About Canonical

Canonical is a pioneering technology company at the forefront of the global shift to open source software. As the publisher of Ubuntu, one of the most influential open source projects worldwide, Canonical powers breakthrough initiatives in public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation, and IoT. Our platform is trusted by leading public cloud providers, silicon manufacturers, and industry leaders across sectors. With over 1200 colleagues in more than 75 countries, Canonical embodies a founder-led, profitable, and rapidly growing organization. We pioneered globally distributed collaboration, with most roles being remote-first since 2004. Teams connect through two to four in-person meetings annually in exciting global locations to align on strategy and execution.

Role Overview

Canonical is seeking a talented Site Reliability Engineer to elevate enterprise infrastructure DevOps practices. This globally remote role focuses on perfecting automation through a model-driven approach, applicable to on-premise setups and public clouds alike. Our SRE team manages hundreds of private clouds, Kubernetes clusters, and applications across physical and public cloud environments for major global customers. You'll identify incidents, monitor applications, anticipate issues, and drive refinements to uphold the highest standards in our open source portfolio. Success demands expertise in Linux, Python, networking, and cloud operations, spanning the full stack from bare-metal and kernel to Kubernetes and open source apps. Expect comprehensive training in core technologies like OpenStack, Kubernetes, security standards, Kubeflow, Kafka, OpenSearch, and databases.

Key Responsibilities

As a Site Reliability Engineer at Canonical, your impact will be profound in ensuring mission-critical services for brand-name clients. Key responsibilities include deploying and operating OpenStack, Kubernetes, storage solutions, and open source applications using advanced DevOps practices. You'll monitor and observe systems to proactively address incidents and potential issues. Embracing automation as a software engineering challenge, you'll apply a scientific mindset driven by metrics and code to scale operations. Your work will touch every layer of the infrastructure stack, from bare-metal networking to containerized applications, enabling high availability and performance for Ubuntu-based enterprise solutions.

Daily Impact

Expect hands-on involvement in incident response, capacity planning, and continuous improvement. You'll collaborate with cross-functional teams to evolve offerings with the latest open source advancements, staying at the cutting edge of cloud-native technologies.

Qualifications & Requirements

To thrive in this role, candidates must possess a degree in software engineering or computer science, coupled with proven Python software development experience and operational proficiency in Linux environments. Hands-on experience with Kubernetes deployment or operations is essential, alongside a strong grasp of networking and cloud mechanics. We value excellent interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability. The role requires availability for international travel twice yearly for company events up to two weeks long. Bonus skills include familiarity with OpenStack, public cloud, or private cloud management, accelerating your integration into our ecosystem.

Why These Skills Matter

Canonical's infrastructure demands engineers who treat operations as software engineering, ensuring reliability at global scale for Ubuntu's enterprise deployments.

Benefits & Perks

Canonical offers a competitive, performance-driven compensation package tailored to geographical location, experience, and contributions, with reviews every six months and annual bonuses. Beyond base pay, enjoy a distributed work environment with biannual in-person team sprints in inspiring locations. Additional perks include a USD 2,000 annual personal learning and development budget, recognition rewards, generous annual holiday leave, maternity and paternity leave, Employee Assistance Programs, and travel support like Priority Pass and upgrades for long-haul events. Our benefits balance local needs with global fairness, reflecting our commitment to colleague well-being.

Career Growth

Joining Canonical means stepping into a future-focused career. Gain broad exposure to cutting-edge cloud technologies, with opportunities to evolve alongside the state-of-the-art in open source infrastructure. Regular compensation adjustments reward excellence, while the learning budget fuels professional development. Our remote-first culture fosters autonomy and innovation, challenging you to think differently and work smarter. With a high bar for excellence, Canonical invests in top talent, providing pathways to leadership in Ubuntu's ecosystem.

Why Join Canonical

Work on Ubuntu, the platform revolutionizing AI, IoT, and cloud computing. Be part of a profitable, growing company shaping open source's future. Our remote-first model offers unparalleled flexibility, global collaboration, and travel to meet colleagues worldwide. Canonical sets the standard for excellence, recruiting the best to deliver world-class solutions. This SRE role positions you at the intersection of operations and engineering, driving impact for enterprise giants.

Role FAQs

Q: Is this role fully remote? Yes, it's a globally remote position with occasional international travel for team events.

Q: What technologies will I work with? Core stack includes Ubuntu, OpenStack, Kubernetes, Python, Linux, and open source tools like Kubeflow and Kafka.

Q: How is compensation structured? Competitive base pay with 6-month reviews, annual bonuses, and location-adjusted fairness.

Q: Do I need prior OpenStack experience? It's a bonus; strong Linux, Python, and Kubernetes skills are primary.

Q: What's the team structure? Distributed across 75+ countries, with in-person strategy alignments 2-4 times yearly.