Technologies · Docker
Docker & containerization consulting for startups
We containerize applications properly: small, secure, fast-building images with multi-stage builds, sane local development, and CI pipelines that build in seconds instead of tens of minutes. Containers are the foundation everything else (Kubernetes, ECS, Cloud Run) stands on — bad images tax every deploy forever.
Reference architecture
How we build with Docker
Build
Verify
Ship
Run
Scope
What our Docker consulting covers
- Production Dockerfiles: multi-stage builds, distroless/slim bases, non-root users
- Build speed: layer-cache strategy, BuildKit cache mounts, dependency layer separation
- Image security: vulnerability scanning in CI, base-image update automation, SBOMs
- Local development that matches production: compose profiles, hot reload, seeded data
- Registry hygiene: tagging strategy, retention policies, image signing where required
System design
How container practices scale with you
- 1
Image size is deploy speed: a 2GB image scales slower everywhere — pull time delays every autoscale event, so we routinely cut images 5–10x
- 2
Cache is architecture: dependencies in their own layer means a code change rebuilds in seconds, not the full 15 minutes
- 3
One image, every environment: configuration through env vars (12-factor), so the image tested in staging is byte-identical in prod
- 4
Security scales by automation: scanners in CI plus automated base-image bumps beat quarterly panic patching
In practice
What a typical engagement looks like
A team with 20-minute CI builds and a 1.8GB Python image gets multi-stage builds with cache mounts and a slim runtime stage: image drops to 210MB, CI builds to under 3 minutes, and autoscaling stops timing out on image pulls during traffic spikes.
Illustrative engagement — representative of typical work at typical scale, not a specific client. See a full sample audit deliverable here.
Docker work is covered by the Fractional DevOps retainer ($2,900/mo) and scoped fixed-price projects — start with the guaranteed $1,900 audit if you want findings before commitments.
Questions
Docker, straight answers
Why are our Docker builds so slow?
Almost always cache-busting: dependencies reinstall on every code change because COPY ordering invalidates layers, and CI runners start cold without BuildKit cache configured. Restructuring the Dockerfile and wiring registry-backed cache typically cuts build times 5–10x — a small fix with compounding daily payoff.
Do you handle image security and compliance?
Yes — scanning in CI (Trivy or the registry's native scanner), non-root runtime users, pinned digests, and automated base-image updates. For SOC 2, container vulnerability management is a control auditors ask about, and we wire the evidence into Vanta/Drata.
Related technologies
Need senior Docker help without the hire?
A 15-minute call is enough to tell you exactly what we'd do and what it costs. No pitch deck, no pressure.