Software Engineer - Secure Container Images - remote job

Canonical is hiring a Software Engineer - Secure Container Images. 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 main tools named in the advert are: Python, UX Research, Agile / Scrum. Your CV should show concrete examples of exactly these skills.

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.

With over 10 billion pulls, Canonical's container images are relied upon globally by developers for secure, scalable software deployment. This trust hinges on our dedication to providing robust, production-ready images.

We're introducing an innovative new generation of Ubuntu-based container images known as "rocks": meticulously crafted to maximize performance and usability, with a commitment to long-term security. As a key member of our team, you'll oversee the journey from upstream source to final image, transforming open-source software into tested, verified, and continually updated artifacts that developers can confidently deploy.

This is a dynamic, multidisciplinary software engineering role. Given the majority of our packaged software originates from third-party upstream sources, you'll engage with a wide array of container technologies and numerous open-source projects, often in multiple programming languages. You'll integrate and maintain these to ensure seamless consumption on Ubuntu, with automation being a core component of the role. Building, testing, and publishing images at scale through automated pipelines will be central to your responsibilities.

Your seniority level will reflect your software engineering expertise and your capability to mentor and guide more junior colleagues.

Location: This position is located in the EMEA region.

This role involves:

- Developing and maintaining a robust portfolio of high-quality container images - Designing and operating automated CI/CD pipelines that build, test, scan, sign, publish, promote, and retire images across various environments and architectures - Crafting tooling and tests to evaluate security compliance and cloud-native compatibility - Collaborating closely with the community and partners to share container expertise and keep the portfolio current with new features, patches, and applications - Partnering with product security, platform, infrastructure, and customer-facing teams - Contributing to the team's decision-making with technical input - Establishing image standards that encompass security, compatibility, performance, size, and developer experience - Expanding our knowledge base and documenting our work - Operating in a collaborative, agile, and globally distributed environment - Mentoring colleagues and participating in hiring - Working remotely with some travel up to 15% for internal and external events

We seek candidates with:

- Proficiency in Bash and Python - Experience with CI/CD systems such as GitHub Actions or Jenkins - A background in building container images - Familiarity with container management or orchestration tools like Docker, Podman, or Kubernetes - Practical experience with Linux systems, package management, build systems, release engineering, or artifact pipelines - Strong communication skills and end-to-end ownership, covering design, review, documentation, operation, and cross-team collaboration - A passion for sharing knowledge and fostering growth in others - A Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Computer Science, a STEM field, or a related discipline - A strong academic record from both high school and university - Fluent business-level written and spoken English - Personal motivation that aligns with our mission - International travel 2-4 times a year for company events up to two weeks long - 0-7 years of relevant experience

In addition, we value candidates who:

- Are meticulous, ensuring accuracy and clarity - Are dependable, delivering high-quality work that builds trust and confidence - Are approachable, collaborating to create usable products and systems - Are adaptable, blending enthusiasm, knowledge, style, and character

Desired skills include:

- A security-focused maintenance mindset: investigating dependencies and vulnerabilities, assessing impacts, and delivering safe fixes - An understanding of software supply chain security, including experience with artifacts such as SBOMs, signatures, provenance, or CVE reports - Familiarity with GitOps principles and workflows - Proficiency in additional languages such as Go or Rust - Experience with minimal and distroless container images - Knowledge of the OCI specifications - Familiarity with security or compliance frameworks like CIS, NIST, FedRAMP, or DISA STIG - Contributions to open source projects - A commitment to embedding security across all stages of the engineering lifecycle (DevSecOps), with an interest in responsibly and safely using AI or agentic development - Relevant certifications in Linux, container, or cloud-native technologies (such as CKS or DCA)

If your experience closely aligns with our requirements, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gaps in specific qualifications. We value transferable experience in Linux packaging, release engineering, build systems, platform engineering, and open-source maintenance.

What we provide to colleagues:

- A flexible work environment with in-person team sprints twice a year - A learning and development budget of USD 2,000 annually - Bi-annual compensation reviews - Company recognition programs - 40 days of annual leave, including public holidays and our All Company holiday periods - Maternity and paternity leave - Access to a Team Member Assistance Program and Wellness Platform - Opportunities to travel to new locations to meet colleagues, with Priority Pass for lounge access

About Canonical: Canonical is a trailblazing technology company leading the global shift to open source. Our platform, Ubuntu, is widely utilized in cutting-edge enterprise initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation, and IoT. Our clients include leading public cloud providers and industry leaders across various sectors. Founded in 2004, we are founder-led, profitable, and growing. We believe in fostering a globally distributed collaboration environment that values diversity and innovation.