National AI Awards 2025Discover AI's trailblazers! Join us to celebrate innovation and nominate industry leaders.

Nominate & Attend

Security Software Engineer

Canonical
Greater London
3 days ago
Create job alert

This is a general track for security-focused engineering in every team at Canonical, across all levels of seniority. Apply here if you are already an exceptional security-focused software engineer.

Most product engineering teams at Canonical include one or two spaces for dedicated security-oriented software engineers. Their role is to challenge the entire team to think more deeply about security. They contribute to the product as engineers too, but their primary focus is to improve security through state of the art practices - from table-top threat model exercises to architecture reviews, from extended security testing with fuzzers and static analysis tools to external security analyst liaison.


We also build a number of products that are entirely motivated by security technology and requirements, such as our AppArmor kernel investments and our hardening, compliance and certification toolkits for Ubuntu.


As the publisher of Ubuntu we also handle long-term security response and hardening for the entire operating system and open source universe. Working with tens of thousands of upstreams means that we need to be fluent in every major programming language, and design, build and adopt sophisticated tools that enable us to work at scale and speed with confidence.


These roles encompass all aspects of product security, including feature development, vulnerability response, proactive security and open source community participation. All security roles interact closely with many of the other Canonical engineering and development teams, Canonical customers and our partners across the open source community.


Location: We have open roles for security specialist software engineers in every timezone.


What you'll do


Security roles might tackle any of the following:

Define, implement and document new security features 


Lead security-oriented thinking in a product engineering team
Analyze, fix, and test vulnerabilities in Canonical and open source Software
Contribute to Ubuntu and upstream projects to benefit the community 
Audit and analyze source code for vulnerabilities 
Integrate new tools in our security infrastructure, pipelines and processes
Achieve and retain various security certifications 
Extend and enhance Linux cryptographic components - specifically with modules such as OpenSSL/Libgcrypt - with the features and functionality required for country-specific compliance such as FIPS and CC certification 
Work with external partners to develop CIS benchmarks
Design and develop hardening automation for Ubuntu 
Monitor the security industry for new developments 
Develop, test and maintain new software capabilities
Provide guidance and support to other engineering teams

What we are looking for in you

An exceptional academic track record from both high school and university


Undergraduate degree in Computer Science or STEM, or a compelling narrative about your alternative path
Drive and a track record of going above-and-beyond expectations
A thorough understanding of the common categories of security vulnerabilities
Modern engineering techniques to find and fix them 
Familiarity with open source development tools and methodologies 
Skill in one or more of C, Python, Go, Rust, Java, Ruby or PHP
Experience as a security champion
Experience driving security within a wider SDLC process 
Professional written and spoken English 
Experience with Linux (Debian or Ubuntu preferred) 
Excellent interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability 
Passion, thoughtfulness, and self-motivation 
Excellent communication and presentation skills 
Result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments 
Ability to travel twice a year, for company events up to two weeks each

Optional skills we also value

Clear and effective communication with the team and Ubuntu community members 


Experience working with Linux Kernel 
Security Certification experience and knowledge in FIPS and/or CC 
Experience with OVAL (Open Vulnerability Assessment Language) 
Knowledge of and familiarity with low-level Linux cryptography APIs 
Demonstrated high learning ability
Performance engineering experience 

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


Personal learning and development budget of USD 2, per year
Annual compensation review
Recognition rewards
Annual holiday leave
Maternity and paternity leave
Employee Assistance Programme
Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues
Priority Pass, and travel upgrades for long haul company events

Related Jobs

View all jobs

Security Software Engineer

Senior Security Software Engineer

Cyber Security Software Engineer

Senior Security Software Engineer

Senior Security Engineer - Database Security, Trust Engineering

Web3 Security Researcher

National AI Awards 2025

Subscribe to Future Tech Insights for the latest jobs & insights, direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.

Industry Insights

Discover insightful articles, industry insights, expert tips, and curated resources.

How to Get a Better Cyber Security Job After a Lay-Off or Redundancy

Redundancy is never easy—especially in a fast-moving field like cyber security, where your skills and experience are constantly evolving. But if you’ve recently been made redundant from a cyber security role, know this: the UK cyber workforce remains in high demand, and your expertise is more valuable than ever. Whether you’re a SOC analyst, penetration tester, incident responder, security architect or GRC specialist, there are still thousands of opportunities across sectors including finance, defence, government, retail, and critical infrastructure. This guide will help you turn redundancy into a career relaunch, with a clear action plan tailored to the UK cyber security job market.

Cyber Security Jobs Salary Calculator 2025: Check Your Market Value in Seconds

Why yesterday’s pay survey no longer protects you. “Could I earn more at a managed SOC?” “Is that fintech’s offer really competitive?” Every UK cyber‑security professional asks some version of those questions—usually after another colleague lands a pay rise, a recruiter sends a tempting JD, or a fresh breach makes headline news. Yet salary guides published even last year feel as out‑of‑date as a forgotten antivirus signature. Since 2024, ransomware gangs switched to double‑extortion, deepfake phishing exploded, & the EU’s NIS2/DORA regulations bled into UK contracts despite Brexit. With each shift, salary bands move. To cut through stale averages, CybersecurityJobs.tech distilled a three‑factor formula that lets you estimate a realistic 2025 salary in under a minute. Feed in your role, your UK region, & your seniority level. The output arms you with data‑driven leverage for your next appraisal, job application, or freelance rate card. This article explains the formula, reveals the forces pushing cyber pay ever higher, & outlines five practical moves to boost your market value within ninety days.

How to Present Cyber Security Solutions to Non-Technical Audiences: A Public Speaking Guide for Job Seekers

Cyber security is no longer just an IT issue—it’s a board-level priority. Whether you’re applying for a role in penetration testing, security operations, risk management, or compliance, your ability to clearly explain cyber threats and solutions to non-technical stakeholders is vital. This guide will help cyber security job seekers develop one of the most in-demand soft skills in the industry: public speaking. You’ll learn how to simplify complex concepts, structure effective presentations, use storytelling and analogies, and handle common stakeholder questions with confidence.