Ubuntu Security Engineer

Canonical Group Ltd; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Learning budget

Annual compensation review

Travel opportunities

Wellness & support platform

Maternity/Paternity leave

Job summary

Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems, including Ubuntu, used worldwide in cloud, data science, AI, engineering, and IoT. We are building a globally distributed security engineering team and seek candidates from Graduate to Senior levels.

This engineering-focused role involves analyzing vulnerabilities, coordinating with internal teams and upstream developers, and contributing to security assessments and internal tooling.

Qualifications

• Thorough understanding of common vulnerability categories and fixes.
• Familiarity with coordinated disclosure practices.
• Experience with open source development tools and workflows.
• Strong logic, troubleshooting and decision-making skills.
• Clear communication with team and Ubuntu community members.
• Experience with Linux (Debian/Ubuntu preferred).

Responsibilities

• Analyze, fix, and test vulnerabilities in open source packages within Ubuntu.
• Track and manage Ubuntu ecosystem vulnerabilities using internal tools.
• Collaborate with Ubuntu community and upstream developers to patch vulnerabilities.
• Audit source code for security issues and improvements.
• Build features and tools to enhance product security across Ubuntu.

Skills

Security vulnerabilities

Open source

Linux

Communication

Problem solving

Collaboration

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.

Canonical is building a team dedicated to providing security coverage across a wide range of ecosystems and environments, working to make the world a better, safer place.We are hiring an Ubuntu Security Engineer to join an industry-leading security engineering team and help protect the open source community and Ubuntu users from emerging threats. We are looking for candidates across all levels of experience, from Graduate to Senior.

As part of the Ubuntu Security Team, you will work with some of the best and brightest people in technology to monitor, triage, respond to, and document new and existing vulnerabilities in open source software. You will collaborate with internal teams and external partners to identify issues, prioritize them, and coordinate remediation.

This is an engineering-focused role that may also involve activities such as producing security assessments, building features, conducting code reviews, developing internal tools, engaging with the open source community, and participating in industry initiatives and events.

This role requires international travel at least twice a year, usually for one week. It also requires the ability to be productive in a globally distributed team through self-discipline and self-motivation.

Location: Worldwide, this is a globally remote role

The role entails

• Analyzing, fixing, and testing vulnerabilities in open source packages
• Keeping track of vulnerabilities in the Ubuntu ecosystem as they are discovered, researched, and fixed, leveraging internal tools
• Collaborating with other teams in the Ubuntu community and upstream developers, as needed, to exchange or develop vulnerability patches and ensure that Ubuntu includes the most robust security features
• Auditing source code for vulnerabilities
• Building features and tools to help teams strengthen the security of their products and contribute to the overall security of Ubuntu

What we are looking for in you

• You have a thorough understanding of the common categories of security vulnerabilities and techniques for fixing them
• You are familiar with coordinated disclosure practices
• You are familiar with open source development tools and methodologies
• You have excellent logic, problem-solving, troubleshooting, and decision-making skills
• You can clearly and effectively communicate with the team and Ubuntu community members
• Experience with Linux (Debian or Ubuntu preferred)
• Excellent interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability
• Appreciative of diversity, polite, and effective in a multi-cultural, multi-national organization
• Thoughtfulness and self-motivation
• Result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments

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