Rust Engineering Lead - Linux and Open Source

Canonical; London; Remote; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Canonical seeks Rust Engineering Leads for their London office to drive adoption of Rust within their offerings. The roles appeal to exceptional software engineers eager to utilize Rust in system-level services, with opportunities for growth and collaboration in a fully distributed environment.

Benefits

Distributed work environment with team sprints

Personal learning and development budget

Annual compensation review

Maternity and paternity leave

Qualifications

• An exceptional academic track record from both high school and university.
• Experience designing and writing high-quality Rust software on Linux.
• Professional written and spoken English.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement well-tested and well-documented software in Rust.
• Advocate for Rust adoption in Canonical and upstream projects.
• Collaborate with community and colleagues on technical specifications.

Skills

Linux

Rust

System-Level Software

APIs

Collaboration

Interpersonal Skills

Education

Undergraduate degree in Computer Science or STEM

Tools

LXD

MicroK8s

SnapD

Ubuntu Core

Job description

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Rust Engineering Lead - Linux and Open Source, London

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Client:

Canonical

Location:

London, United Kingdom

Job Category:

Other

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EU work permit required:

Yes

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Job Reference:

1355689ccea0

Job Views:

10

Posted:

25.06.2025

Expiry Date:

09.08.2025

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Job Description:

Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets. Our platform, Ubuntu, is very widely used in breakthrough enterprise initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation and IoT. Our customers include the world's leading public cloud and silicon providers, and industry leaders in many sectors. The company is a pioneer of global distributed collaboration, with + colleagues in 70+ countries and very few office based roles. Teams meet two to four times yearly in person, in interesting locations around the world, to align on strategy and execution.

The company is founder led, profitable and growing.

We are hiring Rust Engineering Leads of all levels of experience to drive the adoption of this exciting language into the full range of Canonical offerings, starting with Ubuntu but also our own projects and open source offerings. We see Rust as an important new language for system level services and capabilities, and a natural evolution path for the sort of software that would traditionally have been written in C or C++. We believe that there is an opportunity to rethink the foundations of future Linux systems with Rust as a central driver of change in everything from the system firmware and embedded software, bootloaders, up through the kernel and input handling, all the way to the desktop.

We also want to ensure that Ubuntu is the very best platform for Rust development, offering easy access to the widest range of tooling and capabilities that support cutting edge open source and enterprise development.

This job posting is our general process for Rust engineers of all levels of seniority, for all relevant teams at Canonical. Apply here if you are an exceptional software engineer who prefers to work in Rust. After the first round of interviews we’ll find the best fit product team at Canonical for you to progress your application based on your personal interests.

Canonical has substantial projects in Python, Go, C, C++ and we are starting to invest in Rust. For front-end development we prefer React and Flutter.

Join us in our mission to deliver innovative open-source solutions to individuals and enterprises around the world. We expect the highest engineering standards and strong motivation to get things done well in a fully home-based and distributed environment. These roles require extensive personal experience with Linux - the more different versions of Linux the better!

Location : we have open roles for Rust engineers in every time zone.

What your day will look like

• Design and implement well-tested and well-documented software in Rust
• Advocate for Rust adoption in Canonical and upstream projects
• Identify projects and codebases that could be prioritised for Rust adoption
• Debug and fix issues encountered by your users
• Participate in our engineering process through code and architectural reviews
• Collaborate with community and colleagues on technical specifications
• Seek improvements to engineering and operations practices
• In some cases, deploy and operate services developed by the team
• Contribute to the success of your product through technical advocacy

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
• For more senior roles, experience building, deploying, and operating distributed systems and APIs
• Drive and a track record of going above-and-beyond expectations
• Well-organised, self-starting and able to deliver to schedule
• Appreciative of diversity, polite and effective in a multi-cultural, multi-national organisation
• Professional manner interacting with colleagues, partners, and community
• Experience designing and writing high-quality Rust software on Linux
• Experience with and passion for Linux at the system level
• Professional written and spoken English
• The work ethic and confidence to shine alongside motivated colleagues
• Excellent interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability
• Passion, thoughtfulness, and self-motivation
• Result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments
• Ability to travel twice a year, for company events up to two weeks each

Nice-to-have skills we would value

• Experience with LXD, MicroK8s, SnapD, IoT, Juju, Ubuntu Core, Ubuntu Pro
• Performance engineering and security experience

What we offer colleagues

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 or commission. 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, 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