From the listing

About the role

We are building a team to focus on the modern C and C++ programming language and their ecosystem on Ubuntu. The goal is to deliver the best possible GCC and LLVM runtimes, developer experience and supporting tooling to ensure the cutting edge of programming innovation is available to Ubuntu users.

This is an exciting opportunity for a software engineer with a strong passion for compilers, runtimes and tool chains. You will work within the Ubuntu Foundations Team, which delivers the core Ubuntu system and base for the entire family of products and services.

You will join Canonical, a growing international software company, and work with the best and brightest in open source technology to make Ubuntu the best operating system for C/C++ applications across cloud, datacenters, and containers.

What you'll do

Select, integrate and package best-of-breed tooling with Ubuntu to improve developer and operator experience with GCC and LLVM.
Write high-quality code to create new features and fix debugged issues.
Review code produced by other engineers and participate in design reviews.
Discuss design with other team members and mentor less senior engineers.
Collaborate with other teams to ensure architecture decisions improve the overall performance and experience of Ubuntu.
Collaborate proactively with a distributed team.

What they're looking for

Relevant GCC or LLVM experience, ideally in the world of cloud-native software and Linux.
Experience in packaging software for Debian and Ubuntu.
Long-time Linux user with excellent competencies in modern C/C++.
Undergraduate degree in a technical subject or a compelling narrative about an alternative path.
Exceptional academic track record from both high school and university.
Ability to travel internationally twice a year for company events up to two weeks long.
Passionate, curious, flexible, articulate, and accountable.

Nice to have

Experience with Linux distributions and distribution engineering.
Experience with software packaging and distribution mechanisms.
Understanding of build systems and toolchains, including for cross-compilation.
Performance or Security Engineering experience.

From the company page

Canonical benefits

Work from anywherePaid learning stipendsPaid parental leavePaid holidaysHealth & wellness stipendPaid retreats

◉ Remote policy · in their words

“Canonical has been a fully distributed organization since its origin in 2004. Our remote-first policy enables us to collaborate with the best in the world in our domain.”

Pulled from their careers page · verified by Atlas

The hot takeJeff's read on Canonical

Canonical is a bit tricky for me to review for a few reasons:

Their Glassdoor reviews have dropped down to 3.1 (March 25, 2026), right at my threshold. I'd want to see this start trending in the correct direction in order to consider them for inclusion again.

I like they they have yearly sprints in cool locations like Cape Town, Madrid, and London.

I like that hire-from-anywhere/work-from-anywhere roles are clearly labeled on the job listings as "worldwide."

I'd like to read more about how they feel about their employees traveling as a digital nomad, or being location-independent in general.

I'd like to see more details about the perks they do or don't offer employees, though I suspect they vary by hiring region.

Please get back to me, because I would like to include you again, but need a few more details to do so.

Full read on the company page