Kernel Engineer at Canonical

• The Canonical Linux Kernel Organization has teams in every time zone. We have opportunities for technical leadership, engineering management, and engineering directorships. The team is responsible for all supported Ubuntu Linux kernels, on all platforms and architectures from small embedded devices to standard desktop/server systems to large scale cloud environments, mainframes and supercomputers.
• We care most about hardware and virtualization enablement, security, reliability and performance. There are a number of areas where we lead upstream, but for the most part we are interested in ensuring production readiness and performance for the latest patchsets, rather than subsystem maintenance or evolution.

Kernel Team projects include but are not limited to:

• Ubuntu Linux kernel plan, execution, benchmarking and stress testing
• Optimised kernels for key silicon and cloud partners
• Confidential computing and next-generation security primitives
• Developer platforms such as Raspberry Pi and RISC-V
• Enabling Ubuntu on a wide range of embedded systems
• Kernel Livepatch, which delivers critical kernel fixes without rebooting
• FIPS compliance
• Real-Time and Low Latency kernel variants and patchsets
• Virtualisation or abstraction engines
• Container technology
• Security with AppArmor, SECCOMP, namespaces and more
• Networking - in particular performance and security
• Storage - we are particularly interested in Ceph and DRBD

We hire candidates of all experience levels from recent university graduates through seasoned industry experts. We select those who are enthusiastic to work in multiple areas including security mitigation, feature development, patching and test. You must have outstanding academic results, a background in software engineering, be motivated to work in a distributed team and willing to travel globally twice a year for company engineering events.

What your day will look like

• Collaborate regularly and proactively with a globally distributed team
• Work closely with silicon, cloud, or hardware manufacturers
• Diagnose and resolve issues in the kernel
• Take personal responsibility for a flavour of the Ubuntu Linux kernel
• Improve tooling and automation for delivery and test of Ubuntu Linux kernels
• Submit, review, and apply kernel patches

What we are looking for in you

• 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
• Drive and a track record of going above-and-beyond expectations
• Well-organised, self-starting and able to deliver to fixed schedules
• Professional manner interacting with colleagues, partners, and community
• Ability to communicate effectively in English, both written and oral
• Significant programming experience in C
• Solid background with git
• Broad knowledge of the Linux kernel and kernel subsystems
• Demonstrated experience with kernel patching and debugging
• Understanding of Linux kernel upstream processes and release cycle
• Strong grasp of device drivers, BSP's, and other low level system engineering
• Professional written and spoken English
• Experience with Linux (Debian or Ubuntu preferred)
• Excellent interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability
• Passion, thoughtfulness, and self-motivation
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments
• Ability to travel twice a year, for company events up to two weeks each