Software Architect

Join to apply for the Software Architect - Containers / Virtualisation role at Canonical

Location: This is a home-based position available in EMEA and the Americas.

Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets. Our platform, Ubuntu, is used in breakthrough enterprise initiatives across public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation and IoT. We are a globally distributed company with 1200+ colleagues in more than 80 countries and mostly remote roles. Teams meet two to four times yearly in person to align on strategy and execution.

We are hiring a software architect for Canonical LXD and MicroCloud. Our goal is to make clusters of compute, with system containers or virtual machines, "just work". It should be trivial to stand up a small cloud using one, two or twenty servers. This role involves distributed systems, virtualization, container technology, networking and storage, with the aim of making it easy and reliable for people to focus on what matters rather than OS and infrastructure.

LXD is a modern Golang system container and virtual machine orchestrator used on Ubuntu, ChromeOS and other Linux platforms. LXD engineering spans from low-level kernel work to the high level management REST API and CLI. As a software architect, you will drive the architecture, design and evolution of LXD, and Canonical MicroCloud which combines LXD with Ceph and OVN for a lean, easy to use and resilient cluster-scale cloud infrastructure.

What you would do

• Lead the LXD and MicroCloud architecture
• Mentor, develop and advise colleagues in their career progression
• Develop in Golang and C
• Review code produced by other engineers
• Ensure the product is secure and performant
• Display technical leadership in Canonical and our communities
• Work from home with global travel approximately twice annually for company events

What we are looking for in you

• Strong academic track record
• Undergraduate degree in Computer Science or STEM
• Drive and a track record of going above-and-beyond
• Technical leadership and ability to motivate a team
• Well-organized, self-starting, able to deliver to schedule
• Professional manner in interactions with colleagues, partners, and community
• Experience with Go and C
• Experience with storage, networking and virtualization
• Experience with container technologies
• Experience with concurrent, distributed systems
• Attention to performance and detail
• Professional written and spoken English
• Experience with Linux (Debian or Ubuntu preferred)
• Excellent interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability

What we offer

• 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
• Travel perks for long-haul company events

About Canonical

Canonical is a pioneering tech firm at the forefront of the global move to open source. As the publisher of Ubuntu, we support AI, IoT and cloud initiatives. We recruit on a global basis and uphold high standards for new hires. Most colleagues have worked from home since our inception in 2004.

Canonical is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to a workplace free from discrimination and will give your application fair consideration.

• Mid-Senior level

• Full-time

• Engineering and Information Technology
• Industries: Software Development

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