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Staff Engineer, Development Lifecycle

AI Summary
Canonical is seeking a staff-level engineer to lead development-lifecycle practices for Ubuntu in highly regulated, mission-critical sectors such as automotive, aerospace, and industrial robotics. The role translates certification, compliance, and quality requirements into pragmatic engineering standards, measurable processes, and continuous-improvement practices. It partners with engineering leadership and cross-functional teams to embed agile, quality, and qualification principles across the organization. The successful candidate will also represent Canonical with external standards groups, committees, and strategic partners. Strong experience with Linux, regulated software standards, compliance programs, and engineering leadership is central to the position.
Remote from
USA, Canada, EMEA+1 more, LATAM
Salary
Undisclosed
Employment
Full Time
Experience
Senior
Published
Apply before
7 Dec 2026
Listing views
14
Application actions
0
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Opportunity details

About this role.

Lead our effort to get Ubuntu fit for applications in automotive, aerospace, industrial robotics and other highly regulated environments.

Ubuntu is already the world’s most widely used Linux in general; we want to make it the world’s best choice for mission-critical systems in these sectors too.

To achieve this, we are investing in processes and engineering, tools and analysis, practices and people. Success in this effort will secure open-source software’s place at the highest tables in industry, where the complex demands of regulation, compliance and certification are demonstrably met.

We’re seeking for someone to lead this effort. In this role you will transform those complex demands into concrete outcomes, and in turn into engineering excellence values and practices that will bring those outcomes about.

This is not a paper exercise; it means leading and challenging engineering culture, working with teams across the organisation. Your work will make those practices come alive, at every level of engineering. You will bring a passion for engineering excellence and open-source software, and the ability to unify agile approaches across multiple projects and teams. Under your leadership, teams will adopt and internalise these values as their own.

Through your work, you will help define Canonical’s ways of working, collaborating with engineering leadership to describe and implement continuous improvement processes, and establish qualification requirements in support of engineering quality standards. You will define methods and approaches for measuring quality, and use them to shape and sharpen engineering culture.

Beyond Canonical, you will establish strategic relations with external working groups, committees and partners.

You will join the industrial standards team at Canonical and work closely with company-wide engineering leadership to define and deliver this vision.

Location: This role may be held anywhere in European, Middle Eastern, African or Americas regions or time zones.

What we are looking for in you

  • You have a strong experience in engineering and process management in an agile environment
  • You have knowledge or certification of standards addressing quality of software artifacts such as ISO/IEC 25010 or ASPICE
  • You love developing and growing people and teams and have a track record of doing it
  • You have led successful compliance and certification efforts, understand well the process and stakeholders management required
  • You have experience with Linux

Additional skills that you might also bring

  • Background as a software developer
  • Experience in establishing product engineering development metrics and KPIs
  • Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills

What we offer you

Your base pay will depend on various factors including your geographical location, level of experience, knowledge and skills. In addition to the benefits above, certain roles are also eligible for additional benefits and rewards including annual bonuses and sales incentives based on revenue or utilisation. Our compensation philosophy is to ensure equity right across our global workforce.

In addition to a competitive base pay, we provide all team members with additional benefits, which reflect our values and ideals. Please note that additional benefits may apply depending on the work location and, for more information on these, you can ask in the later stages of the recruitment process.

  • Fully remote working environment – we’ve been working remotely since 2004!
  • Personal learning and development budget of 2,000USD per annum
  • Annual compensation review
  • Recognition rewards
  • Annual holiday leave
  • Parental Leave
  • Employee Assistance Programme
  • Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues at ‘sprints’
  • Priority Pass for travel and travel upgrades for long haul company events

About Canonical

Canonical is a pioneering tech firm that is 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.​ Work at Canonical is a step into the future, and will challenge 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

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.Lead our effort to get Ubuntu fit for mission critical environments like automotive, aerospace, industrial robotics and other highly regulated uses.

#LI-remote

Apply now >

This job listing has been manually reviewed by the Jobicy Trust & Safety Team for compliance with our posting guidelines, including verification of the company's legitimacy, accuracy of job details, clarity of remote work policy, and absence of misleading or fraudulent content.

Role DNA

A quick view of the complexity, pace, ownership and collaboration implied by the job description.

Job Complexity

5/5
EasyHard

Pace & Pressure

4/5
RelaxedFast-paced

Autonomy Level

5/5
GuidedFull ownership

Communication Load

5/5
IndependentCollaborative
AI insightThis is a staff-level, organization-wide leadership role operating at the intersection of software engineering, regulated-industry certification, and cultural change. It requires influencing multiple teams and external stakeholders while converting abstract standards into durable engineering practices.

Salary analysis

Estimated compensation compared with the broader US market for similar roles.

Estimated job median (per year)Market rate
$190,000
US market range (per year)$160k–$230k
AI insightThe yearly pay period is inferred from the job context; it was not explicitly stated by the employer. No employer salary range is disclosed. Estimated US annual market compensation for a staff-level engineering leader focused on software quality, compliance, and development lifecycle practices is approximately $160,000–$230,000 USD, with an estimated midpoint of $190,000 USD; actual pay will vary substantially by location and experience.

Core skills

Skills and capabilities most closely associated with this opportunity.

Sample interview questions
How would you translate a software-quality standard such as ISO/IEC 25010 into practices that engineering teams can adopt?

I would first map the standard’s quality attributes to the product context and regulatory objectives. I would then define lightweight, observable practices, such as quality gates, traceability expectations, test evidence, and measurable indicators, and pilot them with a small number of teams. Feedback from the pilot would be used to improve the approach before scaling it across the organization.

Describe how you have led a compliance or certification initiative across multiple engineering teams.

I would establish a shared interpretation of the target standard, identify accountable owners for each evidence area, and create a transparent delivery plan with risks and dependencies. Regular working sessions, clear documentation, and objective readiness metrics help teams make progress without treating compliance as a separate paperwork exercise. The goal is to build repeatable engineering capability rather than prepare only for one audit.

What metrics would you use to assess the health of a development lifecycle for safety- or mission-critical software?

I would use a balanced set of leading and lagging measures, including requirements-to-test traceability, review coverage, automated test effectiveness, defect escape rates, remediation lead time, change failure rate, and evidence completeness. Metrics should reveal improvement opportunities rather than become targets that encourage gaming. Each metric must be interpreted in the context of product risk and engineering maturity.

How would you influence teams to adopt new quality practices in a remote, distributed organization?

I would involve engineers and leaders early, explain the practical value of each practice, and provide templates, tooling, and coaching that reduce adoption friction. I would identify respected champions within teams, share successful examples, and use feedback loops to adapt the process. Consistent communication and visible leadership support are essential when change must work across time zones.

How does Linux and open-source experience support work in regulated industries?

Open-source software requires disciplined management of provenance, vulnerabilities, maintenance, and change control, all of which are important in regulated environments. Linux experience helps in understanding the technical lifecycle, upstream relationships, release engineering, and security implications of platform changes. I would combine this technical understanding with documented assurance practices suitable for certification and audit needs.

This analysis is generated from the job description. Salary estimates, role characteristics and sample answers are guidance, not employer-provided facts.
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