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Overview

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 enterprise initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation and IoT. Our customers include leading public cloud and silicon providers, and industry leaders in many sectors. The company is a pioneer of global distributed collaboration, with 1000+ colleagues in 70+ countries and very few office based roles. Teams meet two to four times yearly in person to align on strategy and execution. The company is founder led, profitable and growing.

We have created a new career path at Canonical for Performance Engineers who bring exceptional clarity to software performance, correctness and efficiency. We are adding these roles to every engineering team at the company. As an open source platform, we have teams that work at every level of the software stack from the kernel up through server and desktop applications, to the web. We are adding roles with this focus in every engineering team to act as drivers of performance engineering skills, tools, culture and insights to our entire product range. A central performance engineering team will drive shared tools, dashboarding capabilities, measurement frameworks, analytical capabilities and skills. The career focus is percorr, reflecting deep insights that enable performance measurement and correct design across runtime, compiler and system levels.

We collaborate with silicon vendors and clouds to optimise performance for various architectures, CPU families or hypervisors. Our goal is to ensure Ubuntu users can choose any platform for their workloads and receive top performance and efficiency from kernel to codec. If desired, engineers may move between products every two years to raise the bar for performance across products and to provide fresh perspectives on processes, dashboards and code. Our performance and correctness leads are expected to be exceptional individuals and leaders who set expectations for change, share insights, and run initiatives. There is no way to move a meaningful codebase without also moving the people behind it. This is a career path for perfectionists and precision artists.

Whether you have a language focus - C, C++, Rust, Golang, Python, Java, Flutter-Dart or others - or a focus on the kernel, hardware or CPU instruction set, this process helps you find a role at Canonical that aligns with your precision, rigor, insight and drive. Location: We have teams in every time zone and can accommodate applications from almost any country.

Responsibilities

• Drive software performance and correctness in a specific project
• Collaborate with colleagues and the community around the globe
• Work on shared tools and infrastructure for performance measurement, analysis and reporting
• Teach, train and develop skills in your team for performance culture and design
• Strengthen test capabilities, harnesses and pipelines
• Analyze systems and code to understand performance and scalability
• Solve problems directly or through influence, leadership and skills development
• Review code and technical designs

What we are looking for in you

• Exceptional academic track record from both high school and university
• Undergraduate degree in Computer Science, Mathematics or Physics
• Demonstrable personal initiatives to measure and improve performance, efficiency and correctness in code
• Confidence to respectfully speak up, exchange feedback, and share ideas without hesitation
• Track record of going above-and-beyond expectations to achieve outstanding results
• Leadership and commitment to skills development and mentorship
• Passion for technology evidenced by personal projects and initiatives
• The work ethic and confidence to shine alongside motivated colleagues
• Professional written and spoken English with excellent presentation skills
• Experience with Linux (Debian or Ubuntu preferred)
• Excellent interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability
• Appreciative of diversity, polite and effective in a multi-cultural, multi-national organisation
• Thoughtfulness and self-motivation
• Result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments
• Ability to travel internationally twice a year, for company events up to two weeks long

What we offer colleagues

• 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

About Canonical

Canonical is a pioneering tech firm at the forefront of the global move to open source. As the company that publishes Ubuntu, one of the most important open source projects and the platform for AI, IoT and the cloud, we are changing the world of software. We recruit on a global basis and set a high standard for people joining the company. We expect excellence and success comes from being the best at what we do. Most colleagues have worked from home since its inception in 2004. Working here challenges you to think differently, work smarter, learn new skills, and raise your game.

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.

Seniority level

• Entry level

Employment type

• Full-time

Job function

• Engineering and Information Technology

Industries

• Software Development