# Curriculum Vitae


I'm an inspiring, motivated technical leader with excellent communication skills capable of
building high-performing teams. I'm a true technologist with an energetic passion for open-source,
security and the development of those around me.

My focus is on technical leadership, but I'm a skilled software engineer that's not afraid to get
my hands dirty. My primary area of technical expertise is in Linux, Kubernetes, cloud automation
and Information Security.

I'm heavily motivated by hard technical problems for good causes, and I like talking about it on
stage whenever I get the opportunity.

## Current Roles

### [Canonical]

#### VP Engineering - _May 21 - Present_

In January 2025, I was appointed the VP Engineering for [Ubuntu] at [Canonical], assuming leadership
of the Ubuntu Desktop, Server, Foundations and [Debcrafters] teams. I wrote about this appointment
and my thoughts on it in [Engineering Ubuntu For The Next 20 Years].

I have since led initiatives such as [oxidizing Ubuntu], reimagining the [release process] and
supported the design and [development of upki].

My reach extends beyond my own projects as a trusted advisor to those my junior and senior. I work
closely with the CEO, CTO and other leaders on a daily basis. I frequently lead engineering
decisions behind snapd, LXD, MAAS, Multipass and Canonical Kubernetes. I'm frequently sought out to
mentor both individual contributors and leaders.

My day-to-day focus is on the evolution of Ubuntu, and the development of the directors, managers
and senior ICs in my organisation that enables them to move confidently and autonomously.

#### VP Engineering, Charm Engineering - _May 21 - Present_

- Led the development of [Juju] and the ecosystem of [charms].
- Grew the team from 25 to over 125 in the first three years - hiring from Graduate to Director
  level, while maintaining high employee engagement across the board.
- Delivered enterprise-grade data, observability, identity and MLops platforms.
- Led the Starcraft team, responsible for delivery of Canonical's [craft tooling].
- Authored new employee levelling framework and promotion process company wide throughout 2023.
- Authored the Canonical Leadership Academy - a six-month course comprising a handbook, weekly
  Google Meet seminars and a workbook aimed at developing leaders across the company to drive their
  teams more effectively and sustainably.

#### Product Lead - _Mar 21 - May 21_

- Led the design and delivery of features across functional teams.
- Worked closely with CEO & CTO to evolve technical strategy for Juju and charms.
- Consolidated and authored missing technical documentation for [Juju] and [ops].
- Introduced and designed the Juju Terraform provider.
- Delivered live training at Operator Day / Kubecon 2021
  ([video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxeJX2WRYjg)).
- Researched and authored technical style guides and implementation examples for [charms] built
  with [ops].

### [University of Bristol]

#### Honorary Senior Lecturer - _Aug 26 - Present_

- Honorary Senior Lecturer in Computer Science.
- Resulting from collaboration between Canonical and University of Bristol.
- Co-supervision of a PhD concerning the automated, safe translation of C to Rust.

### [Rust Foundation] 

#### Board Member - _Apr 26 - Present_

- Resulting from Canonical's Gold membership with the Rust Foundation.
- Focused on topics such as crates.io security, Rust standard library and Rust Foundation strategy.

### [Cortex]

#### Adviser - _Nov 25 - Present_

- Part-time adviser on technical architecture, product strategy and company direction.

## Past Experience

### [Thales UK]

#### Technical Solutions Architect - _2019-2021_

- Proposed, designed and delivered a multi-tenant, cloud-native development platform on Microsoft
  Azure, delivered through extensive use of infrastructure-as-code and automation.
- Designed, built and open-sourced a ‘zero-trust’ SSH tool in Go ([sshizzle]).
- Built, trained and mentored a new cloud engineering team.
- Helped define Thales UK Digital Platform strategy through frequent interaction with C-suite
  leadership as a technical consultant.
- Defined Thales Group’s container security assurance process and best practices.
- Executed engineering consultancy engagements ranging from critical national infrastructure to
  startups delivering zero-trust networking products.

### [British Army]

#### Captain - _2013-2019_

- Architected and built multiple high-end bespoke Electronic Surveillance capabilities.
- Created a small start-up programme with a culture of disruptive innovation.
- Conceived and delivered bespoke technical development and training programmes.
- Co-authored the ‘CEMA Framework’ for the British Army which underpins Joint Forces CEMA doctrine.
- Deployed tactical Electronic Warfare and strategic Signals Intelligence capabilities.

### [MWR InfoSecurity]

#### Internship - _Jun 12 - Oct 12_

- Four month internship as Ruby on Rails applications developer
- Delivered a robust, modern internal messaging and information sharing system

## Education & Certification

- **2020** - Chartered Engineer - [IET]
- **2017** - Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) - [ISC2]
- **2014** - Military & Strategic Leadership - [Royal Military Academy Sandhurst]
- **2013** - BSc Computer Science - [University of Southampton]

## Talks & Podcasts

I enjoy public speaking, and have been fortunate enough to have had a few opportunities to speak on
a range of topics:

- **Jul 2026**: [Why Canonical is Betting on Rust for Ubuntu] - _Francesco Ciulla_
- **Jul 2026**: [Rust in Ubuntu] - _JetBrains Podcast_
- **May 2026**: [Ubuntu Summit 26.04 Opening] - _Ubuntu Summit_
- **May 2026**: [Patch Me If You Can] - _Linux Unplugged_
- **Jan 2026**: [Rust Adoption At Scale] - _Rust Nation UK_
- **Jan 2026**: [Ubuntu for AI Development] - _AI Native Dev_
- **Nov 2025**: [Canonical with Jon Seager] - _Rust in Production_
- **Oct 2025**: [Ubuntu Summit 25.10 Opening] - _Ubuntu Summit_
- **Oct 2025**: [Engineering The Future] - _Linux Unplugged_
- **Jun 2025**: [High-Performing Remote Teams] - _Nerding Out With Viktor_
- **Mar 2025**: [Ubuntu's Rusty Roadmap] - _Linux Unplugged_
- **Mar 2024**: [How Hard Could It Be] - _Self Hosted_
- **Jan 2024**: [Nix and NixOS Development Environments] - _Nerding Out With Viktor_
- **Nov 2022**: [Juju & Model Driven Operations: An Introduction] - _Ubuntu Summit_
- **Nov 2022**: [Streamlining continuous profiling with snaps & charms] - _Ubuntu Summit_
- **Nov 2022**: [Juju & Charmed Operators: Past, Present and Future] - _Ubuntu Summit_
- **May 2021**: [How to build a Charmed Operator for Kubernetes] - _Kubecon Operator Day_

## Contact

You can contact me at [cv@sgrs.uk](mailto:cv@sgrs.uk) or on [Telegram](https://t.me/jnsgruk).

[Canonical]: https://canonical.com
[Cortex]: https://cortex-labs.ai
[Rust Foundation]: https://rustfoundation.org/
[University of Bristol]: https://www.bristol.ac.uk
[ops]: https://github.com/canonical/operator
[Juju]: https://juju.is
[charms]: https://charmhub.io
[craft tooling]: https://jnsgr.uk/2025/07/crafting-your-software/
[University of Southampton]: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/about/faculties-schools-departments/school-of-electronics-and-computer-science
[Royal Military Academy Sandhurst]: https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/our-schools-and-colleges/rma-sandhurst/
[Royal Corps of Signals]: https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/royal-corps-of-signals/
[Thales UK]: https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/countries/europe/thales-united-kingdom
[British Army]: https://www.army.mod.uk/
[sshizzle]: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/zero-trust-ssh-microsoft-azure-jon-seager/
[MWR InfoSecurity]: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mwr-infosecurity
[ISC2]: https://www.isc2.org/certifications/cissp
[IET]: https://www.theiet.org/career/professional-registration/chartered-engineer/
[Ubuntu]: https://ubuntu.com
[Engineering Ubuntu For The Next 20 Years]: https://jnsgr.uk/2025/02/engineering-ubuntu-for-the-next-20-years/
[oxidizing Ubuntu]: https://jnsgr.uk/2025/03/carefully-but-purposefully-oxidising-ubuntu/
[release process]: https://jnsgr.uk/2025/05/supercharging-ubuntu-releases/
[development of upki]: https://jnsgr.uk/2025/12/addressing-linuxs-missing-pki-infra/
[Debcrafters]: https://jnsgr.uk/2025/06/introducing-debcrafters/
[Patch Me If You Can]: https://linuxunplugged.com/665
[Rust Adoption At Scale]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOA4GA8tAWA
[Canonical with Jon Seager]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5-NINPyWZ4
[Ubuntu for AI Development]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CYm-KCw7yY
[High-Performing Remote Teams]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LttkqlgC8Vo
[Nix and NixOS Development Environments]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l-U2NwbKOc
[Ubuntu Summit 26.04 Opening]: https://youtu.be/jvJo8bOT7Lk?si=BMlTGuCK3dyoQr8x
[Ubuntu Summit 25.10 Opening]: https://youtu.be/gsy1UCuw_Pw?t=1586
[Engineering The Future]: https://www.jupiterbroadcasting.com/show/linux-unplugged/636/
[Ubuntu's Rusty Roadmap]: https://www.jupiterbroadcasting.com/show/linux-unplugged/607/
[How Hard Could It Be]: https://www.jupiterbroadcasting.com/show/self-hosted/118/
[Streamlining continuous profiling with snaps & charms]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHKDjZthg-s
[Juju & Charmed Operators: Past, Present and Future]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0TwKeTsqyI
[Juju & Model Driven Operations: An Introduction]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYyNywmZVXM
[How to build a Charmed Operator for Kubernetes]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxeJX2WRYjg&t=6914s
[Rust in Ubuntu]: https://www.youtube.com/live/Doqwh1b4QyA
[Why Canonical is Betting on Rust for Ubuntu]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw-1DDODk9Q