Latest Jobs at Canonical

Description

• This is a general track for applications to any team at Canonical that works with the Linux kernel, across all seniority levels. Apply here if you are an exceptional software engineer who wants to work on both stable and cutting edge Linux kernels for Ubuntu and its wider ecosystem.
• Canonical has a large and rapidly growing kernel team that underpins Ubuntu and open source more widely across a very wide range of hardware and use cases. We partner with the biggest kernel contributors - the silicon companies - to ensure that their work reaches the widest possible audience as quickly  as possible, with a 10 year enterprise security commitment.
• 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.
• Location: Working from home, worldwide.   We have kernel teams and openings in every time zone and with the notable exception of Taipei, Taiwan, have no offices and therefore no pressure to work from an office.

Responsibilities
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

Requirements
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

Additional skills that you might also bring:

• Python and Bash scripting
• Prior experience with Ubuntu/Debian/Snap packaging
• Performance engineering and security experience

What We Offer You

• We consider geographical location, experience, and performance in shaping compensation worldwide. We revisit compensation annually (and more often for graduates and associates) to ensure we recognise outstanding performance.
• In addition to base pay, we offer a performance-driven annual bonus. We provide all team members with additional benefits, which reflect our values and ideals. We balance our programs to meet local needs and ensure fairness globally.
• 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

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Description

• Canonical, the publisher of Ubuntu, is growing its Linux kernel engineering team significantly. We are creating new teams in EMEA, Americas and APAC time zones that work holistically on the Ubuntu kernel and is therefore seeking multiple candidates to lead these new teams.
• These teams handle upstream development and the expression of new kernel capabilities in Ubuntu, they work with silicon and cloud partners to optimise the Ubuntu kernel for CPUs and hypervisors, they handle CVEs, livepatch and security updates to LTS and current release kernels, and they work with partners to ensure that Ubuntu works first time on every possible piece of hardware.  
• This role would suit either an experienced manager of high performing software development teams, or a very proficient technical lead who is excited to take on a management responsibility.
• You will need to be passionate about Linux and aspire to be an integral part in it’s distribution to millions of users worldwide.
• As an engineering manager at Canonical, your primary responsibility is to 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: Working from home, worldwide. We have kernel teams and openings in every time zone and with the notable exception of Taipei, Taiwan, have no offices and therefore no pressure to work from an office.

Responsibilities
What your day will look like

• Lead a distributed team of engineers in your time zone
• Develop your team through coaching, mentoring, leading by example, and feedback
• Support timely delivery of core and specialised Ubuntu kernels
• Oversee commercial engagements that require custom kernel engineering
• Ensure an ongoing commitment to strict quality and reliability standards
• Engage with other teams at Canonical, the open source community and commercial partners
• Work from home with travel globally 2-3 times a year for up to two weeks, for internal and external engineering events

Requirements
What we are looking for in you:

• Significant programming experience in C, with Python, Golang, or other like languages also highly regarded
• Substantial experience with Linux kernel internals and concepts
• Solid understanding Linux kernel development principles
• Demonstrated experience managing or leading a team of software engineers
• Contributed to an open source project in the past
• Understanding of agile software development methodologies
• Ability to communicate effectively in English, both written and oral

What We Offer You

• Your base pay will depend on various factors including your geographical location, level of experience, knowledge and skills.
• In addition to the benefits above, certain roles are also eligible for additional benefits and rewards including annual bonuses and sales incentives based on revenue or utilisation. Our compensation philosophy is to ensure equity right across our global workforce.  
• In addition to a competitive base pay, we provide all team members with additional benefits, which reflect our values and ideals. Please note that additional benefits may apply depending on the work location and, for more information on these, you can ask in the later stages of the recruitment process.
• Fully remote working environment - we’ve been working remotely since 2004!
• Personal learning and development budget of 2,000USD per annum
• Annual compensation review
• Recognition rewards
• Annual holiday leave
• Parental Leave
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues at ‘sprints’

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Description

• Every year we select new junior professionals into the Canonical kernel team, to work on the Linux kernel for Ubuntu. If you’ve enjoyed operating systems in your coursework or current role, you are confident in your ability to write high quality C and possibly Rust, and are ready to take the plunge and see how it all works, then this would be a great place to pursue your next career stage.
• We are a global team working to ship the world's most widely used Linux kernel, across the very latest silicon and cloud, where you can apply and grow your software engineering skills.
• The Canonical Kernel Team builds and maintains all supported Ubuntu Linux kernels for a variety of platforms and architectures from small embedded devices to standard desktop/server systems to large-scale cloud environments. In your first year you will tackle serious initiatives, which include but are not limited to:
  • Optimized solutions for key Silicon and Cloud partner platforms
  • Developer platforms such as Raspberry Pi and RISC-V
  • Enabling Ubuntu on a wide range of embedded systems
  • Security hardening and exploit mitigation
  • Third-party driver integration and distribution, such as graphics
  • Expanded driver support for bleeding-edge PC platforms
• We select candidates that are recent university graduates or early career professionals who are enthusiastic to develop kernel-level software in multiple areas including security updates, patching, and testing.
• The successful candidate will have a background in software engineering, be motivated to work in a distributed team and willing and able to travel globally twice a year for company engineering events.
• These are full-time positions available to prospective or recently graduated students.
• Location: We have home-based kernel teams in every timezone.

Responsibilities
What your day will look like:

• Collaborate regularly and proactively with a globally distributed team 
• Learn from senior mentors to demystify the inner workings of the Linux kernel and how it is distributed
• Work closely with external silicon, cloud, or hardware manufacturer delivery teams on bleeding-edge platforms
• Diagnose and resolve issues in the kernel reported by customers, the community, and discovered by your own rigorous testing
• Take personal responsibility for the delivery of various flavors of the Ubuntu Linux kernel
• Improve tooling and automation for delivery and test of Ubuntu Linux kernels
• Submit, review, and apply kernel patches, working with both internal and external upstream maintainers

Requirements
What we are looking for in you:

• Well-organized and motivated self-starter able to thrive in a remote work environment
• Professional manner with colleagues, business partners, and the open-source community
• Ability to communicate effectively in English, both written and verbal
• Programming experience in C and/or Rust
• Familiarity with version control practices, ideally with git
• Understanding of operating system kernel fundamentals
• Ability to travel twice a year for company events of up to two weeks length

Additional skills that you might also bring:

• Interest and experience in Rust
• Python and Bash scripting ability
• Prior experience with Ubuntu/Debian/Snap packaging
• Demonstrated experience with kernel patching and debugging
• Strong grasp of device drivers, BSP’s, and other low level system engineering

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Description

• Ubuntu is the most widely used Linux distribution in the world, and a strong factor in its broad adoption is the security and reliability the Ubuntu Linux kernels provide for their users. 
• Canonical, the company behind the Ubuntu Linux distribution, has an enduring commitment to not only high quality standards for a distribution upon release, but also to provide ongoing security and maintenance updates for its users for up to 10 years for the Long Term Support (LTS) releases.
• The Canonical Linux Kernel Team is looking for individuals with a strong sense of determination to provide ongoing support and security updates for the Ubuntu Linux kernels.  These tasks can range anywhere from diagnosing and resolving kernel issues reported by end users to assessing the latest CVE security exploit notifications for impact and integrating a resolution. 
• Overall, you will be personally responsible for the continual delivery of updates for many of the variations of version, flavor, and architecture of Linux kernel Ubuntu provides.

Responsibilities
What your day will look like:

• Collaborate regularly and proactively with a globally distributed team 
• Respond quickly to assess and mitigate security exploits in the Ubuntu Linux kernel
• Hone your kernel debugging techniques by diagnosing and resolving issues in the kernel reported by customers and the community
• Master the art of Debian and Snap packaging for Linux kernels
• Take personal pride in being directly responsible for the integration, packaging, and rigorous testing to deliver updates to millions of consumers worldwide
• Contribute to the improvement of tooling and automation for the delivery and test of Ubuntu Linux kernels
• Discover new means to ensure even greater Ubuntu reliability by adding and improving kernel test coverage and delivery process improvements
• Utilizing a strong understand of git workflows, submit, review, and apply kernel patches, working with both internal and external upstream maintainers

Requirements
What we are looking for in you:

• Well-organized, self-starting and able to deliver to fixed schedules
• Strong commitment to quality processes and documentation standards
• Demonstrated ability to present oneself in a professional manner when interacting with colleagues, business partners, and the open source community
• Ability to communicate effectively in English, both written and oral
• Significant programming experience in C
• Solid background with git
• Demonstrated experience with operating system kernel patching and debugging

Additional skills that you might also bring:

• Significant Python and Bash scripting ability
• Broad knowledge of the Linux kernel and kernel subsystems
• Knowledge/experience with Linux kernel upstream processes and release cycle
• Prior experience with Ubuntu/Debian/Snap packaging
• Strong grasp of device drivers, BSP’s, and other low level system engineering
• Contributed to or even maintained an open source project in the past or present
• Understanding of CVE classification