I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Canonical in Dec 2024
Interview
I was sent an email with 30 questions to answer and send back within 2 weeks. At first I wasn't sure if it was scam or not because through the two steps of this process no human bothered to talk to me. This stage took me 3 hours to answer all the questions. They weren't one word answer questions, they required multiple sentences and was a large time commitment. Then I was sent a link to do a Python skill test through a 3rd party. Essentially hours after the skill test I was immediately rejected. No feedback or explanation other than they receive 80,000+ applicants per posting. Well they do a bad job at screening then I guess.
What a waste of my time. I thought this might be worth the time investment, but no. I got an email to start this process for another role I applied to at the company and I am just not going to put the time into it. They didn't invest any time into me in the process so why do they deserve hours of my time for free? What a weird system.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Who do you think are key competitors to Canonical? How do you think Canonical should plan to win that race?
I applied online. I interviewed at Canonical (New York, NY) in May 2026
Interview
Really long interview process - OA, Written interview, 3 technical rounds, then 3 behavioral rounds. Then a generic rejection email. The interviews were - Linux System Skills, Software Architecture, Python Pair Programming. The interviewers were really nice.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
For Software Architecture, expect system design questions, how you think about distributed systems, trade-offs in architecture decisions. Linux system skills - should have clear Linux knowledge: Kernel and shell - description, Foo.sh permission denied error when running (./foo.sh) what to do to fix it, How ssh works, Container and VM - difference, OpenStack
The interview process included four stages: an initial phone screen with a recruiter, a technical phone interview covering Python fundamentals and algorithms, a live pair-programming session on a real-world task, and a final interview focused on system design and team fit. Each step lasted between 45 and 60 minutes. The interviewers asked for explanations of tradeoffs and for code clarity.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How would you design a scalable Python microservice to handle high request volume?
I applied online. The process took 5 weeks. I interviewed at Canonical in Aug 2025
Interview
I applied for a position at Canonical and the initial response was very fast and promising. Within a day, a Hiring Manager reached out, expressing positive feedback on my CV.
The first step was a demanding writing assignment: a three-page essay answering a detailed set of personal and professional questions. I dedicated about a week to completing this, and the feedback was immediate and positive—the HM was happy with the essay.
Following the essay, I was required to complete a technical Online Assessment (OA), which I successfully cleared by passing all test cases.
The next stage was the Thomas GIA Test (General Intelligence Assessment). I invested the time to complete all five sections. My results showed I performed Acceptable (average/satisfactory) in four sections and Exceptional (above average) in the Numerical Information section, indicating a strong capability for the role's requirements.
Given the positive feedback on the CV and essay, the successful clearance of the technical OA, and satisfactory cognitive assessment scores, I felt highly confident about moving forward. However, I was promptly hit with a generic rejection email, stating they had decided to proceed with other candidates.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Technical interview had string based Python questions