About this role.
Canonical is seeking a remote C++/Rust engineer in EMEA or APAC to build and evolve Mir, its graphics and windowing-system stack. The role covers feature design, debugging, testing, benchmarking, documentation, architecture review, and collaboration with open-source communities and commercial partners. Candidates need strong modern C++ and Rust skills, Linux experience, and at least two years of relevant industry experience; compositor, Wayland, Vulkan, OpenGL, and concurrency experience are valued. This position offers the opportunity to influence display technologies used across embedded devices, edge systems, and desktop environments while working in a globally distributed team.
Role DNA
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Job Complexity
5/5Pace & Pressure
4/5Autonomy Level
4/5Communication Load
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Core skills
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Cover letter sample
Dear Hiring Team,
I am excited to apply for the C++/Rust Graphics and Windowing System Software Engineer role at Canonical. My experience developing Linux-based systems software, writing reliable modern C++ and Rust, and investigating complex performance and concurrency issues aligns well with the Mir team's mission.
I would bring a detail-oriented engineering approach to feature development, automated testing, benchmarking, debugging, and technical documentation. I am also comfortable collaborating asynchronously with distributed teams and contributing constructively through code and architecture reviews.
I would welcome the opportunity to help advance Mir and Ubuntu Frame while delivering robust graphics-platform capabilities for developers and users.
Sample interview questions
I would first reproduce the issue with a controlled workload and establish a baseline using frame-time, CPU, GPU, and memory metrics. I would profile relevant threads and rendering paths, compare recent changes, inspect synchronization or buffer-management behavior, and add targeted tracing where needed. After identifying a cause, I would implement a focused fix, add a regression benchmark or test, and validate performance across representative hardware configurations.
The integration should define clear ownership, error-handling, ABI, build, and testing boundaries between C++ and Rust components. Rust is particularly useful for reducing memory-safety risks in new or isolated subsystems, but FFI interfaces must remain narrow and carefully documented. I would also evaluate runtime overhead, dependency policy, developer tooling, and a gradual migration plan that does not disrupt existing users or maintainers.
Concurrency defects can cause frame stalls, deadlocks, race conditions, visual corruption, input latency, or inconsistent buffer lifetimes. A compositor commonly coordinates client events, rendering, presentation feedback, and hardware resources across multiple threads or asynchronous operations. I would use explicit ownership rules, appropriate synchronization primitives, bounded queues, careful lock ordering, and stress testing to make those interactions reliable.
I would acknowledge the report, gather precise environment details, logs, hardware information, versions, reproduction steps, and expected versus actual behavior. I would attempt reproduction on comparable configurations, reduce the issue to a minimal case, and review relevant code paths and recent changes. Throughout the process, I would communicate progress clearly and document the final cause, workaround, fix, and regression coverage.
An effective review examines correctness, memory and resource lifetime, thread safety, error handling, API clarity, performance implications, portability, and test coverage. For graphics code, I would also assess synchronization, frame pacing, hardware assumptions, and behavior under failure or unusual display configurations. Feedback should be specific, respectful, and focused on helping the author deliver maintainable production-quality code.
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 C++/Rust Graphics and Windowing System Software Engineer.
We build Mir – a high-performance, high-efficiency technology stack for window managers, display subsystems and solutions built on top of it, like Ubuntu Frame. Leading with vision, we shape the technology stack that empowers communities to realize a world where apps work seamlessly in every graphical environment.
Our goal is to enable the whole spectrum of graphics from single-purpose screens through edge devices to full desktop environments. We also set the pace for graphics enablement across the Ubuntu certified hardware ecosystem. Our daily drill includes design, development and testing of features as well as working with the community and responding to issues and user inquiries.
Most of the software is written in C++, with support tooling in scripting languages. We will use Rust as an evolutionary step forward. Thus candidates are required to have strong skills in both Rust and C++. We’re growing the team and looking for new colleagues who share our passion for precision, performance and user experience. We are hiring on various career levels with a minimum of 2 years industry experience. We are looking for people who ideally have experience in building window compositing systems or graphics device experience. We’re committed to creating an outstanding developer experience, secure foundations, and easy access to today’s most used graphics toolkits and libraries.
This is an excellent opportunity for someone who wants to have a meaningful impact on modern display technologies that will impact millions of developers and users. Canonical offers a fast-paced team environment and a career full of learning and development opportunities across the open source spectrum.
Location: This role will be based remotely in the EMEA or APAC region.
The role entails
- Design and implementation of features across the Mir stack
- Assisting in debugging, tracking down and fixing issues
- Participating in our engineering process through code and architectural review
- Creating and improving tests and performance benchmarks to catch issues early
- Creating and maintaining documentation to enhance the developer experience
- Engaging with the open source community and commercial partners
- Collaborating proactively with a distributed team
What we are looking for in you
- Excellent Bachelor’s or equivalent degree in Computer Science, STEM or similar and 2+ years of working experience
- Excellent modern C++ and excellent Rust programming skills
- Familiarity with Linux as a development and deployment platform
- Ability to collaborate remotely with a diverse set of team members and remain highly motivated, productive, and organized
- Ability to travel internationally twice a year for company events up to two weeks long
Nice-to-have skills
- You have experience with the Wayland protocol ecosystem and compositors
- You are familiar with OpenGL, Vulkan, Flutter and other graphics, toolkits and animation frameworks
- You have a solid understanding of asynchronous programming and concurrency patterns
- You have proven ability to consistently deliver robust code to production
- You have strong written and verbal communication skills to document and present software developed
What we offer colleagues
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 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
- 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 of software. 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. Most colleagues at Canonical have worked from home since our 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.
#LI-Remote #Linux #Graphics #OpenSource #Canonical #Mir #Rust #C++
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