Sustaining Operations Engineer

Canonical publishes Ubuntu and is one of the largest commercial contributors to open source. It has been remote-first since 2004, with 1,200+ colleagues across 75+ countries and very few office-based roles. The company is founder-led, profitable and growing.

The role

This is deep troubleshooting work across Linux-based software-defined infrastructure, spanning every layer of the stack: bare metal, virtualisation with KVM, containerisation with Docker and LXC/LXD, storage through Ceph and Linux filesystems, networking via OVS, OVN and core networking, up through OpenStack and Kubernetes and the open source applications running on top.

The distinguishing feature is where you sit in the escalation chain. You are the final point of escalation for operational troubleshooting, driving issues to resolution through workarounds, guidance, and fixes released upstream and into Ubuntu.

That means working productively at any level of the stack above the kernel, across a wide range of applications. The group is described as critical to the success of Canonical's enterprise customers, its partners, and Ubuntu itself.

What your day looks like

• Resolving complex customer problems across Ubuntu, OpenStack, Ceph and Kubernetes
• Working closely with Canonical's field, support and product engineering teams
• Participating in upstream communities
• Debugging issues, proposing workarounds, and liaising with software engineers on producing patches
• Exercising judgment on technical methods and techniques
• Prioritising and managing your own time against competing demands
• Contributing to team improvements in processes, tools and documentation
• Maintaining clear, concise technical communication
• Acting as subject matter expert and final escalation point on operational issues

What they are looking for

• Professional experience troubleshooting advanced Linux issues
• A background in Computer Science, STEM or similar
• Exceptional depth in at least one of Linux, LXD, OpenStack, Ceph or Kubernetes
• Strong debugging experience with Python, Go, C or C++ on Linux
• Comfort with gdb, pdb, tcpdump or equivalent tools
• Familiarity with git repositories and branching
• An exceptional academic record from high school and preferably university
• Willingness to travel up to four times a year for internal events

Also valued

Interest and experience across most of: Ubuntu kernel or userspace, Kubernetes, OpenStack, Ceph, QEMU/KVM, LXC/LXD, Python, Go, C, PostgreSQL, Mongo, Debian packaging and distributed systems.

Benefits

• Distributed work with twice-yearly in-person team sprints
• USD 2,000 personal learning and development budget per year
• Annual compensation review, plus performance-driven annual bonus
• Recognition rewards, annual holiday leave, maternity and paternity leave
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Priority Pass and travel upgrades for long-haul company events

No salary figures are published on this listing.

One significant caveat: weekend rotation

The responsibilities include participating in a regular weekend working rotation. That is unusual among the Canonical roles on this board and it is a real consideration, particularly for anyone whose reason for wanting remote work is control over their own schedule. Weigh it properly before applying.

Travel is also stated slightly differently here than on other Canonical listings: up to 10% of work time for team meetings, events and conferences, alongside the standard commitment to two to four internal events a year.

Location

Both the structured header and the body text agree on this one: Home based - Worldwide, described as a globally remote role. No regional restriction.

Before applying

AI use disqualifies your application. You must confirm you used only your own words.

Expect the usual Canonical academic screening: high-school mathematics and native-language performance bands justified against national scoring systems, plus your degree result. Candidates without a degree may enter "no degree."

Three written answers are mandatory, and they are substantial: your experience providing advanced troubleshooting or subject matter expertise, your experience with Linux, OpenStack, Kubernetes or similar infrastructure, and your experience in customer-facing roles or managing customer relationships. Draft these properly rather than improvising.