Performance Engineer - Open Source - remote job

Canonical is hiring a Performance Engineer - Open Source. The role sits in IT and programming and is fully remote. The company places no restriction on where the candidate lives, so you can apply from anywhere.

The employer did not publish a figure; that is settled at interview. The advert sets no condition on working hours.

This vacancy passed an automated check: the list excludes any advert requiring a foreign work permit, visa sponsorship, a particular citizenship, or residence in a specific country.

Canonical stands as a leading provider of open-source software and operating systems, serving the global enterprise and technology sectors. Our flagship product, Ubuntu, is extensively utilized in cutting-edge enterprise projects such as public cloud, data science, artificial intelligence, engineering innovation, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Our client roster includes the world's premier public cloud and silicon manufacturers, as well as industry leaders across various sectors. As a pioneer in global distributed collaboration, Canonical boasts a community of over 1,000 professionals across more than 70 countries, with minimal office-based roles. Our teams convene in person twice to four times a year in engaging locations worldwide to align on strategic and operational goals.

Founded by its visionary founder, Canonical is profitable and expanding. We have introduced a new career trajectory for Performance Engineers, dedicated to enhancing software performance, correctness, and efficiency. These roles will be integrated into every engineering team within the company.

At Canonical, we have a diverse range of teams working at every level of the software stack, from the kernel through server and desktop applications, and extending to web technologies. We are broadening these roles across all engineering teams to promote performance engineering skills, tools, culture, and insights across our entire product line. Additionally, we have established a central performance engineering team to spearhead the development of shared tools, dashboarding, measurement frameworks, analytical capabilities, and skill sets. This career path is referred to as 'percorr,' derived from the observation that deep performance insights also enhance the accuracy and robustness of our testing frameworks and methodologies.

We collaborate closely with leading silicon vendors and cloud providers, optimizing the entire software stack for specific architectures, CPU families, and hypervisors. Our objective is to ensure that Ubuntu users can choose their preferred platform for their workloads, knowing they will benefit from the best performance and efficiency across the entire stack, from the kernel to the codec.

Performance and correctness engineers at Canonical have the option to transition between products every two years, fostering continuous improvement and innovation across a broader product range. Our performance and correctness leaders are expected to be exceptional individuals who can set high expectations, share insights, and lead initiatives effectively. Moving meaningful code requires moving the people behind it.

This career path is ideal for perfectionists and precision artists. Whether you specialize in languages like C, C++, Rust, Golang, Python, Java, or Flutter-Dart, or have a deep interest in the kernel, hardware, or CPU instruction sets, or are focused on enhancing user experience through performance or optimizing data center efficiency to reduce carbon footprints, this role offers an excellent opportunity to align your precision, rigor, insight, and drive.

Location-wise, we have teams in every time zone and can accommodate applications from almost any country.

Desired Skills

- In-depth knowledge of low-level CPU insights and assembly language, including understanding cache, registers, vectorization, and memory. - Expertise in kernel performance insights, such as scheduling, context switching, and hardware acceleration. - Proficiency in distributed systems performance insights, including tracing and debugging. - Compiler-level performance insights, such as profile-guided optimization, inlining, and assembler. - Runtime performance insights for Golang, Python, JVM, and NodeJS. - Database performance evaluation, including plans, indexing, data modeling, tracing, and monitoring. - Web browser performance insights, covering JavaScript, web frameworks, tracing, and CSS. - Tools for performance measurement, including profiling, eBPF, D-Trace, and flamegraphs. - Benchmarks and performance measurement tools, such as Phoronix Test Suite and others. - Test harnesses and capabilities in C, C++, Rust, Python, Golang, NodeJS, and JavaScript.

Responsibilities

- Lead the enhancement of software performance and correctness in specific projects. - Collaborate with colleagues and communities worldwide. - Develop and maintain shared tools and infrastructure for performance measurement, analysis, and reporting. - Train and mentor team members in performance culture and design. - Strengthen test capabilities, harnesses, and pipelines. - Analyze systems and code to understand performance and scalability. - Solve problems through direct intervention, influence, leadership, and skill development. - Review code and technical designs.

Qualifications

- Strong academic background, including a high school and university education in Computer Science, Mathematics, or Physics. - Proven experience in measuring and improving performance, efficiency, and correctness in code. - Confidence to provide constructive feedback and share ideas. - A history of achieving outstanding results by going above and beyond expectations. - Leadership and commitment to skills development and mentorship. - A passion for technology, evidenced by personal projects and initiatives. - A strong work ethic and the confidence to excel in a motivated environment. - Fluent professional English with excellent presentation skills. - Experience with Linux, with a preference for Debian or Ubuntu. - Exceptional interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability. - Appreciation for diversity and effective communication in a multi-cultural, multi-national organization. - Thoughtfulness and self-motivation. - A results-oriented approach with a personal drive to meet commitments. - Ability to travel internationally twice a year for company events lasting up to two weeks.

Compensation and Benefits

Canonical considers location, experience, and performance in determining compensation on a global scale. We review compensation annually, and more frequently for graduates and associates, to recognize outstanding performance. In addition to a competitive base salary, we offer a performance-driven annual bonus or commission. We provide all team members with additional benefits that reflect our values and ideals, tailored to meet local needs and ensure fairness globally.

* Flexible work environment with twice-yearly in-person team sprints. * A personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year. * Annual compensation review. * Recognition and rewards programs. * Generous annual leave. * Maternity and paternity leave. * Employee Assistance Programme. * Opportunities to travel to new locations to meet colleagues. * Priority Pass and travel upgrades for long-haul company events.

About Canonical

As a trailblazer in the global shift to open-source technology, Canonical is at the forefront of the software industry. As the publisher of Ubuntu, one of the most significant open-source projects, we are transforming the landscape of AI, IoT, and cloud computing. We hire globally and maintain a high standard for our employees, requiring excellence in all we do. Most of our colleagues have worked remotely since the company's inception in 2004. Working at Canonical is a journey into the future, challenging you to think differently, work smarter, and continuously improve your skills and performance.