Johannes Grossmann

Product-minded software engineer at Docker, building secure developer-facing systems at scale. I drive products end to end, from concept through iteration and product-market fit to shipping. I conceived, designed, and led Docker Secrets Engine and Docker Debug, taking each from initial prototype to a shipped product in the hands of developers worldwide.

Recent Work Experience

Docker, Inc., Remote

Senior Software Engineer (Developer Experience, Debugging Tools, Container Security)

08/2021 - now (~5 years)

Working in Docker Labs and the Secrets & Auth team, building developer facing CLI tools and Docker Desktop features.

Primary stack: Go, Linux systems programming, Kubernetes, Nix. Also: TypeScript/React/Electron, Python.

• Docker Secrets Engine (inventor and lead engineer, repo · docker pass CLI docs). Built a secrets broker for containers: instead of baking secrets into .env files, images, or compose configs, only a reference to the secret is stored, and the actual value gets injected into the container at runtime. Also built docker pass, the CLI users interact with to store, list, and manage those secret references.
• Docker Debug (inventor and lead engineer, docs · demo video). Conceived, designed, and built docker debug in Docker Labs: an official Docker CLI command that gives developers an instant shell into any container or image, including slim and distroless images that ship no shell of their own. I worked backwards from one of the most viewed Docker questions on Stack Overflow ("How do I get a console-like connection into a Docker container's shell?", 3.9M+ views) to a shipping product: a built in, Nix powered toolbox lets users pull in any tool on demand without rebuilding or modifying the target. Launched in public beta at DockerCon 2023 as one of the keynote's three flagship innovations.

  

• kubectl-shell (inventor and author). Created a kubectl plugin extending the docker debug experience to Kubernetes: an instant shell into any pod or container, across namespaces, with the same Nix powered toolbox and dynamic port forwarding for network debugging. Distributed to users through Docker Hub as the Docker Labs K8s Toolkit extension (archived).

  

• Container File Explorer (inventor and lead engineer). Designed and built the file explorer in Docker Desktop: browse, preview, edit, and copy files inside any running container directly from the GUI, no exec needed. I worked backwards from two of the most asked Docker questions on Stack Overflow ("Copying files from Docker container to host" and "Exploring Docker container's file system") to a shipping product that solves both directly. Highlighted by Console.dev as the standout Docker Desktop feature missing from competitor OrbStack (review).
• Other Docker Desktop UI features I built: the container overview table, the log view, and the interactive terminal.

Beissbarth GmbH, Munich

Software Engineer (Embedded Systems, Real-time, UI Development)

10/2019 - 07/2021

Development of the control software and UX/GUI of a new automotive wheel alignment system: Concept, architecture and implementation of the cross-platform GUI (Vue.js/TypeScript/websocket/Electron). Development and software architecture design of control/backend server (REST-API, HAL, business logic, SQLite DB integration, measurement service daemon, update/backup service) using C++17/boost/Protobuf/Qt. Customization and provisioning of the debian based host OS using systemd/Python/Ansible/Docker.

TNG Technology Consulting GmbH, Munich

Software Engineer (Full-Stack, Web Development)

04/2018 - 09/2019

From scratch development and architecture design of the front-end stack for an IoT-App shop with TypeScript/Webpack/Vue.js. Further, Java/Spring/Hybris back-end development, creating web components with stencil/React JSX, load testing with Gatling/Scala, AWS cloud integration with Terraform/Ansible.

Technical University of Munich, Munich

Research Assistant (Chair of Theoretical Information Technology, Prof. Holger Boche)

11/2016 - 03/2018

Research in machine learning: analysis of deformation stability of deep convolutional neural networks using applied functional analysis, with simulations in MATLAB. Resulted in two IEEE conference publications (see below).

Education

Master of Science (Technical University of Munich)

Electrical Engineering and Information Technology

2015 - 2017

Bachelor of Science (Technical University of Munich)

Electrical Engineering and Information Technology

2011 - 2015

Talks

"Debugging Innovation" (2023 - 2024): Originally presented at DockerCon 2023, and at Meetups in Freiburg and Munich. Talk video · Official Docker announcement (archived)

Scientific Publications

• 06/2018: "Shift Invariance and Deformation Error Properties of Deep Convolutional Neural Networks Based on Wavelets", IEEE SPAWC (Conference Paper). Authors: Johannes Großmann, Michael Koller, U. Mönich, H. Boche.
• 04/2018: "Deformation Stability of Deep Convolutional Neural Networks on Sobolev Spaces", IEEE ICASSP 2018 (Conference Paper). Authors: Michael Koller, Johannes Großmann, U. Mönich, H. Boche.

Press

Coverage of Docker Debug, announced at DockerCon 2023:

• TechCrunch: "Docker launches remote container builds, new debugging tools and more" (archived)
• DEVCLASS: "Docker introduces 'seems like magic' container debug tool and cloud-driven build service" (archived)
• DEV / Livecycle: "Docker's Recent Product Announcement is Bigger than You Realize" (archived)