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CanonicalUbuntu Engineering Lead
Canonical is hiring an Ubuntu Engineering Lead on a full-time, remote basis. The post belongs to a leadership path that takes in managers as well as…
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About This Role
Canonical is hiring an Ubuntu Engineering Lead on a full-time, remote basis. The post belongs to a leadership path that takes in managers as well as Senior+ engineers, and the company wants leaders who treat quality, speed and reliability in software seriously. Leads are expected to own a technical roadmap, nurture strong engineers and steer how technical work gets delivered in step with the team's direction. Four groups build Ubuntu,…
Job Description
Canonical is hiring an Ubuntu Engineering Lead on a full-time, remote basis. The post belongs to a leadership path that takes in managers as well as Senior+ engineers, and the company wants leaders who treat quality, speed and reliability in software seriously.
Leads are expected to own a technical roadmap, nurture strong engineers and steer how technical work gets delivered in step with the team's direction. Four groups build Ubuntu, and interviews help match a candidate to one of them. Foundations maintains the base layer, including compilers, toolchains, boot loaders, filesystems and core utilities. Server is responsible for the design and future of the server edition. Desktop covers the desktop edition, Ubuntu Core Desktop and WSL, plus gaming technology and Flutter apps. Debcrafters is a team that tends the Ubuntu software archive.
The job suits an engineer with a software development background, a record of technical leadership and a real interest in open source communities. The posting also mentions diagnosing hard system-level faults and tuning the distribution for speed, dependability and security.
Canonical describes itself as a pioneering open source company that publishes Ubuntu. Its colleagues are spread across many countries, most work remotely, and teams come together in person two to four times a year.
Responsibilities
- Own a technical roadmap and carry responsibility for planning, estimating and shipping
- Lead and push strong engineers, helping them improve over time
- Improve how developers and users experience Linux across teams
- Build and release fast, dependable code in Rust, Go or Python
- Follow sound engineering practice in design, coding and peer review
- Resolve complex system-level faults and deliver durable repairs
- Make the distribution more efficient, reliable and secure
- Coordinate with product managers, senior leaders and outside stakeholders on strategy
- Contribute to upstream and related open source projects, and improve technical and community documentation
Requirements
- Technical leadership experience, plus a software engineering background
- A record of pushing technical work further than expected
- Ability to coach others toward excellent engineering output
- Solid hands-on work in one of Rust, Go, Python, Flutter, C or C++
- Real enthusiasm for open source
- Fluent English in speech and writing, with strong interpersonal skills
- Goal-oriented and keen to keep commitments
- Able to attend company events abroad twice a year, each up to two weeks
- A technical undergraduate background (computing or another STEM subject), or a persuasive alternative story, with a strong academic history
Qualifications
- Contributions to, or leadership of, open source projects
- Knowledge of Linux distribution and distro engineering
- Experience with packaging and distribution systems
- Background in performance or security engineering
Core Skills
Benefits
- Compensation considers location, experience and performance, and is reviewed annually
- Annual performance bonus
- Recognition awards
- Learning allowance of USD 2,000 yearly
- Team gatherings held in person twice a year
- Holiday leave plus maternity and paternity leave
- Employee support programme
- Trips to new places to meet teammates, with Priority Pass membership and better seats on long-haul company trips
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers are based only on the employer’s listing; where it doesn’t say, neither do we.
Is the role remote?
Yes. The listing is marked remote, and remote roles are open in every time zone.
What employment type is it?
It is full-time.
What technical skills are required?
Solid hands-on work in one of Rust, Go, Python, Flutter, C or C++, along with a real enthusiasm for open source.
Is pay stated?
No figure is listed. Pay depends on location, experience and performance, and a performance-linked bonus is mentioned.
Sample Interview Questions
AI-generated questions tailored to this specific role — a preview of the full practice set.