Rust Engineering Lead - Linux and Open Source
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 26, 2026. First seen by Alion on Apr 4, 2024. Canonical scores D on the Alion truth index.
Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets. Our platform, Ubuntu, is very 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.
We are hiring Rust Engineering Leads of all levels of experience to drive the adoption of this exciting language into the full range of Canonical offerings, starting with Ubuntu but also our own projects and open source offerings. We see Rust as an important new language for system level services and capabilities, and a natural evolution path for the sort of software that would traditionally have been written in C or C++. We believe that there is an opportunity to rethink the foundations of future Linux systems with Rust as a central driver of change in everything from the system firmware and embedded software, bootloaders, up through the kernel and input handling, all the way to the desktop.
We also want to ensure that Ubuntu is the very best platform for Rust development, offering easy access to the widest range of tooling and capabilities that support cutting edge open source and enterprise development.
This job posting is our general process for Rust engineers of all levels of seniority, for all relevant teams at Canonical. Apply here if you are an exceptional software engineer who prefers to work in Rust. After the first round of interviews we’ll find the best fit product team at Canonical for you to progress your application based on your personal interests.
Canonical has substantial projects in Python, Go, C, C++ and we are starting to invest in Rust. For front-end development we prefer React and Flutter.
Join us in our mission to deliver innovative open-source solutions to individuals and enterprises around the world. We expect the highest engineering standards and strong motivation to get things done well in a fully home-based and distributed environment. These roles require extensive personal experience with Linux - the more different versions of Linux the better!
Location: we have open roles for Rust engineers in every time zone.
What your day will look like
- Design and implement well-tested and well-documented software in Rust
- Advocate for Rust adoption in Canonical and upstream projects
- Identify projects and codebases that could be prioritised for Rust adoption
- Debug and fix issues encountered by your users
- Participate in our engineering process through code and architectural reviews
- Collaborate with community and colleagues on technical specifications
- Seek improvements to engineering and operations practices
- In some cases, deploy and operate services developed by the team
- Contribute to the success of your product through technical advocacy
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
- For more senior roles, experience building, deploying, and operating distributed systems and APIs
- Drive and a track record of going above-and-beyond expectations
- Well-organised, self-starting and able to deliver to schedule
- Appreciative of diversity, polite and effective in a multi-cultural, multi-national organisation
- Professional manner interacting with colleagues, partners, and community
- Experience designing and writing high-quality Rust software on Linux
- Experience with and passion for Linux at the system level
- Professional written and spoken English
- The work ethic and confidence to shine alongside motivated colleagues
- Excellent interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability
- Passion, thoughtfulness, and self-motivation
- Result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments
- Ability to travel twice a year, for company events up to two weeks each
Nice-to-have skills we would value
- Experience developing for Ubuntu
- Experience with LXD, MicroK8s, SnapD, IoT, Juju, Ubuntu Core, Ubuntu Pro
- Performance engineering and security experience
What we offer colleagues
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 recognise outstanding performance. In addition to base pay, we offer a performance-driven annual bonus or commission. 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 of software. 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. Most colleagues at Canonical have worked from home since our 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.