Developer Relations Engineer

As the publisher of Ubuntu we serve millions of developers, building for the cloud, IoT and data science. We aim to make open source (or “open source software”, “OSS”) easier and more reliable for innovators and enterprises.

We have created a new Developer Relations team

to engage directly

with open source communities

and developer-centric organisations.

We hope both to:

communicate our vision and products

for better OSS development experiences

also to have a better feedback loop

from those audiences
to shape our offerings and priorities

A Developer Relations Engineer is a technical expert, strategist and communicator with deep empathy for developers. This discipline combines practical engineering skills with firm diplomacy across organisational boundaries, in both directions. Like our audience, a Developer Relations Engineer is never satisfied with the status quo 💯, and is driven by an insatiable curiosity to find better ways to get things done 💯. They are problem-solvers and inventors, who understand people's needs and love the way that tools can be adapted to meet them. They stay current with tech trends and provide insights and guidance while fostering innovation.

My Response

ME: Screaming like a teenager in the 90s at a Backstreet Boys concert on the inside…this is me

I have had trouble consistently with people telling me the status quo is good enough.

That I shouldn’t be spending time on figuring out a new way, just keep using the same old thing.

That even includes using bzr up until a few years ago 100% of the time, to now using it about 10% of the time, but still have hundreds of sites up and running with source code kept in self-hosted bzr repos 🙂.

Location

we are building our initial DevRel team in Europe, Middle East, African and American time zones

What your day will look like

In a typical day, a developer relations engineer might:

take part in team product meetings,

at levels from strategy to day-by-day ~~development~~ progress,
contributing insight and expertise

maintain conversations with developer community members

wherever they may be found

Matrix, Discord, Telegram, Gitter, etc… ?

social media

Mastodon
Matrix

product forums

Which ones? Canonical’s?

meet-ups

SWEET - WHERE????
CAN I START ONE IN CALGARY???

and more

work with colleagues in other teams in the company,

as part of efforts to
help establish commonality and consistent approaches

help solve specific technical problems that users or colleagues have identified

contribute to technical documentation

to ensure that developer users' needs are met there

work on

technical articles
presentations
workshops

identify new opportunities and directions for improvement

in the developer experience we provide

present at

conferences
meetups
technical events

What we are looking for in you

A strong candidate

is a programmer or developer with a demonstrable passion (✅) for and engagement (TRYING) in open-source software

has worked with real-world challenges developing and deploying software using Linux

Building Linux servers since I was 11 or 13ish… ~24 years ago.

has practical hands-on experience of Linux software packaging (including Snaps, debs, charms, rocks, PIP, containers)

Server and Desktop, and WSL, and Virtualized on Xen, various platforms, and several cloud providers.

TODO: Learn “charms” and “rocks”

understands current software packing issues and trends in the Linux ecosystem

has been a contributor to open-source communities, software and documentation

TRYING - See www.github.com/GregSweats

is an engaging, vivacious speaker and presenter

Dale Carnegie trained me in public speaking when I was 16. Amazing benefits.

Becoming a World’s Level Amateur Powerlifter from 24-35ish

Now I am a “Fatner” - a Fat Father. But this would give me motivation to get back to it!!!

Volunteer Ambassador with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) in the past, along with my child.

He was diagnosed at 3.

I was diagnosed at 13ish? in 1999.

can work effectively, tactfully, empathetically and confidently in contexts where different parties have different perspectives, needs and understanding

builds trust, relationships and confidence

is willing to travel globally twice a year for company events, as well as to upstream and partner events

Additional skills that you might also bring

🏁 previous experience in a developer advocacy or community role

✅ in-depth familiarity with Ubuntu and the Canonical ecosystem of products

Ubuntu

CalVer

bzr - Bazaar Version Control
Launchpad
Followed experiments with kids in 3rd world countries???

What we offer you

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 recognise outstanding performance.

In addition to base pay, we offer a performance-driven annual bonus.

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 - we’ve been working remotely since 2004!

Past sprints / in person events?

Personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year

Annual compensation review

Recognition rewards

Annual holiday leave

How much?
How flexible?
How is it managed?

Maternity and paternity leave

Employee Assistance Programme

What is this?

Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues from your team and others

Sweet

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.

#LI-remote

Developer Relations Engineer

Home based - Worldwide

—

Apply for this role

Required

First Name Last Name Email Phone Resume Cover Letter

How did you perform in mathematics at high school?

~~How did you perform in your native language at high school?~~

Please share your rationale or evidence for the high school performance selections above. Make reference to provincial, state or nation-wide scoring systems, rankings, or recognition awards, or to competitive or selective college entrance results such as SAT or ACT scores, JAMB, matriculation results, IB results etc.

~~We recognise every system is different but we will ask you to justify your selections above. What was your bachelor's university degree result, or expected result if you have not yet graduated?~~

Please include the grading system to help us understand your result e.g. ‘85 out of 100’, ‘2:1 (Grading system: first class, 2:1, 2:2, third class)’ or ‘GPA score of 3.8/4.0 (predicted)’. We have hired outstanding individuals who did not attend or complete university. If this describes you, please continue with your application and enter ‘no degree’.

Universities around the world score degrees in different ways. Please indicate your result, or expected result if you are close to graduation, along with information about the grading system.

Briefly outline your engagement in open-source software and developer relations/advocacy communities.

Briefly (two or three sentences maximum) state your most relevant experience for this role.

Briefly say what you enjoy about the work of developer relations and advocacy.

Later in the process, you may be asked to take a technical test. Please choose the language(s) that you'd be most comfortable being tested on.

We expect all colleagues to meet in person 2-4 times a year, at internal company events lasting between 1-2 weeks.

We try to pick new and interesting locations that will likely require international travel and entry requirement visas and vaccinations. Are you willing and able to commit to this?

Please note that if you require any accommodation for travel that relates to a physical disability please do let us know during your hiring process and we will be happy to discuss your requirements further.

Website LinkedIn Profile Please confirm that you have read and agree to Canonical's Recruitment Privacy Notice and Privacy Policy.

Recruitment Privacy Notice

In which country do you currently work?

Please select your current location from the dropdown.

During this application process I agree to use only my own words. I understand that plagiarism, the use of AI or other generated content will disqualify my application.

Developer Relations Engineer | Canonical

My Response

Location

What your day will look like

What we are looking for in you

Additional skills that you might also bring

What we offer you

About Canonical

Canonical is an equal opportunity employer

Developer Relations Engineer

Apply for this role