Location: Home based - Worldwide
This is a general track for applications to any team at Canonical that works with the Linux kernel, across all seniority levels. Apply here if you are an exceptional software engineer who wants to work on both stable and cutting edge Linux kernels for Ubuntu and its wider ecosystem.
Canonical has a large and rapidly growing kernel team that underpins Ubuntu and open source more widely across a very wide range of hardware and use cases. We partner with the biggest kernel contributors - the silicon companies - to ensure that their work reaches the widest possible audience as quickly as possible, with a 10 year enterprise security commitment.
The Canonical Linux Kernel Organization has teams in every time zone. We have opportunities for technical leadership, engineering management, and engineering directorships. The team is responsible for all supported Ubuntu Linux kernels, on all platforms and architectures from small embedded devices to standard desktop/server systems to large scale cloud environments, mainframes and supercomputers.
We care most about hardware and virtualization enablement, security, reliability and performance. There are a number of areas where we lead upstream, but for the most part we are interested in ensuring production readiness and performance for the latest patchsets, rather than subsystem maintenance or evolution.
Kernel Team projects include but are not limited to:
Ubuntu Linux kernel plan, execution, benchmarking and stress testing
Optimised kernels for key silicon and cloud partners
Confidential computing and next-generation security primitives
Developer platforms such as Raspberry Pi and RISC-V
Enabling Ubuntu on a wide range of embedded systems
Kernel Livepatch, which delivers critical kernel fixes without rebooting
FIPS compliance
Real-Time and Low Latency kernel variants and patchsets
Virtualisation or abstraction engines
Container technology
Security with AppArmor, SECCOMP, namespaces and more
Networking - in particular performance and security
Storage - we are particularly interested in Ceph and DRBD
We hire candidates of all experience levels from recent university graduates through seasoned industry experts. We select those who are enthusiastic to work in multiple areas including security mitigation, feature development, patching and test. You must have outstanding academic results, a background in software engineering, be motivated to work in a distributed team and willing to travel globally twice a year for company engineering events.
Location:
Working from home, worldwide. We have kernel teams and openings in every time zone and with the notable exception of Taipei, Taiwan, have no offices and therefore no pressure to work from an office.
What your day will look like
Collaborate regularly and proactively with a globally distributed team
Work closely with silicon, cloud, or hardware manufacturers
Diagnose and resolve issues in the kernel
Take personal responsibility for a flavour of the Ubuntu Linux kernel
Improve tooling and automation for delivery and test of Ubuntu Linux kernels
Submit, review, and apply kernel patches
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
Drive and a track record of going above-and-beyond expectations
Well-organised, self-starting and able to deliver to fixed schedules
Professional manner interacting with colleagues, partners, and community
Ability to communicate effectively in English, both written and oral
Significant programming experience in C
Solid background with git
Broad knowledge of the Linux kernel and kernel subsystems
Demonstrated experience with kernel patching and debugging
Understanding of Linux kernel upstream processes and release cycle
Strong grasp of device drivers, BSP’s, and other low level system engineering
Professional written and spoken English
Experience with Linux (Debian or Ubuntu preferred)
Excellent interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability
Passion, thoughtfulness, and self-motivation
Excellent communication and presentation skills
Result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments
Ability to travel twice a year, for company events up to two weeks each
Additional skills that you might also bring
Python and Bash scripting
Prior experience with Ubuntu/Debian/Snap packaging
Performance engineering and security experience
What we offer you
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. 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 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.
#LI-remote
Location: Home based - Worldwide
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.
This is an exciting opportunity for a software engineer passionate about open source software, Linux, and web services at scale. Come build a rewarding, meaningful career working with the best and brightest people in technology at Canonical, a growing pre-IPO international software company.
Canonical’s engineering team is at the forefront of the IoT revolution and aims to strengthen this position by developing cutting-edge telemetry and connectivity solutions. By integrating reliable, secure, and robust data streaming capabilities into the Snappy ecosystem, we are setting new standards in the industry for ease of development, implementation, management and security.
We are seeking talented individuals to help us enhance our global SaaS services, providing customers with the essential data services needed to build the next generation of IoT devices effortlessly. Our commitment to data governance, ownership, and confidentiality is unparalleled, ensuring our customers can innovate with confidence on top of the globally trusted Ubuntu platform.
Location: This role will be based remotely in the EMEA region.
What your day will look like
Work remotely with a globally distributed team, driving technical excellence and fostering innovation across diverse engineering environments.
Design, architect, and build high-performance APIs to power streaming data services, ensuring seamless integration across teams and products using Python and Go.
Develop robust governance, auditing, and management systems within our advanced telemetry platform, ensuring security, compliance, and operational integrity.
Partner with our infrastructure team to build scalable cloud-based SaaS solutions while also delivering containerized on-prem deployments for enterprise customers.
Lead the design, implementation, and optimization of new features, taking projects from specification to production, ensuring operational excellence at scale.
Provide technical oversight, review code and designs, and set best practices to maintain engineering excellence.
Engage in high-level technical discussions, collaborating on optimal solutions with engineers, product teams, and stakeholders.
Work remotely with occasional global travel (2-4 weeks per year) for internal and external events, fostering deeper collaboration and knowledge-sharing.
What we are looking for in you
You design and architect scalable backend services, messaging/data pipelines, and REST APIs using Go or Python, guiding best practices, technical direction, and system scalability.
You possess deep expertise in cybersecurity principles and proactively address the complex challenges of IoT environments: secure connectivity, data streaming, governance, and compliance.
You bring proven expertise in designing and optimizing systems using:
IAM models, encryption, access control, and compliance frameworks (GDPR, HIPAA) to ensure secure and compliant data handling
Ability to design decentralized data ownership models, ensuring interoperability and governance across domains
Designing high-throughput, low-latency systems for IoT data processing
Data streaming technologies (MQTT, Kafka, RabbitMQ)
Observability tools (OpenTelemetry)
Industrial/engineering data exchange protocols (OPC-UA, ModBus)
You thrive in cross-functional environments, partnering with product teams, engineers, and stakeholders to drive high-impact technical solutions that align with business objectives.
You mentor junior engineers, foster technical excellence, and contribute to a culture of innovation, continuous improvement, and knowledge sharing.
You embrace challenges with an open mind, continuously seeking opportunities to learn, improve, and innovate in a rapidly evolving IoT landscape.
You are familiar with Ubuntu as a development and deployment platform.
You hold a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Computer Science, STEM, or a related field.
You are willing to travel up to 4 times a year for internal events.
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.
#LI-remote
