Software Maintenance Engineer

Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets. Our platform, Ubuntu, is 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.

Location: This is a remote role; we have teams in all time zones.

We are hiring a Software Maintenance Engineer to work in a dynamic and exciting engineering role in Linux‑based infrastructure and applications, covering all layers of the stack: bare metal, virtualization (KVM), containerization (Docker/LXC/LXD), storage (Ceph and Linux file systems), networking (OVS, OVN and core networking), Open Stack, Kubernetes, and the open source applications running on top of them. The role challenges your breadth of engineering skills and will involve working on almost any aspect of Ubuntu and the open source applications used by large enterprise customers.

• Resolve complex customer problems related to Ubuntu, Kernel, Ceph, Open Stack, Kubernetes, and other open source software
• Maintain a close working relationship with Canonical's Field, Support, and Product Engineering teams
• Participate in upstream communities
• Develop bug fixes, backport patches, and work with upstream for inclusion
• Review code produced by other engineers
• Demonstrate good judgment in technical methods and techniques
• Prioritize work and manage time effectively against priorities
• Participate in team discussions to improve processes, tools, and documentation
• Maintain clear, technical and concise communications
• Work from home and travel internationally up to 10% of work time for team meetings, events, and conferences

• Exceptional academic track record
• Background in Computer Science, STEM or similar disciplines
• Experience with Linux and open source software
• Experience with at least one of Python, Go, C, or C++ on Linux
• A drive to learn unfamiliar technology and deep-dive into difficult issues
• Willingness to travel up to 4 times a year for internal events

• Love technology and working with brilliant people
• Curious, flexible, articulate, and accountable
• Value soft skills; passionate, enterprising, thoughtful, and self‑motivated
• Interest in or willingness to learn about Ubuntu Linux kernel or userspace, Kubernetes, Open Stack, Ceph, QEMU/KVM, LXC/LXD, Postgre
  
  SQL, Mongo, Debian packaging, and distributed systems

• 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 & Wellness Platform
• Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues
• Priority Pass and travel upgrades for long‑haul company events

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;

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 that 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.