Security Software Engineer

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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. The company has 1200+ colleagues in 75+ countries and operates as a remote‑first organization with occasional in‑person collaboration.

We are looking for exceptional security‑focused software engineers to be integrated across product teams. In these roles you will drive security through threat modeling, architecture reviews, static analysis, fuzz testing, and open‑source community participation. The work spans product security, vulnerability response, proactive hardening, and open‑source contribution.

This is a globally remote position that requires strong self‑discipline and is open to international travel at least twice a year, typically for one week.

• Define, implement, and document new security features
• Lead security‑focused initiatives within a product engineering team
• Analyze, fix, and test vulnerabilities in open source software
• Contribute to Ubuntu and upstream projects to benefit the community
• Audit and analyze source code for vulnerabilities
• Integrate new tools into our security infrastructure, pipelines, and processes
• Achieve and retain various security certifications
• Extend and enhance Linux cryptographic components to meet country‑specific compliance requirements, such as FIPS and Common Criteria (CC) certifications
• Work with external partners to develop Center for Internet Security (CIS) benchmarks
• Design and develop hardening automation for Ubuntu
• Stay up to date with trends and developments in the security industry
• Develop, test, and maintain new software capabilities
• Provide guidance and support to other engineering teams on security best practices

• An exceptional academic track record from high school and university
• Undergraduate degree in Computer Science or STEM, or a compelling alternative narrative
• Track record of going above and beyond expectations
• Thorough understanding of common security vulnerability categories and remediation techniques
• Knowledge of modern software engineering practices
• Familiarity with open‑source development tools and methodologies
• Proficiency in one or more of C, C++, Python, Go, Rust, Java, Ruby, PHP, or JavaScript/Type Script
• Experience as a security champion
• Experience driving security within a wider SSDLC process
• 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
• Results‑oriented with a personal drive to meet commitments

• Clear and effective communication with both the team and Ubuntu community members
• Experience working with the Linux kernel
• Experience with security certifications, FIPS, and/or Common Criteria (CC)
• Experience with OVAL (Open Vulnerability Assessment Language)
• Knowledge of cryptographic modules such as OpenSSL and Libgcrypt
• Knowledge of low‑level Linux cryptography APIs
• Demonstrated ability to learn quickly
• Performance engineering experience

• Distributed work environment with twice‑yearly in‑person team sprints
• 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

Canonical is a pioneering tech firm at the forefront of the global move to open source. As the publisher of 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 are proud to foster a workplace free from discrimination. Diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds creates a better work environment and better products. Whatever your identity, we will give your application fair consideration.