Backend Software Engineer Jobs at Canonical with Visa Sponsorship
Canonical hires Backend Software Engineers for distributed, remote-first teams building open source infrastructure, cloud platforms, and Linux-based systems. The company has sponsored H-1B visas for backend engineering roles, making it a realistic target for international engineers with strong systems-level or cloud-native experience.
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INTRODUCTION
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 1100+ 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 building a new generation of Ubuntu-based container images to simplify open-source application deployment across the world. These container images will be free to use with long-term security commitments, and engineered for performance, security and usability. As with Ubuntu, we will work in the open and welcome community participation.
In this role, you'll be developing the tools and technology for building and maintaining this new generation of container images. You'll be working with multiple teams, both inside and outside Canonical, to ensure we deliver container images with the highest quality whilst maintaining a seamless Ubuntu user experience. You will also be highly involved in the implementation and maintenance of the Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery automation around these container images, for which you are expected to demonstrate deep insights into container-based DevOps. You will be contributing to fast-moving products like Rocks (OCI images) and Chisel, and thus have the chance to help steer and consolidate this new team. You'll gain experience with numerous container technologies and participate in exciting and exploratory tasks, where your feedback will be critical for the decision-making process. As an engineer, your seniority will be based on your software development background and ability to lead junior team members. Come build a rewarding, meaningful career working with the best and brightest people in technology at Canonical. This is an exciting opportunity for experienced software engineers looking for a place to leave their mark, who are passionate about shaping an open source product with the highest quality, with and for the community!
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
This role entails:
- Build robust, scalable, leading-edge container images
- Work on automated Ci/CD processes for building, testing and publishing our container images
- Write tools and tests for assessing security compliance and cloud-native compatibility
- Work in Go to deliver new functionalities to our container-building tools
- Participate in strong engineering process through code and architectural review
- Provide technical feedback for the team's decision-making process
- Engage with the open-source community as a subject-matter expert
- Grow our knowledge base and write documentation
- Work in a collaborative, agile and globally distributed environment
- Mentor and help hiring
- Work from home with global travel up to 15% for internal and external events
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
What we are looking for in you:
- You are knowledgeable and passionate about software development
- You are a team player and have experience in collaborative development
- You have worked with CI/CD systems (e.g. Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Concourse CI, etc.)
- You have a track record of delivering timely, high-quality software
- You have experience with container images and containerised operations
- You master at least one container management/orchestration tool (e.g. Docker, Kubernetes, etc.)
- You have significant experience with Go
- You are experienced with Linux systems administration and package management
- You have strong written and verbal communication skills to convey technical concepts
- You bring clarity to technical and engineering discussions
- You are someone who strongly believes that sharing is caring, and knowledge is power
- Your skills range from those of a Graduate to a mid-senior Software Engineer
- You have a Bachelor's or equivalent in Computer Science, STEM or a similar degree
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
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 recognise 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
LOCATION
Location: EMEA
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.

INTRODUCTION
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 1100+ 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 building a new generation of Ubuntu-based container images to simplify open-source application deployment across the world. These container images will be free to use with long-term security commitments, and engineered for performance, security and usability. As with Ubuntu, we will work in the open and welcome community participation.
In this role, you'll be developing the tools and technology for building and maintaining this new generation of container images. You'll be working with multiple teams, both inside and outside Canonical, to ensure we deliver container images with the highest quality whilst maintaining a seamless Ubuntu user experience. You will also be highly involved in the implementation and maintenance of the Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery automation around these container images, for which you are expected to demonstrate deep insights into container-based DevOps. You will be contributing to fast-moving products like Rocks (OCI images) and Chisel, and thus have the chance to help steer and consolidate this new team. You'll gain experience with numerous container technologies and participate in exciting and exploratory tasks, where your feedback will be critical for the decision-making process. As an engineer, your seniority will be based on your software development background and ability to lead junior team members. Come build a rewarding, meaningful career working with the best and brightest people in technology at Canonical. This is an exciting opportunity for experienced software engineers looking for a place to leave their mark, who are passionate about shaping an open source product with the highest quality, with and for the community!
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
This role entails:
- Build robust, scalable, leading-edge container images
- Work on automated Ci/CD processes for building, testing and publishing our container images
- Write tools and tests for assessing security compliance and cloud-native compatibility
- Work in Go to deliver new functionalities to our container-building tools
- Participate in strong engineering process through code and architectural review
- Provide technical feedback for the team's decision-making process
- Engage with the open-source community as a subject-matter expert
- Grow our knowledge base and write documentation
- Work in a collaborative, agile and globally distributed environment
- Mentor and help hiring
- Work from home with global travel up to 15% for internal and external events
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
What we are looking for in you:
- You are knowledgeable and passionate about software development
- You are a team player and have experience in collaborative development
- You have worked with CI/CD systems (e.g. Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Concourse CI, etc.)
- You have a track record of delivering timely, high-quality software
- You have experience with container images and containerised operations
- You master at least one container management/orchestration tool (e.g. Docker, Kubernetes, etc.)
- You have significant experience with Go
- You are experienced with Linux systems administration and package management
- You have strong written and verbal communication skills to convey technical concepts
- You bring clarity to technical and engineering discussions
- You are someone who strongly believes that sharing is caring, and knowledge is power
- Your skills range from those of a Graduate to a mid-senior Software Engineer
- You have a Bachelor's or equivalent in Computer Science, STEM or a similar degree
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
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 recognise 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
LOCATION
Location: EMEA
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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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Backend Software Engineer Jobs at Canonical Jobs
Align your stack with Canonical's backend
Canonical's backend engineering work centers on Go, Python, and Rust across Ubuntu, Juju, and cloud infrastructure tooling. Tailor your resume and portfolio to reflect experience with these languages and open source contribution history before applying.
Confirm H-1B eligibility before your interview
H-1B sponsorship requires your role to qualify as a specialty occupation under USCIS criteria. Backend engineering roles typically satisfy this, but verify your degree field aligns with the specific position, especially if your background is in a non-CS discipline.
Target roles that open outside H-1B cap season
Canonical posts backend roles year-round globally. If you're already in the U.S. on a valid visa status, a cap-exempt transfer or change of status may be possible outside the standard April lottery window, shortening your wait significantly.
Browse open backend roles using Migrate Mate
Canonical lists multiple backend engineering positions at any given time across different product teams. Use Migrate Mate to filter specifically for Canonical roles that include visa sponsorship, so you're only applying to positions where sponsorship is confirmed.
Raise sponsorship explicitly during the offer stage
Canonical's distributed hiring model means offer conversations often move quickly and remotely. Once you receive an offer, confirm in writing that H-1B sponsorship is included and ask for the anticipated LCA filing timeline before signing anything.
Prepare your employment authorization documentation early
Once your employer files the Labor Condition Application with DOL, the H-1B petition follows. Gather academic transcripts, degree certificates, and prior employment verification letters in advance so nothing delays your I-129 filing after the LCA is certified.
Backend Software Engineer at Canonical jobs are hiring across the US. Find yours.
Find Backend Software Engineer at Canonical JobsFrequently Asked Questions
Does Canonical sponsor H-1B visas for Backend Software Engineers?
Yes, Canonical has sponsored H-1B visas for Backend Software Engineers. The company hires for backend roles across distributed teams working on open source and cloud infrastructure projects. Sponsorship availability can vary by role and team, so confirming sponsorship intent directly during the offer stage is the most reliable approach.
Which visa types are commonly used for Backend Software Engineer roles at Canonical?
The H-1B is the primary work visa used for Backend Software Engineers at Canonical. Backend engineering roles generally satisfy the USCIS specialty occupation requirement given the technical degree and skills involved. If you hold an Australian passport, the E-3 visa is an alternative worth discussing with Canonical's HR team during the offer process.
What qualifications and experience does Canonical expect for Backend Software Engineers?
Canonical typically looks for engineers with a bachelor's degree or higher in computer science, software engineering, or a related field, combined with demonstrated experience in Go, Python, or Rust. Open source contributions carry significant weight in their evaluation process. Senior roles often require experience with distributed systems, cloud platforms, or Linux internals at scale.
How do I apply for Backend Software Engineer jobs at Canonical?
Canonical posts backend engineering roles on their careers page and on Migrate Mate, where you can filter specifically for positions that include H-1B visa sponsorship. Applications typically involve an initial online assessment followed by several technical interviews conducted remotely. Preparing a strong GitHub profile or open source portfolio significantly strengthens your application for backend roles at Canonical.
How do I understand the H-1B filing timeline once I receive an offer from Canonical?
After your offer is confirmed, your employer files a Labor Condition Application with the DOL, which typically takes one to two weeks to certify. The H-1B petition is then submitted to USCIS. Standard processing takes three to five months. If you need a faster decision, premium processing through USCIS can reduce the adjudication window to around 15 business days for an additional fee.
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