Senior Software Engineer; Backend

Join to apply for the Senior Software Engineer (Backend) role at Canonical

Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets. Our platform, Ubuntu, is 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 1200+ 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.

We are hiring a Senior/Staff/Lead Engineer to join the Launchpad team and take the lead in shaping the future of open‑source collaboration. Launchpad is a platform for managing open‑source development projects, including code hosting and review, bug tracking, package building, translations, and other facilities used by free and open‑source software developers.

As a senior or staff‑level engineer passionate about Linux, web services, and scalable development platforms, you’ll have the opportunity to architect and refine a mature, Python‑driven system that supports major projects like Ubuntu. Your work will be instrumental in maintaining business‑critical services while driving innovation, whether by expanding package‑building capabilities, enhancing developer workflows, or modernizing the web UI.

In this role, you’ll empower developers across the world by ensuring that Launchpad remains a well‑structured, high‑velocity environment for open‑source contribution. As part of Canonical’s globally distributed team, you’ll collaborate with some of the brightest minds in open‑source technology, building essential infrastructure that enables the next generation of software development. If optimizing large‑scale projects, driving continuous improvement, and supporting developers excites you, this is the perfect opportunity to make a lasting impact.

Location: This is a remote role based in the EMEA region. Candidates will be expected to be located within this region.

• Influencing and driving design, architecture, and feature decisions across distributed teams to ensure high‑impact solutions.
• Crafting exceptional, API‑first Python code with unit tests, delivering robust, well‑structured systems that scale.
• Diagnosing and resolving complex technical challenges, implementing high‑quality fixes that enhance performance and reliability.
• Mentoring and uplifting fellow engineers, leading code reviews that reinforce best practices and elevate team excellence.
• Enjoying the freedom of remote work while staying globally engaged. Travelling internationally 2 to 4 times a year to collaborate in key internal discussions and industry‑leading external events—expanding your network, sharing expertise, and shaping innovation on a global stage.

• You love technology, working with brilliant people, and solving interesting problems.
• You are a strategic thinker who thrives on solving complex challenges and driving innovation.
• You are curious, adaptable, and articulate with strong leadership and collaboration skills.
• You have proven technical excellence in Python development and delivering high‑quality, production‑ready code.
• You have expertise in maintaining and improving large‑scale web applications and database management (Postgre
  
  SQL a plus).
• You have a deep understanding of integration, infrastructure, and operations in distributed environments.
• You have a security‑focused mindset, ensuring robust implementation at every stage of development.
• You have a familiarity with Ubuntu as a development and deployment platform.
• You have a solid grasp of software packaging systems, including Debian/Ubuntu packages.
• You have a Bachelor's or equivalent in Computer Science, STEM or similar degree.

• 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.
• An…