From the listing

About the role

Canonical is building a comprehensive automation suite to provide multi-cloud and on-premise data solutions for the enterprise. The data platform team develops managed solutions for a full range of data stores and technologies, including big data, NoSQL, and structured SQL engines.

We are looking for candidates from junior to senior level interested in Big Data technologies such as distributed event-stores (Kafka) and parallel computing frameworks (Spark). Engineers who thrive here are mindful of open-source community dynamics and large-scale organizational needs.

What you'll do

Collaborate proactively with a distributed team.
Write high-quality, idiomatic Python code to create new features.
Debug issues and interact with upstream communities publicly.
Automate data platform operations including fault-tolerant replication, TLS, installation, and backups.
Provide domain-specific expertise on data systems to other teams within Canonical.
Focus on the creation and automation of infrastructure features rather than data analysis.

What they're looking for

Proven hands-on experience in software development using Python.
Proven hands-on experience in distributed systems, such as Kafka and Spark.
Bachelor’s or equivalent in Computer Science, STEM, or a similar degree.
Willingness to travel up to 4 times a year for internal events.

Nice to have

Experience operating and managing SQL or NoSQL data platform technologies at a DBA level.
Experience with Linux systems administration, package management, and infrastructure operations.
Experience with public cloud or private cloud solutions like OpenStack.
Experience with operating Kubernetes clusters for persistent data services.

From the company page

Canonical benefits

Work from anywherePaid learning stipendsPaid parental leavePaid holidaysHealth & wellness stipendPaid retreats

◉ Remote policy · in their words

“Canonical has been a fully distributed organization since its origin in 2004. Our remote-first policy enables us to collaborate with the best in the world in our domain.”

Pulled from their careers page · verified by Atlas

The hot takeJeff's read on Canonical

Canonical is a bit tricky for me to review for a few reasons:

Their Glassdoor reviews have dropped down to 3.1 (March 25, 2026), right at my threshold. I'd want to see this start trending in the correct direction in order to consider them for inclusion again.

I like they they have yearly sprints in cool locations like Cape Town, Madrid, and London.

I like that hire-from-anywhere/work-from-anywhere roles are clearly labeled on the job listings as "worldwide."

I'd like to read more about how they feel about their employees traveling as a digital nomad, or being location-independent in general.

I'd like to see more details about the perks they do or don't offer employees, though I suspect they vary by hiring region.

Please get back to me, because I would like to include you again, but need a few more details to do so.

Full read on the company page