Stacklok
1 open Forward Deployed Engineer role at Stacklok. Curated with comp bands.
Comp on the board: $200K–$300K (Employer provided).
On the board since Aug 2026 · still hiring
Our take
Why Stacklok
When the engineer who co-created Kubernetes still needs an embedded Staff FDE to land his AI-security platform, it says the last-mile deployment gap is structural — not a gap in the tech.
- FDE type
- True forward-deployed
- Travel
- Medium
- Comp
- Competitive
- Stage
- Early-stage
A good fit if you're…
- Staff-level engineers with deep Kubernetes internals and strong Go
- People who want founder-led, infra/security deployment work at the agentic-AI frontier
- Candidates who like being the in-region technical anchor for enterprise landings
- Engineers comfortable shipping fixes upstream, not just closing customer tickets
The Kubernetes team's second act
Stacklok was co-founded by Craig McLuckie — co-creator of Kubernetes and co-founder of Heptio (acquired by VMware). The company now builds enterprise security for agentic AI, centered on the Model Context Protocol (MCP): the plumbing that lets AI agents call tools and reach enterprise data and systems. If you want infra-security deployment work with genuine platform pedigree behind it, this is about as close to the source as the board gets.
What they actually ship: ToolHive
The flagship is ToolHive, an open-source, enterprise-grade platform for running and managing MCP servers. Written in Go, it isolates each server in a container with per-request identity and access policy, and adds a Kubernetes operator, audit logs, and OpenTelemetry tracing. The thesis is simple: enterprises can't let agents touch sensitive systems without isolation, policy, and observability — so Stacklok sells the control plane rather than another model.
What 'forward deployed' means here
This is true forward-deployed work at the infrastructure-security layer. You scope each customer's technical goals, own the region's hardest Kubernetes and platform calls as the escalation anchor, define reusable reference architectures, and ship deployment changes back upstream. The posting frames you as the 'in-region anchor' for enterprise deals — senior, hands-on-code work with upstream and RBAC-level depth expected, not slideware.
Comp, level, and location
The board shows $200K–$300K, employer-provided, at the Staff level, based in Raleigh, NC. That's a competitive senior-IC band for an early-stage infrastructure company and reflects the Kubernetes-internals and Go depth required. Early stage means broad scope and a small org — you'll shape the deployment motion rather than inherit a mature one, and the role also serves as a technical gate in hiring.
Why the founder pedigree is the real signal
The headline here isn't a funding round — it's who's hiring. An infrastructure team with Kubernetes-level credibility still staffing a dedicated last-mile engineer is proof that even great platforms don't deploy themselves inside enterprises. For a candidate, that's reassurance the FDE function is structural to the business, not a temporary bridge until the product supposedly 'just works.'
Who thrives, who bounces
Thrives: staff engineers who know Kubernetes deeply, write Go comfortably, and like owning ambiguous enterprise deployments end to end — including upstream contributions. Bounces: anyone wanting a large peer group, a settled playbook, or pure product-IC work away from customers. This is an early-stage, founder-led seat where you are the technical face of the deployment.
Questions candidates ask
What does Stacklok build?
Enterprise security for agentic AI, centered on the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Its flagship is ToolHive, an open-source platform that runs MCP servers in isolated containers with identity, policy, and observability.
Who founded Stacklok?
Craig McLuckie, co-creator of Kubernetes and co-founder of Heptio (acquired by VMware), with other cloud-native veterans. The founder pedigree is central to the company's enterprise credibility.
What's the technical bar for the FDE role?
High and infrastructure-deep: strong Go, deep Kubernetes internals, and RBAC-level security work, with upstream contributions expected. It's a Staff-level IC seat that also acts as a technical gate in hiring.
Is there travel?
Medium. The role is framed as an 'in-region anchor' for enterprise landings, based in Raleigh, NC — expect customer-facing engagements, but not the constant travel of a pure field role.
Analysis updated 2026-10-02
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