Ubuntu Engineering Lead

Overview 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.

We are hiring engineering leaders to work across the breadth of our Ubuntu Engineering organisation - leaders who care deeply for quality, performance and resilience in software, and have a proven track record for building, nurturing and developing high performing engineering teams.

This leadership track includes roles for managers and Senior+ engineers alike. At Canonical, managers are expected to stay technical and close to the code, and our Senior+ engineers lead and develop software projects, as well as the processes and people around them.

Our teams integrate the freshest open source software, provide robust upgrade paths and engineer the future of Ubuntu. Ubuntu is not just the world's most deployed open source operating system, it's a platform that enables innovation for millions of users across the globe. Our community represents the full breadth of the developer experience; from students, hobbyists and freelancers to high performance engineering and creative teams in corporate and academic environments.

Four key teams that ship Ubuntu are the

Foundations : maintaining foundational software: architectures, package managers, compilers, toolchains, bootloaders, filesystems and core utilities

Server : leading the design, evolution and future of our Ubuntu Server distribution

Desktop : driving Ubuntu Desktop, our future immutable desktop: Ubuntu Core Desktop, WSL, gaming technology, and a suite of modern applications for the desktop crafted with Flutter

Debcrafters : a new team responsible for the forward movement, maintenance and overall health of the Ubuntu archive: one of the most abundant repositories of open source software available today

You'll be accountable for your technical roadmap, and responsible for your team: helping them grow as engineers, do important and satisfying work, and have a great time while doing it. Technical leadership experience and a background in software engineering are necessary prerequisites for this role. You will be expected to lead, challenge, and develop strong engineers, positively influence the culture, facilitate technical delivery, and work with your team on strategy and execution.

At Canonical, you will have the opportunity to engage with and contribute to the broader open source community. We're looking for individuals who can help build a thriving community and contribute with enthusiasm and precision to a broad range of technologies.

Location We have remote roles open in every time zone.

Role entails

Leading their teams in elevating the Linux developer and user experience

Designing, building and shipping high quality, performant software in Rust, Go and Python

Demonstrating sound engineering principles through architecture, development and code reviews

Taking responsibility for planning, estimation and execution

Working with product management to define the vision and strategy for Ubuntu

Setting expectations with other engineering teams, senior management, and external stakeholders

Offering coaching, mentoring, technical feedback and hands‑on career development

Contributing to upstream and neighboring open source projects

Optimizing the distribution for performance, reliability, and security

Debugging complex system‑level issues and delivering robust solutions

Authoring and improving technical and community documentation

What we are looking for in you

An exceptional academic track record from both high school and university

Undergraduate degree in Computer Science or STEM, or a compelling narrative about your alternative path

Ability to drive and deliver technical work streams going above and beyond expectations

Lead and coach others to deliver exceptional engineering work

A demonstrated passion for open source software

Significant experience with Rust, Go, Python, Flutter or C/C++

Professional written and spoken English

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

Result‑oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments

Ability to travel twice a year, for company events up to two weeks each

Nice‑to‑have skills

Experience contributing to or leading open source projects

Experience with Linux distributions/distribution engineering

Experience with software packaging and distribution mechanisms

Performance or Security Engineering experience

What we offer you

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 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. 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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