---
title: 'System Software Engineer - GCC/LLVM compiler, tooling, and ecosystem at Canonical'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/system-software-engineer-gcc-llvm-compiler-tooling-and-ecosystem-canonical-paz24nemyp04'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# System Software Engineer - GCC/LLVM compiler, tooling, and ecosystem at Canonical

- **Company:** Canonical
- **Location:** Americas
- **Work type:** remote
- **Posted:** 2026-02-12
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/canonical/jobs/7612825

## Job description

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 a System Software Engineer for GCC/LLVM compiler, tooling, and ecosystem

We are building a team to focus on the modern C and C++ programming language and their ecosystem on Ubuntu. They will deliver the best possible GCC and LLVM runtimes, developer experience and supporting tooling in Ubuntu. They will  ensure that the cutting edge of modern programming languages innovation is available to Ubuntu users, to lay the foundation for future inventions and open source communities.

This is an exciting opportunity for a software engineer with a strong passion for compilers, runtimes and tool chains. You will have excellent competencies in modern C/C++, Linux distributions, software architectures and  open source software.  Come build a rewarding, meaningful career working with the best and brightest people in open source technology at Canonical, a growing international software company and make Ubuntu the best operating system to develop and run C/C++ applications in the cloud, in datacenters, in containers, directly on the operating system, and anywhere Ubuntu can run.

The Ubuntu Foundations Team delivers the core Ubuntu system, the base for the entire Ubuntu family of products and services. Ubuntu strives to deliver the latest-best free software components, in an easy to use and highly reliable form. We build on the technical excellence of keystone open source software like GNU and Debian and bring additional focus and shape to the solutions we offer the industry.

Part of the Ubuntu Foundations team, you will work on one of the most critical toolchains involved in the making of Ubuntu and the pillars of the modern software ecosystem. You will leverage your competencies and experience  in C, C++ to make Ubuntu the best platform to develop, distribute and consume software built with GCC and LLVM. You will be passionate about the future of C, C++, of Ubuntu, mindful of the dynamics of the open-source ecosystem, and equally aware of the needs of large but innovative organizations. You will drive the best in class integration in Ubuntu from desktop to cloud in a secure, reliable, performing, efficient and future-proof fashion.

You will be discussing design with other team members , mentor less senior engineers, and participate in code reviews and design reviews. You will also be working with other teams to ensure architecture decisions improve the overall performance and experience of Ubuntu. Your role as part of the Ubuntu Foundations team will have an impact on every aspect of Ubuntu from Desktop, Server, Ubuntu Core and also cloud images.

Location: This role will be based remotely in the AMERICAS region

## The role entails

Based on the first round of interviews, we identify specific teams where you might be an excellent fit and conduct second-round interviews with those teams. Our engineers are:

- Collaborate proactively with a distributed team
- Select, integrate and package best-of-breed tooling with Ubuntu to improve developer and operator experience with GCC and LLVM
- Write high-quality code to create new features
- Debug issues and produce high-quality code to fix them
- Review code produced by other engineers
- Discuss ideas and collaborate on finding good solutions
- Work from home with global travel 2 to 4 weeks a year for internal and external events

## What we are looking for in you

- You have relevant GCC or LLVM experience, ideally in the world of cloud-native software and Linux
- You have experience in packaging software for Debian and Ubuntu
- You are a long-time Linux user
- Exceptional academic track record from both high school and university
- Undergraduate degree in a technical subject or a compelling narrative about your alternative chosen path
- You love technology and working with brilliant people
- You are passionate, curious, flexible, articulate, and accountable
- You value soft skills and are passionate, enterprising, thoughtful, and self-motivated
- Ability to travel internationally twice a year for company events up to two weeks long

Nice-to-have skills

- Experience with Linux distributions and distribution engineering
- Experience with software packaging and distribution mechanisms
- Understanding of build systems and toolchains, including for cross-compilation
- Performance or Security Engineering experience

## 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 recognize 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
- Team Member Assistance Program & Wellness Platform
- 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 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.](https://canonical.com/careers/diversity/identity)

## About Canonical

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Canonical publishes Ubuntu and delivers trusted open source software, security, and support to enterprises worldwide.
- **Entity Type**: Private (founder-funded, bootstrapped)
- **Headquarters**: Not publicly available in provided sources (commonly reported as London, UK)
- **Founded**: 2004
- **Founders**: Mark Shuttleworth

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Enterprise open source software, cloud infrastructure, and security.
- Target customers: B2B – enterprises, cloud providers, developers, and government organizations.
- Mission statement: "We amplify the impact of open source" – helping people and organizations tap into the power of open source to develop new products with speed and confidence.

## Products & Services
- **Ubuntu**: The world’s most popular Linux distribution for desktops, servers, and IoT.
- **Ubuntu Pro**: A single subscription providing security maintenance, compliance features, and support for the entire open source portfolio.
- **OpenStack**: Canonical’s distribution of the open source cloud platform for private and hybrid clouds.
- **Kubernetes (MicroK8s, Charmed Kubernetes)**: Lightweight and production-grade Kubernetes solutions.
- **Landscape**: Systems management and compliance tool for Ubuntu deployments.
- **LXD**: System container manager for running full Linux systems in containers.
- **Netplan**: Network configuration utility for Linux.
- **Vanilla Framework**: Open source CSS framework developed by Canonical’s web and design teams.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Total funding – not applicable (bootstrapped). Annual revenue – not publicly available.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Founder Mark Shuttleworth is the primary investor. Partners include major cloud providers and hardware vendors (not explicitly listed in provided sources).
- **Growth Signals**: Scaled engineering headcount from 600 to 950 engineers (per blog post). Remote-first since inception in 2004. Over 80 nationalities represented.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Ubuntu ecosystem**: De facto standard for cloud and developer environments.
- **Remote-first culture**: Fully distributed since 2004, attracting global talent.
- **Open source leadership**: Deep involvement in communities (OpenStack, Kubernetes, etc.) and strong brand trust.
- **End-to-end portfolio**: From OS to applications, with consistent security maintenance for up to 15 years.
- **Rigorous hiring**: Manual, human-reviewed process that prioritizes culture fit and potential.

## Strategic Focus
- Expand enterprise adoption of Ubuntu Pro and managed open source services.
- Maintain leadership in cloud, container, and edge computing.
- Strengthen security and compliance offerings for regulated industries.
- Continue investing in open source communities and upstream projects.

## Why Work Here
- **Remote-first**: Truly distributed company with no central office; team members work from anywhere.
- **Culture**: Values of reliability, accessibility, precision, and adroitness. Emphasis on collaboration and open source ethos.
- **Small teams, big impact**: Engineering organized into nimble squads (950 engineers across ~50 teams) prioritizing agility and deep expertise.
- **Diversity**: Team from over 80 nationalities; equal opportunity employer.
- **Career progression**: Focus on impact and potential over rigid experience thresholds; opportunities to shift roles if a better fit is found.
- **Perks**: Personal development budget, learning opportunities, and a global, inclusive environment.

## Sources
1. [canonical.com/careers](https://canonical.com/careers)
2. [canonical.com/company](https://canonical.com/company)
3. [job-boards.greenhouse.io/canonical](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/canonical)
4. [canonical.com/blog/hiring-the-canonical-way](https://canonical.com/blog/hiring-the-canonical-way)

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