Software Engineer II - Golang

Location

This is a remote role open to candidates based in Italy or Spain.

The Opportunity

As a Software Engineer II on the ToolHive team, you’ll help build products that give developers a secure, intuitive way to connect AI agents to the systems they depend on. The role focuses on contributing to our Go-based backend services and developing the new ToolHive Model Context Protocol Control Plane.

Responsibilities include influencing architecture, designing scalable APIs, and solving complex distributed system challenges. You’ll collaborate with frontend engineers, designers, and product managers to deliver reliable, high-performance backend services for MCP server management and orchestration.

You’ll also engage directly with our open source community, turning community feedback into features that make it easier and safer for developers to bring AI-powered capabilities into production environments.

What Success Looks Like: First 6-12 months

• Technical Context Gained: You've developed a solid understanding of the ToolHive backend architecture through code reviews, design discussions, and hands-on contributions. You're making meaningful contributions to the codebases and can work independently on standalone features within your first 6 months.
  
  
• ToolHive Feature Delivered: You've designed and delivered at least one complex backend feature for the ToolHive Control Plane that improved developer productivity or deployment reliability, while contributing to additional features. You've collaborated effectively with frontend engineers, designers, and product managers throughout the development process.
  
  
• User Engagement Established: You've actively engaged with both our open source community through GitHub issues and Discord discussions, and our customers through support channels and feedback sessions, converting real-world feedback into actionable product improvements that were implemented by the team.
  
  
• Team Integration Completed: You've built strong working relationships with engineering, product, marketing, and design team members, regularly participated in technical discussions and provided valuable input that influenced product decisions.

In This Role, You Will

• Develop and enhance ToolHive's Go-based backend services including the Kubernetes operator, CLI, and API.
  
  
• Build APIs and services for discovering, deploying, and managing MCP servers with focus on reliability, performance, and developer experience.
  
  
• Contribute to the ToolHive Kubernetes Operator for orchestrating containerized MCP server deployments.
  
  
• Develop CLI commands and workflows that provide developers with intuitive tools for managing their MCP infrastructure.
  
  
• Partner with designers and product managers to translate user requirements into intuitive workflows for managing containerized MCP deployments.
  
  
• Engage directly with our open source community and customers, providing support and gathering feedback to inform product decisions.
  
  
• Contribute to engineering processes and development practices as our team scales both the desktop and web applications.
  
  
• Adopt AI-first development practices, using AI tools to enhance productivity, code quality, and development velocity as part of your everyday workflow.

We understand 

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!

Desired Skills & Experience

• Proficiency in Go (Golang), with strong backend development principles for producing clean, efficient, scalable, and secure code.
  
  
• Distributed systems development skills for building scalable, fault-tolerant agent systems using microservices, event-driven patterns, and proper state management.
  
  
• Experience building Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers or similar agent integration patterns, with understanding of protocol specifications.
  
  
• Kubernetes expertise, including familiarity with concepts such as operator development patterns, custom resources, or API extensions.
  
  
• API design and development skills for building REST APIs that support frontend applications and external integrations.
  
  
• Software development best practices including testing, code review, version control, and continuous integration workflows.
  
  
• Collaborative mindset with proven ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams, contribute to code reviews, and participate in technical discussions and planning sessions.
  
  
• Task decomposition and prioritization for breaking down complex features into simple, manageable steps and prioritizing them effectively with a lean MVP mindset.
  
  
• Open source experience through GitHub contributions, issue management, or community engagement.
  
  
• Startup mindset with self-motivation and hands-on approach, thriving in dynamic, fast-changing environments and driving clarity through action.

Base Salary Range: €77,350 - €116,025