About Canonical

Canonical is the company behind Ubuntu, the world's leading open source operating system powering enterprise innovation in public cloud, AI, data science, IoT, and engineering. As a pioneer in global distributed collaboration, Canonical employs over 1200 colleagues across 75+ countries with a predominantly remote-first culture. Teams connect through strategic in-person meetings two to four times yearly in exciting global locations. Founder-led and profitable, Canonical continues to grow, serving top public cloud providers, silicon leaders, and industry giants embracing open source solutions.

Role Overview

The MLOps Field Engineer role at Canonical is designed for technical experts passionate about enabling enterprises to adopt AI/ML using open source technologies like Ubuntu, Kubeflow, MLFlow, Feast, and DVC. This position focuses on presales engineering, customer conversations, and architecting ML solutions on Linux and Kubernetes across public and private clouds. Ideal for MLOps engineers and solutions architects who thrive on solving complex data challenges—such as training LLMs on hybrid GPU clusters, real-time processing of millions of financial events, or object detection on parallel video streams—without traditional software development duties.

Working on the global Field Engineering team, you'll partner with enterprise sales to design tailored infrastructures, deliver demos, and influence product roadmaps. With up to 30% global travel, this home-based role suits business-minded technologists ready to drive commercial success in modern data architectures.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Architecture and Delivery

Architect cloud solutions including Kubernetes, Kubeflow, OpenStack, and Spark for on-premise or public clouds like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. Deploy, test, and hand over solutions while working hands-on across the Linux stack—from kernel and networking to storage and applications.

Customer Engagement

Collect business requirements, advise on Ubuntu and open source applications, and deliver compelling presentations and demonstrations of Ubuntu Pro and AI/ML capabilities to prospects and clients.

Collaboration and Influence

Liaise with product teams to relay customer feedback shaping roadmaps. Foster a healthy engineering culture aligned with Canonical values, and collaborate with sales to hit shared targets.

Qualifications & Requirements

Canonical seeks candidates with an exceptional academic track record from high school and university, or a compelling alternative path. Key requirements include:

• Undergraduate degree in a technical subject
• Hands-on experience in data engineering, MLOps, or big data deployments
• Proficiency in Python, R, or Rust
• Practical expertise in Linux, virtualization, containers, and networking
• Strong knowledge of cloud leaders like Kubernetes, AWS, Azure, GCP
• Business-oriented mindset with a proven record of exceeding expectations
• Confidence in communication, feedback, and continuous learning

This role demands problem-solvers excited by the toughest data architecture challenges in AI/ML.

Benefits & Perks

Canonical offers a premium remote-first experience:

• 100% home-based work accommodating EMEA, Americas, and APAC time zones
• Global travel opportunities up to 30% for customer meetings, events, and team offsites
• Access to cutting-edge open source projects shaping enterprise AI/ML
• Collaborative culture in a profitable, growing company
• Opportunities to influence product roadmaps and work with world-class teams

Career Growth

At Canonical, career progression is driven by impact and expertise. Field Engineers advance by mastering complex customer solutions, contributing to Ubuntu's evolution, and leading global initiatives. Continuous learning is core—expect mentorship, training in emerging tech like LLMs and real-time data processing, and paths to senior architecture or leadership roles. Join a company investing in your development amid rapid open source innovation.

Why Join Canonical

Canonical stands at the forefront of open source, powering breakthroughs with Ubuntu across clouds and edges. Our remote-first model, combined with purposeful travel, enables work-life balance while tackling enterprise-scale problems. Be part of a founder-led success story growing profitably, collaborating with 1200+ experts worldwide on the best open source data platform—from SQL/NoSQL to actionable ML models.

Role FAQs

Is this a remote role?

Yes, fully home-based worldwide, with up to 30% travel for meetings and events.

What technologies will I work with?

Ubuntu, Kubernetes, Kubeflow, MLFlow, Python for operators, and clouds like AWS, Azure, GCP.

Do I need sales experience?

No, but a business-minded approach to technical problem-solving during presales is essential.

How does Canonical support professional growth?

Through hands-on projects, product feedback loops, global collaboration, and a culture of continuous learning.