Senior Software Engineer (Backend)

About the Role

Canonical is seeking a Senior/Staff/Lead Engineer to join the Launchpad team. This full-time position is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The role involves leading the development and evolution of Launchpad, a platform dedicated to managing open-source development projects, including code hosting, bug tracking, and package building. The ideal candidate will have 5-10 years of experience in a relevant engineering role.

Role Overview

As a Senior, Staff, or Lead Engineer, you will contribute to the architecture and refinement of a Python-driven system that supports major projects like Ubuntu. Your work will focus on maintaining business-critical services while driving innovation in areas such as package-building capabilities, developer workflows, and web UI modernization. This position involves empowering developers globally by ensuring Launchpad remains a structured and efficient environment for open-source contributions.

Key Responsibilities

• Influence and drive design, architecture, and feature decisions across distributed teams to deliver high-impact solutions.
• Develop API-first Python code with unit tests, contributing to robust and scalable systems.
• Diagnose and resolve complex technical challenges, implementing fixes to enhance performance and reliability.
• Mentor engineers and lead code reviews to reinforce best practices and elevate team standards.
• Engage in remote work while participating in international travel 2 to 4 times annually for internal discussions and industry events.

Required Qualifications and Skills

• A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Computer Science, STEM, or a similar field.
• Proven technical excellence in Python development and the delivery of high-quality, production-ready code.
• Expertise in maintaining and improving large-scale web applications and database management, with PostgreSQL experience being an advantage.
• Deep understanding of integration, infrastructure, and operations within distributed environments.
• A security-focused mindset, ensuring robust implementation throughout the development lifecycle.
• Familiarity with Ubuntu as a development and deployment platform.
• Solid grasp of software packaging systems, including Debian/Ubuntu packages.
• Strategic thinking, problem-solving abilities, and a drive for innovation.
• Curiosity, adaptability, strong leadership, and collaboration skills.

About Canonical

Canonical is a leading provider of open-source software and operating systems, including Ubuntu, which is widely used in public cloud, data science, AI, and IoT initiatives. The company operates with a globally distributed team of over 1200 colleagues across more than 75 countries, with limited office-based roles. Canonical is founder-led, profitable, and expanding. The company fosters a workplace free from discrimination, valuing diversity of experience, perspectives, and background.

Compensation and Benefits

Compensation at Canonical is determined by geographical location, experience, and performance, with annual reviews to recognize outstanding contributions. In addition to base pay, the company offers a performance-driven annual bonus or commission and provides additional benefits designed to meet local needs while ensuring global fairness.