Lead Backend Engineer, Open-Source Platform (Python) - Remote

Canonical Ltd.; Johannesburg; Remote; ZAR 1,990,000 - 2,986,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Twice-yearly team sprints in person

USD learning budget of 2,000 per year

Annual compensation review

Maternity and paternity leave

Wellness platform

Travel to new locations for meetings

Job summary

Canonical is hiring a Senior/Staff/Lead Engineer for the Launchpad team. You will architect and refine a mature Python-driven system used by major projects like Ubuntu, ensuring high-velocity, well-structured services.

This remote role requires strong engineering leadership and the ability to collaborate across globally distributed teams. You will mentor peers, drive design decisions, and contribute to scalable infrastructure while traveling to key events 2–4 times a year.

Qualifications

• Proven technical excellence in Python development and production-ready code.
• Experience maintaining large-scale web applications and distributed systems.
• Familiarity with Ubuntu and Debian/Ubuntu packaging is a plus.
• Strong leadership, collaboration, and mentoring skills.

Responsibilities

• Influence design, architecture, and feature decisions across distributed teams.
• Craft API-first Python code with unit tests for robust, scalable systems.
• Diagnose and resolve complex technical challenges with high-quality fixes.
• Mentor engineers and lead code reviews to raise team standards.
• Work remotely within the EMEA region and travel 2–4 times per year for in-person collaboration.

Skills

Python development

Distributed systems

Leadership & mentoring

Web applications

PostgreSQL

Security practices

Ubuntu familiarity

Debian/Ubuntu packaging

Education

Bachelor's in Computer Science, STEM or similar

Job description

Canonical is hiring a Senior/Staff/Lead Engineer for the Launchpad team. You will architect and refine a mature Python-driven system used by major projects like Ubuntu, ensuring high-velocity, well-structured services.

This remote role requires strong engineering leadership and the ability to collaborate across globally distributed teams. You will mentor peers, drive design decisions, and contribute to scalable infrastructure while traveling to key events 2–4 times a year.