Jobs · Full-time

Backend Software Engineer at Canonical - Remote Global — Columbus

LocationColumbus
CompanyCanonical
Sourcejobicy
Posted2026-08-22 16:10:04

Traveler-Friendly Insight

Canonical is one of the most nomad-friendly employers in tech. The company has operated as a fully distributed, remote-first organization since 2004, meaning async-friendly workflows are deeply embedded in the culture — not a pandemic-era experiment. There are no fixed office hours mandated in the posting, giving you maximum flexibility across time zones.

Travel requirement: The role does require 2–4 weeks of travel per year for team sprints and events. These are company-organized trips to interesting global locations, which is actually a perk for travelers — funded travel built into the job.

Visa considerations: Since hiring is global with no country restrictions listed, digital nomad visa programs are highly compatible. Strong options include:

  • Portugal (D8 Nomad Visa) — Lisbon averages ~$1,800/mo for a comfortable lifestyle; excellent for EU access.
  • Thailand (LTR Visa) — Bangkok costs ~$1,200–1,500/mo; great value with a fast-growing tech scene.
  • Colombia (Digital Nomad Visa) — Medellín runs ~$1,000–1,400/mo; year-round spring climate and strong coworking infrastructure.

No salary is disclosed, but Canonical typically pays competitive global rates benchmarked to local markets. Even a mid-range software engineering salary would provide a strong quality of life in any of these cities. There are no coworking stipends or equipment allowances explicitly mentioned, so factor that into your setup budget.

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.

This is an exciting opportunity for an exceptional software engineer passionate about open source software, Linux, and Web Services at scale. Come build a rewarding, meaningful career working with the best and brightest people in technology at Canonical, a growing international software company.

Canonical's Store team develops and operates a large system of backend services that power the Snap Store and Charmhub.io marketplaces. Our services are built primarily in Python, with a bit of Golang.

We have some exciting challenges ahead including continuing to scale our production architecture, significantly expanding the range of software we can deliver through the system powering our marketplaces, and enhancing our offering for the booming world of IoT and for large Enterprise solutions.

If you have a passion for clean APIs, have a bias towards shipping, and believe that automated tests are the key to higher velocity and reliability, you'll fit right in.

What you'll do

  • Collaborate remotely with a globally distributed team.
  • Write clean web service APIs to support both CLI and web frontend clients, using Python (and optionally Golang).
  • Design and implement new features and enhancements from spec to production and ongoing operations at scale.
  • Review code and technical designs produced by other engineers.
  • Discuss ideas and collaborate on finding good solutions.
  • Work remotely with global travel for 2 to 4 weeks for internal and external events.

Who you are

  • You have demonstrated professional proficiency in developing public-facing APIs and web applications using Python.
  • You have a broad technology base but favour backend code and infrastructure.
  • You know your way around relational and non-relational databases and can effectively design data models that perform well, and tune queries to access them.
  • You are comfortable with Ubuntu as a development and deployment platform.
  • You have demonstrated strong academic performance in Computer Science, STEM or a similar degree.
  • You love technology and working with a diverse set of talented people.
  • You are curious, flexible, articulate, and accountable.
  • You value soft skills and are passionate, enterprising, thoughtful, and self-motivated.

About Canonical

Canonical is a growing, international software company that works with the open-source community to deliver Ubuntu — the world's #1 cloud operating system. Our mission is to realise the potential of free software in the lives of individuals and organisations. Our services are helping businesses worldwide to reduce costs, improve efficiency and enhance security with Ubuntu. Canonical is a unique tech company — global, remote-first, open source, with 700 professionals across 50 countries — we want to be the world's best, not biggest, global software company. With almost every team remote by default, Canonical sets the pace on the 21st-century digital workplace.

What Canonical offers

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this role truly fully remote with no office requirement?
Yes — Canonical has operated as a remote-first company since 2004, with very few office-based roles globally. The only travel requirement is 2–4 weeks per year for internal and external events.
What programming languages are used on the Store team?
The team primarily uses Python for backend services, with some Golang. Proficiency in Python is required; Golang experience is optional but welcome.
Is there a salary range for this position?
No salary range is disclosed in the job posting. Canonical recruits globally and typically benchmarks compensation to local markets, so it's worth discussing expectations during the interview process.
What kinds of products will I be working on?
You'll be building and maintaining backend services that power the Snap Store and Charmhub.io marketplaces, with a focus on scaling architecture, expanding software delivery capabilities, and supporting IoT and Enterprise solutions.
Does Canonical hire candidates from any country?
The job is listed as open to applicants anywhere, and Canonical currently employs over 1,200 people across 75+ countries, indicating a truly global hiring approach.
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