Ubuntu Engineering Lead

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 initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation, and IoT. The company is founder‐led, profitable, and growing. About the Role We are hiring engineering leaders to work across the breadth of our Ubuntu Engineering organization. These leaders care deeply for quality, performance, and resilience in software, and have a proven track record for building, nurturing, and developing high‐performing engineering teams. Our teams integrate the freshest open‐source software, provide robust upgrade paths, and engineer the future of Ubuntu—an operating system that powers innovation globally. Key Teams Foundations: Maintaining foundational software such as architectures, package managers, compilers, toolchains, bootloaders, filesystems, and core utilities. Server: Leading the design, evolution, and future of our Ubuntu Server distribution. Desktop: Driving Ubuntu Desktop, including Ubuntu Core Desktop, Windows Subsystem for Linux, gaming technology, and a suite of modern applications crafted with Flutter. Debcrafters: A new team responsible for the forward movement, maintenance, and overall health of the Ubuntu archive. Location Remote roles available in every time zone. The Role As a leader, you will be accountable for your technical roadmap and for your team's growth and success. You will lead, challenge, and develop strong engineers, positively influence culture, facilitate technical delivery, and collaborate on strategy and execution. Responsibilities Lead teams in elevating the Linux developer and user experience. Design, build, and ship high‐quality, high‐performance software in Rust, Go, and Python. Demonstrate sound engineering principles through architecture, development, and code reviews. Take responsibility for planning, estimation, and execution. Work with product management to define the vision and strategy for Ubuntu. Set expectations with other engineering teams, senior management, and external stakeholders. Offer coaching, mentoring, technical feedback, and hands‐on career development. Contribute to upstream and neighboring open‐source projects. Optimize the distribution for performance, reliability, and security. Debug complex system‐level issues and deliver robust solutions. Author and improve technical and community documentation. What We Are Looking for in You An exceptional academic track record from high school and university. Undergraduate degree in Computer Science or STEM, or a compelling narrative about an alternative path. Ability to drive and deliver technical work streams beyond expectations. Lead and coach others to deliver exceptional engineering work. A demonstrated passion for open‐source software. Significant experience with Rust, Go, Python, Flutter, or C/C++. Professional written and spoken English. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Results‐oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments. Ability to travel twice a year for company events up to two weeks each. Nice‐to‐Have Skills Experience contributing to or leading open‐source projects. Experience with Linux distributions or distribution engineering. Experience with software packaging and distribution mechanisms. Performance or security engineering experience. Compensation & Benefits Competitive base pay plus performance‐driven annual bonus. Distributed work environment with twice‐yearly in‐person team sprints. Personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year. Annual compensation review and 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 remote‐first company that attracts talent from around the globe. We publish Ubuntu, one of the world's most important open‐source projects, and we are changing the world on a daily basis. We recruit on a global basis, set a very high standard for people joining the company, and foster a workplace free from discrimination. Canonical is an Equal‐Opportunity Employer We are proud to foster a workplace free from discrimination. Diversity of experience, perspectives, and background creates a better work environment and better products. Whatever your identity, we will give your application fair consideration. #J-18808-Ljbffr