Developer Relations Engineer at Canonical - Remote

Job4Travelers; United States; Remote; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Priority Pass membership

Travel upgrades for events

$2,000 learning and development budget

Twice-yearly in-person team sprints

Annual compensation review

Employee Assistance Programme

Travel opportunities to meet teams

Job summary

Canonical, a remote-first company, invites a Developer Relations Engineer to engage with global developer communities and open-source ecosystems. The role blends engineering, strategy, and communication to improve developer experiences and influence product direction.

The position emphasizes Linux packaging know-how, strong public speaking, and traveling for conferences and partner events, with a flexible, async-friendly work culture.

Qualifications

• Demonstrable passion for and engagement in open-source software.
• Hands-on Linux software packaging experience with Snaps, Debs, Charms, Rocks, PIP, and containers.
• Contributed to open-source communities, software, and documentation.
• Engaging speaker and presenter with ability to travel globally.

Responsibilities

• Participate in team product meetings from strategy to day-by-day progress.
• Maintain conversations with developer communities across IRC, social media, forums, meetups.
• Collaborate with other teams to establish common approaches.
• Help solve technical problems and contribute to developer documentation.
• Create technical articles, presentations, or workshops; present at events.

Skills

Open-source enthusiast

Linux experience

Public speaking

Community engagement

Tools

Snaps

Debs

Charms

Rocks

PIP

Containers

Job description

Developer Relations Engineer at Canonical - Remote — Newark

Canonical is one of the most nomad-friendly employers in tech — fully remote since 2004 with no office requirements. This Developer Relations Engineer role is genuinely location-independent, covering EMEA and American time zones, with the hint of APAC coverage as well. That broad timezone spread suggests some scheduling flexibility rather than strict 9-to-5 hours in a single zone.

Async-friendliness: Canonical's long-standing remote culture implies strong async norms, though community engagement (IRC, forums, social media) and conference presentations will require some real-time participation. Expect occasional overlap with multiple timezones depending on your community activities.

Visa considerations: With no country restriction, popular nomad visa destinations are fully accessible:

• Portugal (D8 Nomad Visa): Lisbon living costs ~$2,000–2,800/month — well within reach for this role's likely $80k–$120k+ range.
• Thailand (LTR Visa or METV): Bangkok costs ~$1,200–1,800/month, leaving excellent savings margin.

Travel perks are a standout: The Priority Pass membership and long-haul travel upgrades are genuinely valuable for a nomad. Twice-yearly in-person sprints mean you'll travel to meet colleagues regardless — blending work travel with exploration. The $2,000 annual L&D budget can also cover conference fees, relevant for a DevRel role that requires attending tech events globally.

As the publisher of Ubuntu, we serve millions of developers building for the cloud, IoT, and data science. We aim to make open source easier and more reliable for innovators and enterprises.

We have created a new Developer Relations team to engage directly with open source communities and developer-centric organisations. We hope both to communicate our vision and products for better open source development experiences, and also to have a better feedback loop from those audiences to shape our offerings and priorities.

A Developer Relations Engineer is a technical expert, strategist, and communicator with deep empathy for developers. This discipline combines practical engineering skills with firm diplomacy across organisational boundaries, in both directions. Like our audience, a Developer Relations Engineer is never satisfied with the status quo, and is driven by an insatiable curiosity to find better ways to get things done. They are problem-solvers and inventors who understand people's needs and love the way that tools can be adapted to meet them. They stay current with tech trends and provide insights and guidance while fostering innovation.

Location: We are building our initial DevRel team in Europe, Middle East, African, and American time zones.

What your day will look like

In a typical day, a Developer Relations Engineer might:

• Take part in team product meetings, at levels from strategy to day-by-day development progress, contributing insight and expertise
• Maintain conversations with developer community members wherever they may be found — IRC, social media, product forums, meet‑ups, and more
• Work with colleagues in other teams in the company, as part of efforts to help establish commonality and consistent approaches
• Help solve specific technical problems that users or colleagues have identified
• Contribute to technical documentation to ensure that developer users' needs are met
• Work on technical articles, presentations, or workshops
• Identify new opportunities and directions for improvement in the developer experience we provide
• Present at conferences, meetups, or technical events

What we are looking for in you

A strong candidate:

• Is a programmer or developer with a demonstrable passion for and engagement in open‑source software
• Has worked with real‑world challenges developing and deploying software using Linux
• Has practical hands‑on experience of Linux software packaging (including Snaps, debs, charms, rocks, PIP, containers)
• Understands current software packaging issues and trends in the Linux ecosystem
• Has been a contributor to open‑source communities, software, and documentation
• Is an engaging, vivacious speaker and presenter
• Can work effectively, tactfully, empathetically, and confidently in contexts where different parties have different perspectives, needs, and understanding
• Builds trust, relationships, and confidence
• Is willing to travel globally twice a year for company events, as well as to upstream and partner events

Additional skills that you might also bring

• Previous experience in a developer advocacy or community role
• In‑depth familiarity with Ubuntu and the Canonical ecosystem of products

What we offer you

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. 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 — we've been working remotely since 2004!
• Personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 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 from your team and others
• Priority Pass for travel and travel upgrades for long‑haul company events

About Canonical

Canonical is a pioneering tech firm at the forefront of the global move to open source. As the company that publishes Ubuntu — one of the most important open source projects and the platform for AI, IoT, and the cloud — we are changing the world on a daily basis. We recruit on a global basis and set a very high standard for people joining the company. We expect excellence; in order to succeed, we need to be the best at what we do.

Canonical has been a remote‑first company since its inception in 2004. Work at Canonical is a step into the future, and will challenge you to think differently, work smarter, learn new skills, and raise your game. Canonical provides a unique window into the world of 21st-century digital business.

Canonical is an equal opportunity employer

Is this Developer Relations Engineer role truly fully remote? Yes — Canonical has operated as a fully distributed, remote‑first company since 2004. There is no office requirement, though the role targets EMEA and American time zones. Two in‑person team sprints per year are expected. What time zones does this role support? The job posting specifies that the initial DevRel team is being built across Europe, Middle East, Africa, and American time zones. The location hint also references APAC, suggesting broad timezone coverage. Is there a salary range for this position? Canonical does not publish salary ranges in this posting. Compensation is determined by geographical location, experience, and performance, and is reviewed annually. A performance‑driven annual bonus is also provided. How much travel is required for this role? The role requires willingness to travel globally at least twice a year for company events, plus attendance at upstream and partner events such as conferences and meetups. Canonical provides a Priority Pass and travel upgrades for long‑haul company events. What Linux packaging experience is required? Candidates should have practical, hands‑on experience with Linux software packaging formats including Snaps, debs, charms, rocks, PIP, and containers, along with an understanding of current packaging trends in the Linux ecosystem.

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