Software Engineer - Solutions Engineering

About Canonical and the Role

Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets, with Ubuntu being a widely used platform in public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation, and IoT initiatives. The company serves global public cloud, silicon providers, and industry leaders. Canonical is a pioneer of global distributed collaboration, boasting 1200+ colleagues across 75+ countries and very few office-based roles. Teams gather two to four times annually in person for strategic alignment. This founder-led company is profitable and growing, aiming to revolutionize open source application and infrastructure operations through next-generation infrastructure-as-code.

As a Software Engineer - Solutions Engineering, you will help shape the future of open source IT, DevOps, and IS, from bare metal to containers. The goal is to enable true model-driven operations for highly efficient bare-metal operations across high-performance computing, private cloud, data lakes, AI/ML, and analytics. This involves inventing new technology and building new products, requiring someone who can lead and inspire a regional software engineering team.

The Solutions Engineering Team

The Solutions Engineering team collaborates closely with our managed infrastructure operations team, which manages numerous private OpenStack clouds and Kubernetes clusters globally. This synergy allows for continuous improvement of infra-as-code products based on real-world experience, mirroring user and customer needs. The team primarily focuses on pure Python software development, creating open source automation capabilities to simplify operations for anyone building on Ubuntu. A strong emphasis is placed on high quality in design, documentation, tests, and performance, enhancing operations code packages and Ubuntu to ensure it remains the easiest, most robust, and best-performing platform for infrastructure.

This role is ideal for software engineers passionate about distributed systems, cloud computing, and the entire Linux stack – from kernel to networking, virtualization, and containers – within a global team environment.

What You Will Do

• Work in Python and Golang to design and deliver open source software operations code.
• Engage with the entire Linux stack, encompassing kernel, networking, storage, and applications.
• Shape high-quality open source monitoring and alerting infrastructure.
• Rethink open source operations for both customers and the broader open source community.
• Apply sound engineering design and testing principles in your code.
• Follow agile software development practices.
• Coach and develop colleagues, sharing your insights.
• Foster a healthy, collaborative engineering culture consistent with Canonical's values.
• Global travel up to 10% for internal and external events.

Who You Are

• A passionate Python developer.
• Organized and committed to delivering timely, high-quality software.
• Understanding of the importance of reliable operations in an agile world.
• Sound knowledge of cloud computing concepts and technologies.
• Practical knowledge of Linux and networking.
• A lifelong learner.

Bonus Points For

• A university degree in Computer Science or a related software engineering field.
• Golang programming skills.

What Canonical Offers

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 ideals, balancing local needs with global fairness, 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 to travel to new locations to meet colleagues.
• Priority Pass and travel upgrades for long-haul company events.

Key skills/competency

• Python
• Open Source
• Cloud Computing
• Linux
• DevOps
• Infrastructure-as-Code
• Distributed Systems
• Kubernetes
• OpenStack
• Golang