About Canonical

Canonical is the leading provider of open source software and operating systems powering global enterprise and technology markets. Best known for Ubuntu, the world's most popular Linux distribution, Canonical drives breakthrough initiatives in public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation, and IoT. Our customers include top public cloud providers, silicon manufacturers, and industry leaders across sectors. As a pioneer in global distributed collaboration, Canonical employs over 1200 colleagues across 75+ countries with minimal office-based roles. Teams connect through in-person strategy meetings two to four times yearly in exciting global locations. Founder-led, profitable, and rapidly growing, Canonical offers a dynamic environment for engineers passionate about open source excellence.

Role Overview

This Senior/Staff/Principal Engineer position at Canonical is a general track for exceptional talent across any engineering team. Canonical's remote-first model supports Senior+ Engineers worldwide in every time zone. After initial interviews, candidates are matched to high-fit teams working on Ubuntu's core, cloud automation, distributed systems, kernel development, and more. Senior+ Engineers at Canonical excel as software architects, coders, and leaders who rally teams to deliver outstanding products. They partner with Engineering Managers, Directors, and VPs to drive outcomes at team, department, and company levels. With a focus on high-quality code, technical leadership, and community engagement, this role shapes Canonical's open source portfolio.

Work at Every Layer of the Stack

Canonical teams operate from Ubuntu's kernel and system software to language runtimes, cloud automation, and distributed systems. Build services delivering Ubuntu to clouds, devices, servers, and PCs. Engage with the open-source community to foster thriving ecosystems and seamless operations at scale.

Key Responsibilities

As a Senior/Staff/Principal Engineer, you'll drive the architecture, design, and evolution of high-impact open source projects. Core responsibilities include:

• Leading design and architecture of impactful open source projects central to Ubuntu and Canonical's ecosystem.
• Writing production-grade code in Golang, Rust, Python, C/C++, or Typescript/React.
• Proactively collaborating with globally distributed teams across time zones.
• Mentoring, developing, and advising colleagues to accelerate their career progression.
• Demonstrating technical leadership within Canonical and broader open-source communities.
• Debugging complex issues and delivering high-quality fixes with performance focus.
• Contributing exceptional technical documentation to set industry benchmarks.
• Working fully remote with global travel twice annually for up to two weeks per company event.

Qualifications & Requirements

Canonical seeks engineers with proven execution and passion for open source. Essential qualifications include:

• Exceptional academic track record from high school and university.
• Undergraduate degree in Computer Science, STEM, or a compelling alternative path narrative.
• Drive demonstrated through going above-and-beyond expectations.
• Technical leadership experience in team motivation, direction, and pace-setting.
• Deep hands-on experience with at least one of Go, Rust, Python, or C.
• Conscientiousness, detail orientation, and performance focus.
• Excellent professional written and spoken English communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability.
• Ability to travel twice yearly for company events up to two weeks each.

Nice-to-Have Expertise

Team-specific nice-to-haves: Container technologies (LXD, Docker, Kubernetes), concurrent distributed systems, performance engineering, software security, build systems, public clouds/OpenStack, Debian/Ubuntu packaging, systems programming, quality engineering, web/Flutter, REST/gRPC APIs, SQL/NoSQL.

Benefits & Perks

Canonical shapes compensation based on location, experience, and performance with annual reviews. Enjoy fully remote work worldwide, global team collaboration, and biannual travel to vibrant locations. Access cutting-edge projects in Ubuntu, AI, cloud, and IoT. Thrive in a profitable, founder-led company prioritizing innovation and open source impact.

Career Growth

Senior+ Engineers advance through technical leadership, mentoring, and cross-team impact. Partner with executives on company-wide outcomes. Canonical invests in your growth via global exposure, community leadership, and skill expansion across the stack. Proven performers shape Canonical's future in open source dominance.

Why Join Canonical

Join a remote-first pioneer transforming enterprise tech with Ubuntu. Work on breakthrough technologies with global leaders. Benefit from a collaborative, high-performance culture in 75+ countries. Contribute to open source that powers clouds, AI, and IoT worldwide. Canonical's growth trajectory offers stability and opportunity for top engineers.

Role FAQs

Q: Is this role fully remote? Yes, home-based worldwide in every time zone.

Q: What programming languages are used? Primarily Golang, Rust, Python, C/C++, Typescript/React.

Q: What's the interview process? Initial rounds match you to ideal teams for progression.

Q: Any travel required? Twice yearly for 1-2 weeks each at company events.

Q: What makes Canonical unique? Founder-led, profitable, Ubuntu innovator with global distributed excellence.