Senior Engineer

This is a general track for Senior Engineer or above in any team at Canonical. After the first round of interviews we will establish which teams might be an excellent fit, and progress your application with them.

Canonical delivers open source to the world across every class of compute. Canonical Ubuntu is the world's favourite Linux for cloud, desktop and IoT. Our engineering teams work on operating systems, programming languages, applications, devices, infrastructure and services. We work in Golang, Python, C, C+, and Rust for system services, and use React and Flutter on the front end.

In our levelling framework, a Senior Engineer is not only an outstanding software architect and coder, they also demonstrate the leadership qualities needed to rally a team to ship outstanding products. A Senior Engineer partners with an Engineering Manager, who is also code-capable, and together they take responsibility for team outcomes. We hire based on academic results and proven product execution, and we select those with a passion for open-source software, innovation, and cutting-edge technology. In this role, you will make a significant contribution in Canonical's portfolio through high-quality code, technical leadership, team motivation and direction, exceptional design, and crisp documentation.

As a Senior Engineer you'll drive the architecture, design and evolution of high-impact open source. Our teams work at every level of the stack. From the kernel and system software at the core of Ubuntu through to major language runtimes and the bleeding-edge of cloud automation and distributed systems, you'll have the opportunity to work on complex but highly rewarding projects. Our teams also build the services which deliver Ubuntu to the world, on cloud, devices, servers and PCs.

Additionally, this role will give you the opportunity to engage with the broader open-source community. We're looking for individuals who can help build a thriving community, contribute to a broad range of technologies, and ensure seamless software operations at scale.

Location: we have remote opportunities for Senior Engineers in every time zone.

What your day will look like

Lead design and architecture of an impactful open source project

Code in Golang, Rust, Python, C/C+ or Typescript / React

Collaborate proactively with a globally distributed team

Mentor, develop and advise colleagues in their career progression

Display technical leadership in Canonical and our communities

Debug issues and produce high-quality code to fix them

Contribute to technical documentation with the aim to make it the best of its kind

Work from home with global travel twice annually for company events

What we are looking for in you

An exceptional academic track record from both high school and university

Undergraduate degree in Computer Science or STEM, or a compelling narrative about your alternative path

Drive and a track record of going above-and-beyond expectations

Technical leadership as well as team motivation, direction and pace

Well-organised, self-starting and able to deliver to schedule

Professional manner interacting with colleagues, partners, and community

Deep experience with at least one of Go, Rust, Python or C

Subject matter expertise in your engineering domain

Conscientiousness and detail orientation, with a focus on performance

Professional written and spoken English

Experience with Linux (Debian or Ubuntu preferred)

Excellent interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability

Passion, thoughtfulness, and self-motivation

Excellent communication and presentation skills

Result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments

Ability to travel twice a year, for company events up to two weeks each

Additional skills that you might also bring

Experience with container technologies such as LXD, Docker and Kubernetes

Experience with highly concurrent, distributed systems

Experience with embedded systems

Performance engineering - from kernel to web - benchmarks, optimisation

Experience with software security - fuzzing, tabletop threat models, analysis, audit

Experience build systems and toolchains, including for cross-compilation

Experience with public clouds or OpenStack

Experience with Debian/Ubuntu packaging

Experience with systems programming or scalable web services

Deep quality and test engineering

Web or Flutter front-end experience

REST and gRPC API experience

SQL and NoSQL data store expertise




What we offer you
We consider geographical location, experience, and performance in shaping compensation worldwide. We revisit compensation annually (and more often for graduates and associates) to ensure we recognise outstanding performance. In addition to base pay, we offer a performance-driven annual bonus. We provide all team members with additional benefits, which reflect our values and ideals. We balance our programs to meet local needs and ensure fairness globally.

Distributed work environment with twice-yearly team sprints in person

Personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year

Annual compensation review

Recognition rewards

Annual holiday leave

Maternity and paternity leave

Employee Assistance Programme

Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues

Priority Pass, and travel upgrades for long haul company events

About Canonical
Canonical is a pioneering tech firm at the forefront of the global move to open source. As the company that publishes Ubuntu, one of the most important open source projects and the platform for AI, IoT and the cloud, we are changing the world on a daily basis. We recruit globally and set a very high standard for people joining the company. We expect excellence - in order to succeed, we need to be the best at what we do. Canonical has been a remote-first company since its inception in 2004. Working here is a step into the future, and will challenge you to think differently, work smarter, learn new skills, and raise your game.

Canonical is an equal opportunity employer
We are proud to foster a workplace free from discrimination. Diversity of experience, perspectives, and background create a better work environment and better products.

Whatever your identity, we will give your application fair consideration.
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