Software Engineer - Solutions Engineering

Canonical; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Learning budget

Annual bonus

Holiday leave

Parental leave

Wellness platform

Team sprints in person

Job summary

Canonical is seeking a senior software engineer to lead and inspire a regional engineering team focused on open source operations tooling and infrastructure. You will work with Python and Golang across the Linux stack, shape monitoring and alerting systems, and drive DevOps improvements within Ubuntu-based platforms.

The role emphasizes distributed collaboration, agile practices, and a commitment to open source. Expect global travel up to 10% and a dynamic, remote-friendly work environment.

Qualifications

• Strong Python and Go development experience.
• Experience leading software engineering teams.
• Solid understanding of cloud computing concepts and technologies.
• Practical knowledge of Linux and networking.
• Willingness to travel up to 10% for internal and external events.

Responsibilities

• Design and deliver open source software operations code using Python and Golang.
• Work across Linux stack from kernel to networking and applications.
• Shape high-quality monitoring and alerting infrastructure for open source projects
• Rethink Open Source operations for customers and community.
• Demonstrate sound engineering and testing practices in code and documentation.
• Follow agile software development practices and coach colleagues.
• Grow a collaborative engineering culture aligned with company values.
• Travel up to 10% of time for events and engagements.

Skills

Python development

Golang

Cloud computing

Linux

Networking

Team leadership

Education

University degree in Computer Science or related software engineering field

Tools

Kubernetes

OpenStack

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 1200+ colleagues in 75+ 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.

Help us shape the future of open source IT, devops, and IS, from bare metal to containers. Our goal is to revolutionise open source application and infrastructure operations.

We want to transform the world of software operations by enabling true model-driven operations via next-generation infrastructure-as-code. This will allow companies to run very efficient bare-metal operations for high-performance computing, private cloud, data lakes, AI/ML, and analytics. We need to invent some new technology, and we need to build some new products; we are therefore looking for someone who can lead and inspire a regional software engineering team to fulfill this initiative.

The Solutions Engineering team works in close collaboration with our managed infrastructure operations team, which runs many private OpenStack clouds and Kubernetes clusters for customers around the world. This enables us to improve our infra-as-code products based on our own real experience, mirroring that of our users and customers. We work in Python, creating open source automation capabilities that simplify operations for anybody, anywhere, who is building on Ubuntu.

Most of the team's work involves pure Python software development focused on enabling true DevOps workflows. We strive for high quality in both design, documentation, tests, and performance as we enhance operations code packages and Ubuntu itself in order to ensure our platform is the easiest, most robust, and best performing for driving your infrastructure.

This role is ideal for software engineers who want to work in a global team, have a passion for distributed systems and cloud computing, and an interest in the entire Linux stack - from kernel to networking to virtualization and containers.

What you will do

• Work in Python and Golang to design and deliver open source software operations code
• Work with the entire Linux stack, from kernel, networking, storage, to applications
• Shape high quality open source monitoring and alerting infrastructure
• Rethink open source operations for our customers and open source community
• Demonstrate sound engineering design and testing principles in your code
• Follow agile software development practices
• Coach and develop your colleagues where you have insights
• Grow a healthy, collaborative engineering culture in line with the company values
• Global travel up to 10% of time for internal and external events

Who you are

• You are a passionate Python developer
• You are organised and want your team to deliver timely, high quality software
• You understand the importance of reliable operations in an agile world
• You have sound knowledge of cloud computing concepts & technologies
• You have practical knowledge of Linux and networking
• You are a lifelong learner

Bonus points for

• You have graduated with a university degree in Computer Science or related software engineering field
• Golang programming skills

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 recognize 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 2,000 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

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 of software. 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. Most colleagues at Canonical have worked from home since our inception in 2004. Working here is a step into the future and will challenge you to think differently, work smarter, learn new skills, and raise your game.

Canonical is an equal opportunity employer

We are proud to foster a workplace free from discrimination. Diversity of experience, perspectives, and background create a better work environment and better products. Whatever your identity, we will give your application fair consideration.

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