Python Engineer

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

This is a general track role, hiring for every team at Canonical who works in Python, across all levels of seniority. Apply here if you believe you are already an outstanding Python engineer.

Canonical works across the entire open source spectrum. Canonical Ubuntu is well-known as a developer favourite and enterprise-friendly Linux. Our web services and system utilities are often written in Python, which we choose where collaboration with other teams, ecosystems and communities is more important than raw performance.

We hire Python Developers with a passion for open-source software, innovation, and cutting-edge technologies. We also look for colleagues who understand that a great product is more than code – it is ready for the unexpected, it is well documented, it is comprehensively tested, it is tastefully presented in its CLI or GUI. At Canonical, you will have the opportunity to make significant contributions through high-quality, idiomatic Python code.

Your team will own a product that may comprise several codebases. These may be intended to run on servers, or on Kubernetes, or on the desktop, or as web services for Ubuntu clients. They may be utilities or frameworks or tools, or part of our production process.

Additionally, this role will give you the opportunity to engage with the broader open-source community. We're looking for individuals who can help build a thriving community, contribute to a broad range of technologies, and ensure seamless software operations at scale.

Location: we have remote Python engineering roles in every time zone.

What your day will look like

Write high-quality, well-designed and well-tested Python software

Collaborate proactively with a globally distributed team

Display technical leadership at Canonical and in our communities

Debug issues and produce high-quality code to fix them

Contribute to technical documentation with the aim to make it the best of its kind

Work from home with global travel twice a year for company events

What we are looking for in you

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

Drive and a track record of going above-and-beyond expectations

Well-organised, self-starting and able to deliver to schedule

Professional manner interacting with colleagues, partners, and community

Experience writing thoroughly designed, modern, maintainable Python

Conscientiousness and detail orientation, with a focus on performance

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

Result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments

Ability to travel twice a year, for company events up to two weeks each

Additional skills that you might also bring

Experience with container technologies such as LXD, Docker and Kubernetes

Understanding of build systems and toolchains, including for cross-compilation

Additional languages, particularly Golang or Rust, C or C++

Deep quality and test engineering