Alliances Field Engineer

Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets. Our platform, Ubuntu, is widely used in breakthrough enterprise initiatives such as 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 1000+ colleagues in 70+ countries and very few roles based in offices. Teams meet two to four times yearly in person, in interesting locations around the world, to align on strategy and execution.

We are hiring an Alliances Field Engineer to help our biggest partners (companies like Intel, Nvidia, Google, Dell, HP, Accenture, Tata and the like) understand and embrace our open source platform for themselves and their customers. Our worldwide field engineering team applies expert insights to real‑world customer problems, enabling the enterprise adoption of Ubuntu, OpenStack, Kubernetes, AI/MLOps and a wide range of associated technologies. We are experts in the whole open source stack, from kernel to desktop, from cloud to the edge. The team also focuses on business problems—building things reliably, efficiently and cost‑effectively, and speaking the language of our customers and their industries. We help global companies embrace public and private cloud infrastructure, cloud‑native operations, and open source applications.

For this team we are looking for alliances engineers to support OEM (hardware manufacturers), GSI (global system integrators), ISV (independent software vendors), channel partners and public cloud alliance partners. You will support various partners to adopt our products, help business leaders define joint go‑to‑market programs from a technical standpoint, and ensure that partners can offer and architect solutions utilizing Canonical’s technologies on public clouds and in the data center.

Location: This is a home‑based role, we are hiring worldwide.

What your day will look like:

• Understand Ubuntu, Linux, networking and services in real‑world environments
• Architect cloud infrastructure solutions such as Kubernetes, Kubeflow, OpenStack, Ceph and Spark on‑premises or in public clouds (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
• Architect and integrate popular open‑source software such as PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Kafka, Cassandra and NGINX
• Help partners to offer and architect joint solutions utilizing Canonical’s technologies on top of the public clouds and in the data center
• Design and publish joint reference architectures and perform technical validations with various partners
• Prepare and run onboarding sessions/workshops with partners’ teams to promote Canonical products and solutions

What we are looking for in you:

• Extensive experience with Linux (Ubuntu preferred), Kubernetes, Ceph and software automation
• Experience designing and implementing solutions on top of public or private clouds
• Python and bash understanding, troubleshooting skills
• Fluent written and spoken English
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• High motivation, ability to multi‑task and follow‑up reliably on commitments
• Interest in customer‑facing engagement, including pitching, demonstrating and understanding customer environment and needs
• Interest in new technologies like LXD, Juju and Snaps
• Ability to travel globally up to 30% of the time
• Degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics or related technical field

What we offer you:

• 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 from your team and others
• Priority Pass for travel 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 – to succeed, we need to be the best at what we do. Canonical has been a remote‑first company since its inception in 2004. Work at Canonical is a step into the future, challenging you to think differently, work smarter, learn new skills and raise your game. Canonical provides a unique window into the world of 21st‑century digital business.

Canonical is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law.