Rust Engineering Lead - Linux and Source

Rust Engineering Lead - Linux and Open Source

Join to apply for the Rust Engineering Lead - Linux and Open Source role at Canonical.

Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets. Our flagship platform, Ubuntu, is widely used in breakthrough enterprise initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation, and IoT. With more than 1,200 colleagues across 75+ countries, we operate as a fully distributed, remote-first organization and meet in person twice to four times each year.

We are hiring Rust Engineering Leads of all experience levels to drive the adoption of Rust across Canonical’s product stack—from Ubuntu to our own projects and other open‑source offerings. Rust will serve as a key language for system‑level services and capabilities that traditionally would be written in C or C++, enabling next‑generation mobility and performance across firmware, bootloaders, kernel, input handling and beyond.

• Design and implement well‑tested and well‑documented software in Rust
• Advocate for Rust adoption in Canonical and upstream projects
• Identify projects and codebases that could be prioritised for Rust adoption
• Debug and fix issues encountered by users
• Participate in engineering processes through code and architectural reviews
• Collaborate with community and colleagues on technical specifications
• Seek improvements to engineering and operations practices
• In some cases, deploy and operate services developed by the team
• Contribute to the success of your product through technical advocacy

• 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
• For more senior roles, experience building, deploying and operating distributed systems and APIs
• Drive and a track record of going above‑and‑beyond expectations
• Well‑organised, self‑starting and able to deliver to schedule
• Appreciative of diversity, polite and effective in a multi‑cultural, multi‑national organization
• Professional manner interacting with colleagues, partners and community
• Experience designing and writing high‑quality Rust software on Linux
• Experience with and passion for Linux at the system level
• Professional written and spoken English
• The work ethic and confidence to shine alongside motivated colleagues
• Excellent interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability
• Passion, thoughtfulness, and self‑motivation
• Result‑oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments
• Ability to travel twice a year for company events up to two weeks each

• Experience developing for Ubuntu
• Experience with LXD, Micro
  
  K8s, SnapD, IoT, Juju, Ubuntu Core or Ubuntu Pro
• Performance engineering and security experience

• 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

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.