Software Engineer, Sustaining Engineering

Software Engineer, Sustaining Engineering

Home based - Worldwide

Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets. Our platform, Ubuntu, is very widely used in breakthrough enterprise initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation, and IoT. Our customers include the world’s leading public cloud and silicon providers, and industry leaders in many sectors. The company is a pioneer of global distributed collaboration, with 1,200+ colleagues in 75+ countries and very few office‑based roles. Teams meet two to four times yearly in person, in interesting locations around the world, to align on strategy and execution.

The company is founder‑led, profitable, and growing.

We are hiring a Software Engineer, Sustaining Engineering.

This fast‑paced engineering role covers Linux‑based software‑defined infrastructure and applications across all layers of the stack, including bare metal, virtualization (KVM) and containerization (Docker/LXC/LXD), storage (Ceph and Linux filesystems), networking (OVS, OVN, and Core networking), up to OpenStack and Kubernetes, and the open source applications running on top of them. It will challenge you to show the breadth of engineering skill needed to work on almost any aspect of Ubuntu and the open source technologies people run with it.

This role is an opportunity for a technologist with a passion for Linux and open source to build a career with Canonical and drive success for our customers, community and the company. If you have an affinity for open source development, great communication skills, and a passion for troubleshooting and fixing issues in technology used by millions across the world, then you will enjoy working with some of the best people in the industry at Canonical.

Location: This is a remote role, we have teams in all time zones.

This role deals with critical issues in the open source stack that require software engineering for upstream bug fixes. Our engineers have to be able to work productively at any level of the stack above the kernel, in a wide range of languages, to understand and address the software issues at hand. Our group is critical to the success of our enterprise customers, partners and Ubuntu itself.

You will help with troubleshooting and driving issues to resolution with workarounds, guidance, and bug fixes to be released upstream and in Ubuntu.

This role entails

• Resolving complex customer problems related to Ubuntu, Kernel, Ceph, OpenStack, or Kubernetes and other open source software
• Maintaining a close working relationship with Canonical’s Field, Support and product engineering teams
• Participating in upstream communities
• Developing bug fixes, backporting patches, and working with upstream for inclusion
• Reviewing code produced by other engineers
• Demonstrating good judgement in technical methods and techniques
• Prioritizing work and managing your time effectively against those priorities
• Participating in team discussions to improve processes, tools, and documentation
• Maintaining clear, technical and concise communications
• Working from home and travel internationally up to 10% of work time for team meetings, events and conferences

What we are looking for in you

• Professional experience as a software engineer
• Background in Computer Science, STEM or similar
• Strong experience with Linux, and at least one of the following:
  • Ceph, OpenStack, Kubernetes or other cloud technologies
• Strong development‑level experience with at least one of Python, Go, C or C++ on Linux
• Ability to troubleshoot with debugging tools like gdb
• Familiarity with git source code repositories and branches
• An exceptional academic track record
• Willingness to travel up to 4 times a year for internal events

Nice‑to‑have skills

• You love technology and working with brilliant people
• You are curious, flexible, articulate, and accountable
• You value soft skills and are passionate, enterprising, thoughtful, and self‑motivated
• You have interest in, and experience with most of the following: Ubuntu Linux – kernel or userspace, Kubernetes, OpenStack, Ceph, QEMU/KVM, LXC/LXD, Python, Go, C, Postgresql, Mongo, Debian packaging, distributed systems

What we offer colleagues

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 recognize 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 – we’ve been working remotely since 2004!
• 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 from your team and others
• Priority Pass for travel 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 of software. We recruit on a global basis 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. Most colleagues at Canonical have worked from home since our 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.

Equal Employment Opportunities

Canonical is an equal opportunity employer. As set forth in Canonical’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other status protected by law), national origin, age, disability, or any other status protected by law. We do not discriminate against any individual on the basis of their disability. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.

Protected categories for disability:

• Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
• Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
• Blind or low vision
• Cancer (past or present)
• Cardiovascular or heart disease
• Celiac disease
• Cerebral palsy
• Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
• Diabetes
• Disfigurement, for example, burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
• Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
• Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn’s Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
• Intellectual or developmental disability
• Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
• Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
• Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
• Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Neurodivergence, for example, attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
• Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
• Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
• Short stature (dwarfism)
• Traumatic brain injury

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.