Ubuntu Engineering Lead

Job Description

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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 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 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. The company is founder led, profitable and growing. We are hiring engineering leaders to work across the breadth of our Ubuntu Engineering organisation – leaders who care deeply for quality, performance and resilience in software, and have a proven track record for building, nurturing and developing high performing engineering teams. This leadership track includes roles for managers and Senior+ engineers alike. At Canonical, managers are expected to stay technical and close to the code, and our Senior+ engineers lead and develop software projects, as well as the processes and people around them. Our teams integrate the freshest open source software, provide robust upgrade paths and engineer the future of Ubuntu. Ubuntu is not just the world's most deployed open source operating system, it's a platform that enables innovation for millions of users across the globe. Our community represents the full breadth of the developer experience; from students, hobbyists and freelancers to high performance engineering and creative teams in corporate and academic environments.

Key Ubuntu Teams

• Foundations: maintaining foundational software: architectures, package managers, compilers, toolchains, bootloaders, filesystems 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

You will be accountable for your technical roadmap, and responsible for your team: helping them grow as engineers, do important and satisfying work, and have a great time while doing it. Technical leadership experience and a background in software engineering are necessary prerequisites for this role. You will be expected to lead, challenge, and develop strong engineers, positively influence the culture, facilitate technical delivery, and work with your team on strategy and execution.

Location

We have remote roles open in every time zone.

The Role Encompasses

• Leading their teams in elevating the Linux developer and user experience


• Designing, building and shipping high quality, performant software in Rust, Go and Python


• Demonstrating sound engineering principles through architecture, development and code reviews


• Taking responsibility for planning, estimation and execution


• Working with product management to define the vision and strategy for Ubuntu


• Setting expectations with other engineering teams, senior management, and external stakeholders


• Offering coaching, mentoring, technical feedback and hands-on career development


• Contributing to upstream and neighboring open source projects


• Optimizing the distribution for performance, reliability, and security


• Debugging complex system-level issues and delivering robust solutions


• Authoring and improving technical and community documentation

What We Are Looking For

• An exceptional academic track record from both high school and university


• Undergraduate degree in Computer Science or STEM, or a compelling narrative about your alternative path


• Ability to drive and deliver technical work streams going above and beyond expectations


• Lead and coach others to deliver exceptional engineering work


• A 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


• Result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments


• Ability to travel twice a year, for company events up to two weeks each

Nice-to-Have Skills

• Experience contributing to or leading open source projects


• Experience with Linux distributions/distribution engineering


• Experience with software packaging and distribution mechanisms


• Performance or Security Engineering experience

We Offer

• 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


• Employee Assistance Programme


• Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues


• Priority Pass, 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 on a daily basis. 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. Canonical has been a remote‑first company since its 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 Opportunity Employer

Canonical is an equal opportunity employer. We are proud to foster a workplace free from discrimination. Diversity of experience, perspectives, and background create a better work environment and better products. Whatever your identity, we will give your application fair consideration.