Containerization & Virtualisation Engineer

Canonical; Los Angeles (CA); Remote; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative company is seeking a Containerization & Virtualisation Engineer to join their remote-first team. This role is perfect for exceptional software engineers skilled in Go, Rust, or C/C++, focused on developing next-generation open source virtualization and container technology. You'll collaborate with a distributed team, engage with upstream communities, and contribute to vital projects that enhance cloud infrastructure and application isolation. With a commitment to open source excellence and a supportive work environment, this opportunity offers the chance to make a significant impact in the tech landscape while enjoying flexible work arrangements.

Benefits

Annual learning and development budget of USD 2,000

Recognition rewards

Holiday leave

Maternity/Paternity leave

Employee Assistance Program

Opportunities to travel and meet colleagues

Biannual in-person team sprints

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science or related field is essential.
• Experience with open source virtualization or container technology is crucial.

Responsibilities

• Design and specify new features while building consensus.
• Engage with upstream communities and conduct security reviews.
• Write high-quality code and review code from other engineers.

Skills

Go

Rust

C/C++

Python

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)

Open Source Virtualization

Kernel Development

Interpersonal Skills

Performance Engineering

Security Analysis

Education

Degree in Computer Science or STEM

Exceptional Academic Record

Job description

Join to apply for the Containerization & Virtualisation Engineer role at Canonical.

Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets. Our platform, Ubuntu, is widely used in enterprise initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation, and IoT. Our customers include top public cloud and silicon providers, and industry leaders across sectors. We are a founder-led, profitable, and growing company with a remote-first culture, employing over 1000 colleagues across 70+ countries.

This is a general selection process for software engineers specializing in virtualization and container technology—from kernel to userspace. We seek exceptional Go, Rust, or C/C++ software engineers interested in developing next-generation open source VMM, container technology, or related networking and storage solutions.

Container, virtualization, and cloud infrastructure are essential to modern software deployment. We invest in open source projects related to application isolation, workload orchestration, system or OCI containers, microservices architecture, and cloud infrastructure. Examples of ongoing projects include:

• RustVMM, a potential new hypervisor for Linux emphasizing performance, security, and operability, using Rust.
• Rockcraft, enhancing Docker image quality, security, and consistency.
• LXD, a system container and VM manager used on Ubuntu, ChromeOS, and other Linux platforms.
• Kubernetes-related projects: MicroK8s and Charmed Kubernetes.
• Charmed OpenStack, OVN/OVS, and Ceph for cloud platforms.

We hire system-level C/C++, Golang, Rust, and Python developers to work on security-critical, performance-critical, and mission-critical code, focusing on software delivery, containers, security, sandboxing, and orchestration.

Location: Remote roles available in every time zone.

Responsibilities include:

• Designing and specifying new features, building consensus.
• Engaging with upstream communities.
• Conducting security analysis and reviews.
• Creating and monitoring performance benchmarks.
• Collaborating with a distributed team.
• Writing high-quality code for new features and bug fixes.
• Reviewing code from other engineers.

Requirements:

• Exceptional academic record from high school and university.
• Degree in Computer Science or STEM, or a compelling alternative background.
• Experience with open source virtualization or container tech.
• Experience working in the kernel or low-level systems.
• Professional English communication skills.
• Experience with Linux (Debian or Ubuntu preferred).
• Interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, accountability.
• Passion, self-motivation, and good communication skills.
• Result-oriented with a drive to meet commitments.
• Ability to travel twice a year for company events.

Additional valued skills:

• Performance engineering and security experience.

What we offer:

• Distributed work environment with biannual in-person team sprints.
• Annual learning and development budget of USD 2,000.
• Annual compensation review.
• Recognition rewards, holiday leave, maternity/paternity leave, Employee Assistance Program.
• Opportunities to travel and meet colleagues.

About Canonical:

Canonical is a pioneering open source technology company, publisher of Ubuntu, and a leader in AI, IoT, and cloud platforms. We operate globally with a high standard for excellence and a remote-first culture since 2004. We value diversity and are committed to equal opportunity employment.