-150 physical hosts! He specializes in clouds, containers, virtualization, monitoring, and infrastructure orchestration in Terraform and SaltStack.
Navin Prasad is a DevOps and cloud engineer with five years of IT experience. His impressive track record spans four years of delivering top-tier DevOps solutions. He possesses extensive knowledge in Jenkins, Ansible, Docker, Kubernetes, and Terraform and has experience deploying to Azure and AWS. Navin Prasad has a successful track record of implementing CI/CD pipelines, configuration management, infrastructure provisioning, monitoring, and cost optimization expertise.
Shawn is an avid technologist who has spent nearly a decade in everything from networking and systems administration to software engineering and DevOps. He has implemented CI/CD pipelines for Docker and Kubernetes, improved infrastructure security, mentored junior engineers, and built processes for automated UI testing. Shawn has worked in organizations both large and small, most recently at a leading digital marketplace and solutions provider for the automotive industry.
Docker developers boost business productivity by simplifying the development, deployment, and distribution of digital products. This guide to hiring Docker experts offers insight into best practices, skill requirements, job description tips, and interview questions and answers to help you identify the best candidates for your project.
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Testimonials
Tripcents wouldn't exist without Toptal. Toptal Projects enabled us to rapidly develop our foundation with a product manager, lead developer, and senior designer. In just over 60 days we went from concept to Alpha. The speed, knowledge, expertise, and flexibility is second to none. The Toptal team were as part of tripcents as any in-house team member of tripcents. They contributed and took ownership of the development just like everyone else. We will continue to use Toptal. As a startup, they are our secret weapon.
Brantley Pace
CEO & Co-Founder
I am more than pleased with our experience with Toptal. The professional I got to work with was on the phone with me within a couple of hours. I knew after discussing my project with him that he was the candidate I wanted. I hired him immediately and he wasted no time in getting to my project, even going the extra mile by adding some great design elements that enhanced our overall look.
Paul Fenley
Director
The developers I was paired with were incredible -- smart, driven, and responsive. It used to be hard to find quality engineers and consultants. Now it isn't.
Ryan Rockefeller
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Toptal understood our project needs immediately. We were matched with an exceptional freelancer from Argentina who, from Day 1, immersed himself in our industry, blended seamlessly with our team, understood our vision, and produced top-notch results. Toptal makes connecting with superior developers and programmers very easy.
Jason Kulik
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As a small company with limited resources we can't afford to make expensive mistakes. Toptal provided us with an experienced programmer who was able to hit the ground running and begin contributing immediately. It has been a great experience and one we'd repeat again in a heartbeat.
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Principal
How to Hire Docker Developers Through Toptal
1
Talk to One of Our Industry Experts
A Toptal director of engineering will work with you to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics.
2
Work With Hand-Selected Talent
Within days, we'll introduce you to the right Docker developer for your project. Average time to match is under 24 hours.
3
The Right Fit, Guaranteed
Work with your new Docker developer for a trial period (pay only if satisfied), ensuring they're the right fit before starting the engagement.
Find Experts With Related Skills
Access a vast pool of skilled developers in our talent network and hire the top 3% within just 48 hours.
The cost associated with hiring a Docker developer depends on various factors, including preferred talent location, complexity and size of the project you’re hiring for, seniority, engagement commitment (hourly, part-time, or full-time), and more. In the US, for example, Glassdoor’s reported average total annual pay for Docker developers is $114,000 to $175,000 as of May, 2024. With Toptal, you can speak with an expert talent matcher who will help you understand the cost of talent with the right skills and seniority level for your needs. To get started, schedule a call with us — it’s free, and there’s no obligation to hire with Toptal.
How do I hire a Docker developer?
To hire the right Docker developer, it’s important to evaluate a candidate’s experience, technical skills, and communication skills. You’ll also want to consider the fit with your particular industry, company, and project. Toptal’s rigorous screening process ensures that every member of our network has excellent experience and skills, and our team will match you with the perfect Docker developers for your project.
Are Docker developers in demand?
Yes, DevOps engineers specializing in Docker are always in demand because they can use this standardized platform to optimize the development, deployment, and distribution of any digital product. The use of Docker also simplifies local development and eliminates many possible issues before they reach the production environment.
How can I choose the best Docker developers for my project?
The best choice for your project would be a skilled Docker developer with extensive experience and specialized knowledge of your tech stack and your industry. This would allow them to quickly improve the structure of the project and its deployment, lower your infrastructure costs, and provide niche advice on the business. You should also look for candidates who are comfortable collaborating, as Docker developers—like anyone in a DevOps role—have to connect multiple teams seamlessly.
Why do you need Docker?
Using the Docker containerization platform allows teams to ship code more quickly by addressing many of the common pain points in the software development lifecycle. For example, it increases stability by reducing change failure rates and the time to resolve them when they occur, decreases the lead time needed for changes, and allows for increased deployment frequency.
On top of that, scaling is simplified when Docker is used with DevOps tools such as Kubernetes and Terraform.
How quickly can you hire with Toptal?
Typically, you can hire a Docker developer with Toptal in about 48 hours. For larger teams of talent or Managed Delivery, timelines may vary. Our talent matchers are highly skilled in the same fields they’re matching in—they’re not recruiters or HR reps. They’ll work with you to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics, and match you with ideal candidates from our vetted global talent network.
Once you select your Docker developer, you’ll have a no-risk trial period to ensure they’re the perfect fit. Our matching process has a 98% trial-to-hire rate, so you can rest assured that you’re getting the best fit every time.
How are Toptal Docker developers different?
At Toptal, we thoroughly screen our Docker developers to ensure we only match you with the highest caliber of talent. Of the more than 200,000 people who apply to join the Toptal network each year, fewer than 3% make the cut.
In addition to screening for industry-leading expertise, we also assess candidates’ language and interpersonal skills to ensure that you have a smooth working relationship.
When you hire with Toptal, you’ll always work with world-class, custom-matched Docker developers ready to help you achieve your goals.
Can you hire Docker developers on an hourly basis or for project-based tasks?
You can hire Docker developers on an hourly, part-time, or full-time basis. Toptal can also manage the entire project from end-to-end with our Managed Delivery offering. Whether you hire an expert for a full- or part-time position, you’ll have the control and flexibility to scale your team up or down as your needs evolve. Our Docker developers can fully integrate into your existing team for a seamless working experience.
What is the no-risk trial period for Toptal Docker developers?
We make sure that each engagement between you and your Docker developer begins with a trial period of up to two weeks. This means that you have time to confirm the engagement will be successful. If you’re completely satisfied with the results, we’ll bill you for the time and continue the engagement for as long as you’d like. If you’re not completely satisfied, you won’t be billed. From there, we can either part ways, or we can provide you with another expert who may be a better fit and with whom we will begin a second, no-risk trial.
Edoardo is a data scientist who has founded multiple projects and businesses and served as a vice president of engineering and a CTO. He specializes in R&D initiatives and has used Docker containerization in several solutions, including deploying and maintaining a cybersecurity monitoring tool running on Kubernetes. Edoardo has a master’s degree in applied mathematics from the University of Warwick.
Demand for Docker Developers Has Never Been Higher
According to the Stack Overflow 2023 Developer Survey, 57% of professional developers use Docker, and most respondents want to use Docker next year compared to all “other tool” options. Docker’s rising popularity is likely a result of its versatility; it allows engineers to package complex applications and their dependencies into a minimally sized, cross-platform format. This packaging improves reliability, performance, and accelerates time to market by providing a consistent environment for testing, deploying, and distributing software.
When used correctly, Docker can accelerate the time to production of a software product and boost team productivity. However, when used incorrectly, it can, at best, have no impact, and, at worst, cause crashes in your production environment. This hiring guide explains how a skilled Docker developer can be a valuable asset on development teams and outlines the specific attributes that separate expert developers from average ones.
The guide walks you through how to write job posts that will attract qualified candidates, craft relevant interview questions, and assess an applicant’s expertise, so you can hire a Docker developer who can help boost your business’s productivity by simplifying the development, deployment, and distribution of your products.
What attributes distinguish quality Docker Developers from others?
The use of Docker is nearly ubiquitous, so most developers will have interacted with or created Dockerfiles. However, a standout Docker developer needs to have a deeper understanding of Docker and its multitude of components.
The complexity of modern software development necessitates that, in addition to expertise in Docker and its components, developers need to understand complementary technologies and software development principles at large. Their role goes beyond simply writing Dockerfiles or running containers—an expert Docker developer is crucial for building efficient, scalable, secure, and robust software solutions.
In addition, Docker developers need to be well-rounded professionals who operate effectively in a DevOps environment, where working with other teams is essential.
Complementary technology skills Docker developers should have
All Docker developers will have experience with command line interfaces (CLIs) because Docker operates primarily via the command line, but working with Docker involves more than just mastering the CLI. A skilled developer will have broader experience with multiple architectures and programming languages.
Here are complementary skills a Docker developer should be proficient in:
Scripting – Docker tasks can often be automated using scripts, so a good grasp of scripting languages like Bash, Python, and Ruby is very helpful. Furthermore, Docker works with a single entry point, so it’s a common practice to make this entry point a script, which makes the startup process more flexible.
Application development – Since Docker is used to containerize applications, developers should have a good understanding of application development in your app’s main language (e.g., Java, Python, Ruby, or C#). That way, despite a lack of lower-level programming experience, they can quickly debug configuration issues, including those related to bootstrapping and dependency management.
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) – Tools like Terraform and AWS CloudFormation can be used in conjunction with Docker to automate testing, infrastructure creation, and management, and they are extremely useful for version control and rollbacks.
Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) – Docker plays a crucial role in CI/CD pipelines, so familiarity with tools like GitHub Actions, Circle CI, Jenkins, and GitLab CI is a big plus.
Networking – Networking can play a crucial role in several infrastructures to make intercontainer communication possible and restrict it for security purposes.
Orchestration – Although Docker containers can be deployed as singular entities, it’s more common to deploy a cluster of them. Knowledge of orchestration tools such as Kubernetes, Docker Compose, Rancher, and Docker Swarm can be extremely useful for smooth deployment and maintenance.
A highly skilled Docker developer doesn’t merely manage containers. They apply a set of strategies and practices that streamline development, deployment, and distribution, thereby increasing productivity, reducing costs, and ensuring a smoother, more reliable software delivery pipeline.
How can you identify the ideal Docker Developer for you?
Essential to any Docker developer’s skillset is proper management of Docker images—the lightweight, stand-alone, executable packages central to Docker usage. Expert Docker developers understand the best practices needed for managing images effectively, from using multistage builds to reduce image size and build time to properly tagging and versioning images for easier version control. While experts excel in building great Docker infrastructure, less experienced developers may unwittingly create slow builds and bad caching.
Another key attribute of a skilled Docker developer is experience in orchestrating Docker services with tools like Docker Compose, Docker Swarm, or Kubernetes. Docker Compose is the simplest, and it’s useful to run basic containers and network infrastructures. Kubernetes and Docker Swarm (which is simpler than Kubernetes) are called orchestration tools because they allow advanced customization and features such as load balancing and autoscaling.
Although the top cloud providers (AWS, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure) normally have multiple managed services to run container workloads, skills in orchestration tools are strongly recommended, especially if you don’t already have an infrastructure in place.
Docker’s networking management is another aspect to consider. Whereas a novice Docker developer will know only the basics of networking for local development, a senior-level developer will grasp the nuances and know when to use various networking modes, such as bridge, host, none, and overlay. Understanding these modes and applying the right one for the task at hand is crucial for the network performance of the containers and for security when containers require restricted access.
There are also platform-specific services, like AWS Fargate and Google Kubernetes Engine, which are inspired by Kubernetes but require their own sets of skills. If your project will need to use one of these services, include it in the project description and prioritize candidates who have that experience.
Equally important is managing data persistence within Docker. Containers are ephemeral by nature, meaning all changes made within a container are lost once it stops being used. However, many applications require some form of data persistence. Docker offers solutions for this through the use of volumes, bind mounts, and temporary file system volumes. Each method has its own advantages and use cases, so it’s important to keep these issues in mind when choosing among Docker Cloud hosting services, as they may have limitations.
Ultimately, the best Docker developer for your project would have extensive Docker experience and specialized knowledge of your industry and tech stack. And where gaps exist in your infrastructure, you’ll want someone who has done the initial setup of the specific pieces needed to fill them—not someone who has merely maintained the results of someone else’s work. You should also look for candidates who have collaborated well with other teams in a DevOps role. Someone with these attributes will be able to quickly improve the structure of your project and its deployment, lower your infrastructure costs, and provide business-specific advice.
How to Write a Docker Job Description for Your Project
When writing a Docker job description, it’s essential to specify the exact responsibilities and requirements for your project. First of all, you are probably looking for a DevOps engineer specializing in Docker, so make sure to include those keywords, as suggested in our Docker developer job description template, as potential candidates will be looking for them. You should also include responsibilities like maintaining Docker images, optimizing Dockerfiles, and setting up CI/CD pipelines.
In describing the job requirements, in addition to a strong understanding of Docker, you can list complementary skills based on your project’s needs. A description of the project, the stack being used, and how it’s deployed (or will be deployed) are all important pieces of information to include to attract and filter the best candidates.
What are the most important Docker interview questions?
A Docker expert should be able to articulate the benefits of Docker, but Docker interview questions should go beyond the fundamentals to assess the candidate’s understanding of complementary technologies and problem-solving skills. To help you evaluate candidates from a technical perspective and more broadly, here are examples of specific questions to consider asking, as well as the kind of information qualified candidates should provide in their answers:
What are the advantages of using Docker in a development environment?
Let’s start by answering this question: “What does Docker do?” Docker simplifies and connects the entire software development lifecycle by encapsulating the application and its dependencies. This naturally results in a clean, well-structured project environment right from its inception, which eliminates the “works on my machine” problem—a time-consuming issue that can recur often. Therefore, Docker’s containerization drastically reduces the time spent on setting up application environments and enables faster, more reliable development and simpler deployment.
What are the key differences between Docker and Kubernetes?
Docker is a software suite used to create lightweight, standalone, and executable packaged container images.
Kubernetes is a cloud-native orchestration system that can provide extra features like monitoring, security, high availability, and resource management. It’s flexible enough to run the simplest or most complex workloads on cloud or on-premise environments.
Can you explain the differences between Docker images and Docker containers?
Docker images are read-only templates that contain a snapshot of an application and its dependencies along with everything a company needs to run a piece of software—including application code, runtimes, system tools, system libraries, and settings. In contrast, Docker containers are runtime instances of Docker images. When you run an image, it becomes a container.
When have you used Docker in a production environment? Where and how was it deployed? Can you describe the challenges you faced and how you addressed them?
This is a useful question to get a sense of the candidate’s capabilities and understand their deployment experience. Docker can be hosted in several ways through specialized services or directly on instances, and each will bring different advantages and challenges. An experienced candidate should be able to describe this process clearly and in great detail.
Have you worked on a similar project that used Docker? What were the specific challenges? What did you learn from it?
Each tech stack has its own unique requirements and challenges. A developer with previous experience should be able to accurately describe some issues they encountered or some specifics that made it different from other stacks.
Can you explain what multistage builds are useful for?
Multistage builds enable the creation of light and efficient production images by using separate stages for building and running an application within a single Dockerfile. They allow developers to use one stage for compiling or building an application with all necessary dependencies and tools, and another stage to bundle only the built artifacts and necessary runtime into a final image, thus reducing the image size and enhancing security.
Can you explain the advantages of using parent images?
Similar to multistage builds, if there are libraries or code common to multiple images, you can create parent images that are inherited by all their child images. This way, the core requirements don’t need to be rebuilt and cached in multiple images. This is a core aspect of Docker images because most images don’t start empty—they inherit prebuilt images such as Node.js-, Python-, or Rust-ready environments.
What’s the difference between horizontal and vertical scaling, and when do you use one or the other?
Horizontal scaling is easier, but it works only when the container can be duplicated without any issues. For example, it’s common for computationally heavy loads, where each container is independent. On the other hand, vertical scaling is used when the container cannot be duplicated easily, usually due to a resource bottleneck. A typical example would be databases, where you can’t simply duplicate the database. Instead, a developer would need to scale the container itself; for example, by granting more resources.
Why do companies hire Docker Developers?
Docker is a must-have for any modern stack because it’s the glue that simplifies and connects the entire software development lifecycle, making the whole process more efficient and less error-prone. It offers a robust platform for application isolation, packaging, and deployment, making it a critical tool for businesses striving for efficient and scalable software delivery. Companies hire Docker developers to realize these substantial benefits.
Docker has emerged as an industry standard, accepted readily across most cloud platforms. This eliminates the need for extra packaging and resolves issues caused by differences between software environments, simplifying the path from development to deployment. By encapsulating the application and its dependencies into a single unit, Docker ensures that the application behaves the same way during production as it did during development, thus minimizing deployment surprises and debugging time.
Additionally, due to their independent structure, Docker-based solutions tend to be inherently scalable. Most applications have peak and low periods of use, and Docker frameworks, such as Kubernetes, can monitor the load and manage it by adding and removing containers as needed. This lowers the probability of crashes and makes deployment cost-efficient.
From a distribution perspective, Docker’s widespread adoption makes it a straightforward choice, as it’s simple to install the application on client machines regardless of their underlying operating systems. The simplicity and reliability of distribution means your application can reach end users more efficiently.
What are the benefits of hiring a Docker Developer?
Having a Docker expert on board can bring substantial business benefits by not only simplifying development but also boosting productivity. Using Docker properly can also contribute to more efficient resource management, lower infrastructure costs, and better collaboration among developers, QA, and operations teams—ultimately leading to a DevOps culture.
The technical content presented in this article was reviewed by Felipe Rodrigues Maia.