About Canonical
Canonical is a global software company and the publisher of Ubuntu, one of the world’s most popular open-source operating systems. Founded in 2004, Canonical is headquartered in London, UK, with a remote-first workforce spanning over 70 countries. The company provides enterprise support and services for Ubuntu and related open-source technologies, empowering businesses to scale securely in the cloud, data centres, and edge environments. Known for its strong commitment to innovation, Canonical supports a range of industries including finance, automotive, telecommunications, and government, and collaborates with leading tech firms worldwide.
About the Role
The organisation is seeking an experienced Senior Software Engineer to play a key leadership role within the development team. This position involves contributing to the enhancement of engineering processes, providing support to management in overseeing daily operations, and offering mentorship to junior team members. The successful candidate will take full responsibility for specific functional areas—guiding them through the complete lifecycle from architecture and coding to deployment and ongoing support.
Core Responsibilities
- Lead the end-to-end development and upkeep of scalable, cloud-based system features, ensuring reliability in complex, distributed environments.
- Engage constructively with a remote-first team to plan and execute technical solutions.
- Troubleshoot challenging problems and contribute openly to upstream open-source communities.
- Collaborate with a diverse group of skilled engineers across various specialisations.
- Participate in technical discussions and contribute to effective decision-making processes.
- Provide mentorship and guidance to junior colleagues, helping strengthen the overall capability and cohesion of the engineering group.
- Operate remotely with occasional international travel (2–4 weeks annually) for conferences, team gatherings, and partner engagements.
Skills & Requirements
Key Attributes and Qualifications
- Demonstrated experience in delivering robust software solutions using the Go programming language in a professional setting
- Openness to occasional international travel, up to four times annually, to participate in team gatherings and strategic events
- Practical expertise in building and maintaining complex, distributed, and high-concurrency systems
- Strong command of written and spoken English, with a particular ability to communicate clearly in remote and digital workspaces
- Academic excellence, with a strong performance record at secondary level and ideally at university
- Familiarity with agile development processes and iterative project delivery
Desirable Additional Expertise
While not mandatory, the following areas of knowledge would be advantageous:
- Proficiency with container ecosystems such as Kubernetes, Docker, or LXD
- Development experience using systems-level languages like Rust, C, or C++
- Familiarity with software packaging and distribution (e.g., snaps, Debian packaging)
- Understanding of network protocols and infrastructure
- Background in Linux environments and open-source technologies
- Exposure to infrastructure automation tools like Puppet, Ansible, or Chef
- Practical knowledge of cloud platforms and services
- Enthusiasm for maintaining high standards in software testing and code quality
- Experience writing Terraform plugins or working within infrastructure-as-code environments
- Competence in managing and querying both SQL and NoSQL databases
- Participation in distributed, open-source development teams or community-led contributions
- Evidence of prior open-source involvement or contributions to public repositories
Benefits
- Compensation packages are tailored by taking into account location, individual experience, and job performance across all regions.
- Benefits programs are carefully structured to address local circumstances while maintaining fairness and consistency on a global scale.
- Salaries are reviewed on an annual basis, with more frequent assessments for entry-level and associate roles to reward exceptional achievements.
- Alongside a competitive base salary, employees are eligible for an annual bonus tied to their performance.
- A comprehensive benefits package is offered to all staff, designed to align with the company’s core principles and culture.