---
title: 'Tax Associate at Canonical'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/tax-associate-canonical-emea-london-united-kingdom-4s2ddk1czgt8'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-06'
---

# Tax Associate at Canonical

- **Company:** Canonical
- **Location:** EMEA / London, United Kingdom
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-11-04
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-06
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/canonical/jobs/8186466

## Job description

We are hiring a Tax Senior Associate, reporting to the CFO. This role covers multiple Canonical corporate entities in several countries. We have a preference for candidates in EMEA time zones.

This is a unique opportunity for an astute and forward-thinking tax professional to build a tax function from the ground up at a profitable, fast-growing technology company. We're looking for someone with a keen interest in technology and how technology is changing the tax profession, who can translate that insight into a modern, effective strategy and hands-on execution.

Reporting directly to the CFO, you will design and own the tax processes that support our global expansion. Your primary challenge will be navigating the complexity of the evolving global environment in which we operate, where tax rules are constantly evolving. You will work with the CFO to establish a scalable and efficient framework fit for a dynamic, global software business - tackling everything from digital services taxes to leveraging new tax technologies.

In our selection process, we prioritize intellect and strategic thinking over years of experience. We are looking for someone with a strong academic background, a professional qualification in accounting and tax and demonstrable exposure to global tax considerations in a multinational context.

Location: This role will be based remotely in the EMEA region, or may be office based in London, UK

## The role entails

- Managing and coordinating the preparation and review of corporate tax, VAT, and other relevant tax returns for our entities, ensuring timely and accurate filings
- Working with external advisers to develop transfer pricing documentation and tax planning initiatives and lead their implementation
- Acting as a key point of contact for tax authority audits and enquiries, preparing responses and supporting documentation in collaboration with external advisors.
- Identifying opportunities to streamline and improve tax processes, controls, and data management to enhance efficiency and accuracy particularly using technology and automation
- Managing and running tax provisioning and reporting under IFRS, including calculating effective tax rates and preparing tax-related disclosures for financial statements
- Working closely with the wider finance team, legal, and business operations to provide tax support and ensure cross-functional alignment
- Monitoring changes in tax legislation across the regions in which we operate and assess their potential impact on the company.

## What we are looking for in you

- An exceptional academic track record from high school and university.
- Undergraduate degree in business, finance, economics, technology or other quantitative field.
- Full accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA) and tax advisor (CTA, ADIT or equivalent) qualifications.
- A minimum of 3-5 years of relevant tax experience, gained within a Big 4/Top 10 accounting firm or a multinational in-house tax team.
- Track record of going above-and-beyond expectations to achieve outstanding results.
- The work ethic and confidence to shine alongside motivated colleagues.
- Confidence to respectfully speak up, exchange feedback, and share ideas without hesitation.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to explain complex tax concepts to non-tax stakeholders.
- Business level written and spoken English with excellent presentation skills.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability.
- Focus on results, with a personal drive to meet commitments.
- Thoughtfulness and self-motivation.
- Sincere personal motivation aligned with our mission.
- International travel 2-4 times a year for company events up to two weeks long.

In addition we expect that you will match our values, by being:

- Precise, taking care to deliver correctness and clarity.
- Reliable, delivering high quality work that builds trust and confidence.
- Accessible, collaborating to build products and systems that are usable.
- Adroit, blending enthusiasm, knowledge, adaptability, style and character.

Nice-to-have skills

- Leadership ability
- Software or tech industry experience
- Public company finance and reporting experience

## What we offer colleagues

We consider geographical location, experience, and performance in shaping compensation worldwide. We assess performance and revisit compensation twice annually to ensure we recognize outstanding colleagues. 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
- Bi-annual compensation review
- Company recognition rewards
- 40 days annual leave per annum, including public holidays and our All Company holiday periods
- Maternity and paternity leave
- Team Member Assistance Program & Wellness Platform
- Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues, with Priority Pass for lounge access

## About Canonical

Canonical is a pioneering tech firm at the forefront of the global move to open source. 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. We are founder-led, profitable, and growing.

Powered by worldwide distributed collaboration since our inception in 2004, we believe tech and business leadership can emerge anywhere. We have no central headquarters. Most of us work from home, but we are exceptionally disciplined about this. We have very high expectations of all colleagues, and are champions of excellence. 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)

Req #1365

## 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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