This is a unique opportunity to use your software engineering and cryptography skills to build and maintain the security foundation that enables Ubuntu and its users to operate securely and remain compliant with international information security standards such as FIPS 140-3 and Common Criteria. You will use your applied cryptography, Linux security, and coding skills to enhance the Ubuntu distribution and work with organizations such as DISA and CIS to draft and implement security hardening benchmarks for Ubuntu.
As a member of the Security Hardening team, you will work with and develop automation tooling to audit deployed systems for DISA-STIG and CIS benchmark compliance. You will interact with internal and external stakeholders to identify gaps in our frameworks and develop new solutions to address these challenges. In this role, you will have the opportunity to influence team and security culture, facilitate technical delivery, and help drive team direction and execution. You'll collaborate closely with Canonical's kernel team as well as the wider engineering organization to drive features impacting all Ubuntu users.
Day-to-Day Responsibilities:
- Collaborate with other engineers in the Security Hardening team to achieve and retain various security certifications.
- Extend and enhance Linux cryptographic components (OpenSSL, Libgcrypt, GnuTLS, and others) with the features required for FIPS and CC certification.
- Work with external partners to develop security hardening benchmarks and audit + remediation automation for Ubuntu.
- Contribute to Ubuntu mainline and upstream projects to land solutions and benefit the community.
- Identify opportunities to improve our security posture and deliver high-quality solutions on schedule.
What We Are Looking For:
- Hands-on experience with low-level Linux cryptography APIs and debugging.
- Excellent software engineering fundamentals, including prior experience with C development.
- Hands-on experience with Linux system administration and shell scripting.
- Demonstrated knowledge of security and cryptography fundamentals and experience writing secure code.
- Significant development experience working with open-source libraries.
- Excellent verbal and written communications skills for efficient collaboration in a remote-first environment.
Additional Skills That You Might Also Bring:
- Prior experience working on FIPS/Common Criteria certified products.
- Knowledge of DISA-STIG or CIS benchmarks and related audit + remediation tooling (e.g., Compliance as Code).
- Experience working directly with the Linux Kernel.
- Familiarity with Python, OVAL (Open Vulnerability Assessment Language), and Ansible.
- Contributions to open-source projects.
Work Conditions:
- Distributed work environment with twice-yearly team sprints in person.
- Remote-first company culture since 2004.
Benefits:
- Annual compensation review.
- Performance-driven annual bonus.
- Personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year.
- Recognition rewards.
- Annual holiday leave, maternity and paternity leave.
- Employee Assistance Programme.
- Opportunities to travel to meet colleagues from your team.
Language Requirements:
- Proficiency in English is expected for effective collaboration in a remote-first environment.
