Security Software Engineer

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 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.
Canonical is looking for exceptional security‑focused software engineers to be integrated across product teams. While they also contribute to the product as engineers, their primary focus is to challenge the entire team to think more deeply about security through state‑of‑the‑art practices such as threat modelling, table‑top exercises, architecture and design reviews, static analysis tools, and fuzzing, among others.
These roles encompass all aspects of product security, including feature development, vulnerability response, proactive security, and open source community participation. Engineers in these roles collaborate closely with other Canonical teams, customers, and partners across the open source ecosystem. Each product engineering team at Canonical reserves one or two openings for security‑oriented software engineers. We also develop a number of products driven entirely by security needs, such as our AppArmor kernel investments and the Ubuntu Security Guide (USG). As the publisher of Ubuntu, we also handle long‑term security response for the entire operating system and open source ecosystem. Working with tens of thousands of upstreams means that we need to be fluent in every major programming language and design, build, and adopt sophisticated tools that enable us to work at scale and speed with confidence.
Apply here if you are an exceptional security‑focused software engineer, passionate about open source, and excited by Canonical’s products and mission. This role requires the ability to be productive in a globally distributed team through strong self‑discipline and motivation. It also involves mandatory international travel at least twice a year, typically for one week.
Location: Worldwide – this is a globally remote role.
What you’ll do
Security roles might tackle any of the following:

Define, implement, and document new security features
Lead security‑focused initiatives within a product engineering team
Analyze, fix, and test vulnerabilities in open source software
Contribute to Ubuntu and upstream open source projects to benefit the community
Audit and analyze source code for vulnerabilities
Integrate new tools into our security infrastructure, pipelines, and processes
Achieve and retain various security certifications
Extend and enhance Linux cryptographic components to meet country‑specific compliance requirements, such as FIPS and Common Criteria (CC) certifications
Work with external partners to develop Center for Internet Security (CIS) benchmarks
Design and develop hardening automation for Ubuntu
Stay up to date with trends and developments in the security industry
Develop, test, and maintain new software capabilities
Provide guidance and support to other engineering teams on security best practices

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
A track record of going above and beyond expectations
Thorough understanding of the common categories of security vulnerabilities and how to fix them
Knowledge of modern software engineering techniques
Familiarity with open source development tools and methodologies
Skill in one or more of C, C++, Python, Go, Rust, Java, Ruby, PHP, or JavaScript/Typescript
Experience as a security champion
Experience driving security within a wider SSDLC process
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
Results‑oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments

Optional skills we also value

Clear and effective communication with both the team and Ubuntu community members
Experience working with the Linux kernel
Experience with security certifications and knowledge of FIPS and/or Common Criteria (CC)
Experience with OVAL (Open Vulnerability Assessment Language)
Knowledge of cryptographic modules such as OpenSSL and Libgcrypt
Knowledge of low‑level Linux cryptography APIs
Demonstrated ability to learn quickly
Performance engineering experience

What we offer you
We consider geographical location, experience, and performance in shaping compensation worldwide. We revisit compensation annually (and more often for graduates and associates) to ensure we recognize outstanding performance. In addition to base pay, we offer a performance‑driven annual bonus. We provide all team members with additional benefits, which reflect our values and ideals. We balance our programs to meet local needs and ensure fairness globally.

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 on a daily basis. We recruit on a global basis and set a very high standard for people joining the company. We expect excellence – in order to succeed, we need to be the best at what we do. Canonical has been a remote‑first company since its inception in 2004. Working here is a step into the future, and will challenge 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.
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