Ubuntu Sales Engineer (Entry-Level)

Canonical; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Learning budget $2,000

Travel opportunities

Annual bonus/commission

Team sprints

Employee assistance programme

Job summary

Canonical is hiring an Ubuntu Pro Sales Engineer to help global companies adopt Ubuntu Pro, OpenStack, and related open source technologies. You will work with enterprise customers, delivering demonstrations, shaping technical solutions, and partnering with sales across EMEA, Americas and APAC time zones.

The role fits a technical candidate with Linux, virtualization, and networking experience who thrives in a customer-facing presales environment and is prepared to travel internationally.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a technical subject or equivalent experience.
• Strong written and spoken English for customer conversations.
• Experience in Linux-based environments (Debian/Ubuntu preferred).
• Proven ability to engage customers during presales and translate technical needs into solutions.
• Willingness to travel internationally up to 25% of time.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical conversations with enterprise customers to drive Ubuntu Pro adoption.
• Deliver product demonstrations and tailored proofs of value.
• Collaborate with sales to map customer requirements to Canonical offerings.
• Provide feedback to product teams to influence roadmaps and priorities.

Skills

Linux

Python

Kubernetes

AWS

Azure

GCP

Open source

Presales

English

Education

Bachelor's degree in technical field

Tools

Docker

Git

Virtualization

Networking

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 1000+ colleagues in 70+ countries and very few roles based in offices. 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 an Ubuntu Pro Sales Engineer to help global companies embrace the latest and greatest Linux and open source applications. Our team applies expert insights to real-world customer problems, enabling the enterprise adoption of Ubuntu Pro, OpenStack and Canonical Microcloud, Kubernetes and a wide range of associated technology. The people who love this role are software engineers who enjoy customer conversations and solving customer problems during the presales cycle. Ubuntu is used by pretty much every enterprise in the world, in every industry. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn about the open source technology landscape and develop your business technology insights. You will see first hand in various industries how Linux - and Ubuntu in particular - is shaping innovation and changing the world for the better.

This role is particularly suited to candidates with a technical background who are business minded and driven by commercial success. This role is on our global Field Engineering team and will work closely with enterprise sales leads.

Location: Most of our colleagues work from home. We are growing teams in EMEA, Americas and APAC time zones, so can accommodate candidates from almost any country.

What your day will look like

The Ubuntu Pro Sales Engineer is a key player in our efforts to facilitate and drive the adoption of Ubuntu Pro in the very large Ubuntu enterprise user base.

• Collect customer business requirements and advise them on Ubuntu and relevant open source applications
• Identify customer challenges with open source and articulate how Ubuntu Pro could help solve them
• Deliver presentations and demonstrations of Ubuntu Pro to prospective and current clients
• Liaise with product teams to give them feedback on requirements to influence roadmap
• Work collaboratively with your sales team to reach our common targets
• Global travel up to 25% of time for internal and external events and 25% to customer meetings

What we are looking for in you

• Exceptional academic track record from both high school and university
• Undergraduate degree in a technical subject or a compelling narrative about your alternative chosen path
• Confidence to respectfully speak up, exchange feedback, and share ideas without hesitation
• Track record of going above-and-beyond expectations to achieve outstanding results
• Demonstrated personal interest in continuous learning and development
• Practical knowledge of Linux, virtualisation, containers and networking
• Business-minded technology thinker and problem solver
• Knowledge of cloud computing concepts & leaders, such as Kubernetes, AWS, Azure, GCP
• Interest in large-scale enterprise open source - private clouds, machine learning and AI, data and analytics
• Intermediate level Python programming skills
• Passion for technology evidenced by personal projects and initiatives
• The work ethic and confidence to shine alongside motivated colleagues
• Professional written and spoken English with excellent presentation skills
• Experience with Linux (Debian or Ubuntu preferred)
• Excellent interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability
• A dynamic person who loves to jump in new projects and interact with people
• Appreciative of diversity, polite and effective in a multi-cultural, multi-national organisation
• Thoughtfulness and self-motivation
• Result-oriented, with a personal drive to follow up and meet commitments
• Ability to travel internationally, for company events up to two weeks long, and customer or industry meetings

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 2,000 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
• 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 its 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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