Ubuntu Software Engineer

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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.

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 on a daily basis. We recruit on a global basis and set a very high standard for people joining the company.

We expect excellence.

We are hiring engineers to work across the breadth of our Ubuntu Engineering organization – engineers who care deeply for quality, performance and resilience in software, and who are just as comfortable designing and building new software as they are with packaging, integrating, testing and shipping the catalog of open source software provided by the Ubuntu repositories.

• Foundations
  : maintaining foundational software: architectures, package managers, compilers, tool chains, bootloaders, file systems and core utilities
• Server
  : leading the design, evolution and future of our Ubuntu Server distribution
• Desktop
  : driving Ubuntu Desktop, our future immutable desktop:
  Ubuntu Core Desktop, WSL, gaming technology, and a suite of modern applications for the desktop crafted with Flutter
• Debcrafters
  : a new team responsible for the forward movement, maintenance and overall health of the Ubuntu archive: one of the most abundant repositories of open source software available today

• Development
  : design, build and ship new foundational systems software and applications in Rust, Go, Flutter, and Python
• Architecture
  : engineer the integration of open source from boot firmware to cloud applications deployment
• Packaging
  : a combination of Debian and Snap packaging to ship software in the distribution
• Automation
  : build and maintain the machinery responsible for building, testing and shipping Ubuntu
• Distro Engineering
  : the maintenance and evolution of a Linux distribution and its repositories

Based on the first round of interviews, we identify specific teams where you might be an excellent fit and conduct second‑round interviews with those teams.

• Design, build and ship software in Rust, Go and Python
• Package, integrate, test and upload open source software to the Ubuntu repositories
• Debug system‑level issues and deliver robust solutions
• Author and improve technical and community documentation
• Contribute to upstream and neighboring open source projects
• Collaborate as part of a globally distributed team
• Mentor colleagues to build skills and understanding
• Develop and improve processes to more efficiently fulfill our goals

• Exceptional academic track record from high school and university
• Undergraduate degree in Computer Science or STEM, or a compelling narrative about an alternative path
• Drive and a track record of going above and beyond expectations
• Demonstrated passion for open source software
• Significant experience with Rust, Go, Python, Flutter or C/C++
• Professional written and spoken English
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to travel twice a year, for company events up to two weeks each

• Experience with Linux distributions and distribution engineering
• Experience with software packaging and distribution mechanisms
• Understanding of build systems and tool chains, including for cross‑compilation
• Performance or Security Engineering experience

We consider geographical location, experience, and performance in shaping…