Ubuntu is a very popular operating system for robotics, for a number of reasons. Perhaps the software stack one happens to use prefers Ubuntu, or the hardware one is using only distributes drivers for Ubuntu. Maybe one’s team is already familiar with it, or decision-makers like that it has long-term support releases and extended security maintenance. Perhaps one views snaps as the perfect way to support and update robots in the field, and so on. However, there’s a problem with this list: none of these reasons really have anything to do with robotics. That isn’t good enough.

Why is Ubuntu so popular in the cloud? There are a number of reasons (including some of the ones I already provided), but I want to talk about one in particular: because we at Canonical are experts in cloud technology. We have a team working on OpenStack. We have a team working on LXD. People know that if they have a problem, they can turn to us for help and we’ll be there. Heck, they can even have us manage their entire cloud for them if they want.

It’s time for us to do the same with robotics. We have a team with robotics expertise, and we’re looking for more talented engineers to join us. The work is challenging and diverse:

  • Working in upstream ROS1 and ROS2
  • Developing infrastructure to properly support ROS1 and ROS2 in Ubuntu
  • Designing and developing robotics-related features in snapd and snapcraft
  • Writing blog posts, creating videos, and presenting at conferences

There is really one big perk to this gig: you get to work with me. Mic drop.

Oh, that’s not enough? Sheesh, fine, you also get to work from home and travel the world, if you’re into that kind of thing.

If this sounds interesting to you, I’d love to talk. There are actually two different roles available that tackle slightly different aspects:

The roles are open as long as those links are live!