MLOps Field Engineer

About Canonical

Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems, notably Ubuntu, to global enterprise and technology markets. Ubuntu is widely adopted in breakthrough enterprise initiatives spanning public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation, and IoT. Their clientele includes top public cloud providers, silicon vendors, and industry leaders. Canonical champions global distributed collaboration, with over 1200 colleagues across 75+ countries and minimal office-based roles. Teams gather two to four times annually in diverse global locations for strategy alignment.

The company is founder-led, profitable, and experiencing growth.

The Opportunity: MLOps Field Engineer

As an MLOps Field Engineer at Canonical, you will empower global companies to integrate AI/ML into their operations. This involves leveraging cutting-edge open source capabilities on public and private cloud infrastructure, Linux, and Kubernetes. The team provides expert insights to resolve real-world customer challenges, fostering enterprise adoption of Ubuntu, Kubeflow, MLFlow, Feast, DVC, and related analytics, machine learning, and data technologies. A core objective is to develop the world's premier open source data platform, encompassing traditional SQL, NoSQL data stores, and the mechanisms for transforming data into actionable insights and models.

This role is ideal for MLOps engineers who thrive on customer engagement and problem-solving within the presales cycle, as well as solutions architects adept at developing solutions through architecture, presentations, and training. A strong focus will be on designing ML architectures for external customers, rather than software development.

We seek technically proficient candidates with a business-oriented mindset and a drive for commercial success. This position is part of our global Field Engineering team, working closely with enterprise sales leads. You will be tasked with solving complex problems in modern data architectures, such as training LLMs on hybrid cloud Kubernetes clusters with GPU sharing, processing 10 million real-time financial events, or enabling object detection across 10,000 parallel 4K video streams.

Location

Canonical operates as a largely remote organization, with colleagues working from home. We are expanding teams across EMEA, Americas, and APAC time zones, making this role accessible to candidates from nearly any country.

What Your Day Will Look Like

Members of the global Field Engineering team act as Linux and cloud solutions architects for our customers, designing private and public cloud solutions fitting their workload needs. They serve as hands-on cloud consultants, deploying, testing, and transitioning solutions to support or managed services teams upon project completion. Additionally, they function as software engineers, utilizing Python to develop Kubernetes operators and Linux open source infrastructure-as-code.

• Work across the entire Linux stack, from kernel, networking, storage, to applications.
• Architect cloud infrastructure solutions including Kubernetes, Kubeflow, OpenStack, and Spark.
• Deliver solutions on-premise or within public clouds (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud).
• Collect customer business requirements and provide advice on Ubuntu and relevant open source applications.
• Foster a healthy, collaborative engineering culture aligned with company values.
• Present and demonstrate Ubuntu Pro and AI/ML capabilities to prospective and existing clients.
• Liaise with product teams, providing feedback to influence roadmap development.
• Collaborate effectively with your sales team to achieve common targets.
• Engage in global travel up to 30% of the time for internal events, external events, and customer meetings.

What We Are Looking For In You

• Exceptional academic track record from both high school and university.
• Undergraduate degree in a technical subject or a compelling alternative path.
• Experience in data engineering, MLOps, or big data solutions deployment.
• Proficiency with relevant programming languages such as Python, R, or Rust.
• Confidence to offer feedback and share ideas respectfully.
• Proven ability to exceed expectations and deliver outstanding results.
• Demonstrated personal commitment to continuous learning and development.
• Practical knowledge of Linux, virtualization, containers, and networking.
• Business-minded technology thinker and problem solver.
• Knowledge of cloud computing concepts and leaders (Kubernetes, AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Interest in large-scale enterprise open source, private clouds, machine learning, AI, data, and analytics.
• Intermediate level Python programming skills.
• Passion for technology, evidenced by personal projects.
• Strong work ethic and confidence to excel among motivated colleagues.
• Professional written and spoken English with excellent presentation skills.
• Experience with Linux (Debian or Ubuntu preferred).
• Excellent interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability.
• A dynamic individual who embraces new projects and enjoys interaction.
• Appreciative of diversity and effective in a multi-cultural, multi-national organization.
• Thoughtful, self-motivated, and results-oriented with a strong drive to meet commitments.
• Ability to travel internationally for company events (up to two weeks) and customer meetings.

What You’ll Learn

• Architecting and deploying AI/ML infrastructures, data processing pipelines, and multi-cluster distributed training.
• A wide range of open source applications and skills.
• Direct customer engagement across diverse businesses.
• Hands-on exposure to a broad spectrum of emerging technologies and tools.

What We Offer Colleagues

Canonical offers competitive compensation based on geographical location, experience, and performance, reviewed annually. In addition to base pay, a performance-driven annual bonus or commission is provided. Benefits reflect company values and include:

• Distributed work environment with twice-yearly in-person team sprints.
• Personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year.
• Annual compensation review.
• Recognition rewards.
• Annual holiday leave.
• Maternity and paternity leave.
• Team Member Assistance Program & Wellness Platform.
• Opportunity for travel to new locations to meet colleagues.
• Priority Pass and travel upgrades for long-haul company events.

Key skills/competency

• MLOps
• Data Engineering
• Kubernetes
• Public Cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Linux
• Python
• Open Source
• Solutions Architecture
• AI/ML Infrastructure
• Customer Engagement