Senior/Staff/Principal Engineer

Job Description

Canonical is seeking a Senior/Staff/Principal Engineer to contribute to its open-source software portfolio. The role involves high-quality code, technical leadership, and exceptional design and documentation. Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets. The company is a pioneer of global distributed collaboration, with 1200+ colleagues in 75+ countries and very few office-based roles.

The Senior Engineer will drive the architecture, design, and evolution of high-impact open-source software, working at every level of the stack, from the kernel and system software at the core of Ubuntu to cloud automation and distributed systems. The role also includes engaging with the broader open-source community to build a thriving ecosystem and ensure seamless software operations at scale.

The position is home-based, offering remote opportunities in every time zone, with global travel twice annually for company events.

Role Involves:

• Leading design and architecture of impactful open source projects
• Coding in Golang, Rust, Python, C/C++ or Typescript / React
• Collaborating proactively with a globally distributed team
• Mentoring, developing and advising colleagues in their career progression
• Displaying technical leadership in Canonical and communities
• Debugging issues and producing high-quality code to fix them
• Contributing to technical documentation with the aim to make it the best of its kind
• Working from home with global travel twice annually for company events

Requirements:

• Exceptional academic track record
• Undergraduate degree in Computer Science or STEM, or a compelling alternative path
• Drive and a track record of exceeding expectations
• Technical leadership and team motivation skills
• Deep experience with at least one of Go, Rust, Python, or C
• Conscientiousness and detail orientation, with a focus on performance
• Excellent communication skills in English
• Excellent interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability
• Ability to travel twice a year for company events (up to two weeks each)

What Canonical Offers:

• 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
• Team Member Assistance Program & Wellness Platform
• Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues
• Priority Pass and travel upgrades for long-haul company events