Ubuntu Engineering Manager at Canonical

About Canonical

Canonical is a leading provider of open-source software and operating systems for global enterprise and technology markets. Our platform, Ubuntu, is widely used in breakthrough enterprise initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation, and IoT. Our customers include the world's leading public cloud and silicon providers, as well as industry leaders across many sectors. The company is a pioneer of global distributed collaboration, with over 1200 colleagues in more than 75 countries and very few office-based roles. Teams meet two to four times yearly in person, in interesting locations around the world, to align on strategy and execution. Canonical is founder-led, profitable, and growing.

We are actively hiring engineering leaders to work across the breadth of our Ubuntu Engineering organization. We are seeking leaders who care deeply for quality, performance, and resilience in software, and who have a proven track record for building, nurturing, and developing high-performing engineering teams. This leadership track includes roles for Managers and Senior Managers. At Canonical, managers are expected to remain technical and closely involved with the code, as well as the processes and people around them.

Our teams integrate the freshest open-source software, provide robust upgrade paths, and engineer the future of Ubuntu. Ubuntu is not just the world’s most deployed open-source operating system; it is a platform that enables innovation for millions of users across the globe. Our community represents the full spectrum of developer experience, from students, hobbyists, and freelancers to high-performance engineering and creative teams in corporate and academic environments.

The four key teams that ship Ubuntu are:

• Foundations: Responsible for maintaining foundational software, including architectures, package managers, compilers, toolchains, bootloaders, filesystems, and core utilities.
• Server: Leading the design, evolution, and future of our Ubuntu Server distribution.
• Desktop: Driving Ubuntu Desktop, our future immutable desktop: Ubuntu Core Desktop, WSL, gaming technology, and a suite of modern applications for the desktop crafted with Flutter.
• Debcrafters: A new team dedicated to the forward movement, maintenance, and overall health of the Ubuntu archive, one of the most abundant repositories of open-source software available today.

You will be accountable for your technical roadmap and responsible for your team: helping them grow as engineers, perform important and satisfying work, and enjoy their experience. Technical leadership experience and a background in software engineering are necessary prerequisites for this role. You will be expected to lead, challenge, and develop strong engineers, positively influence the culture, facilitate technical delivery, and collaborate with your team on strategy and execution. At Canonical, you will have the opportunity to engage with and contribute to the broader open-source community. We are looking for individuals who can help build a thriving community and contribute with enthusiasm and precision to a broad range of technologies.

The Role Entails

Based on the first round of interviews, we identify specific teams where you might be an excellent fit and conduct second-round interviews with those teams. Our leads are:

• Leading their teams in elevating the Linux developer and user experience.
• Designing, building, and shipping high-quality, performant software in Rust, Go, and Python.
• Demonstrating sound engineering principles through architecture, development, and code reviews.
• Taking responsibility for planning, estimation, and execution.
• Working with product management to define the vision and strategy for Ubuntu.
• Setting expectations with other engineering teams, senior management, and external stakeholders.
• Offering coaching, mentoring, technical feedback, and hands-on career development.
• Contributing to upstream and neighboring open-source projects.
• Authoring and improving technical and community documentation.

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.
• Ability to drive and deliver technical work streams, consistently exceeding expectations.
• Capability to lead and coach others to deliver exceptional engineering work.
• A demonstrated passion for open-source software.
• Significant experience with Rust, Go, Python, Flutter, or C/C++.
• Professional written and spoken English.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Results-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments.
• Ability to travel twice a year for company events, each lasting up to two weeks.

Nice-to-have Skills

• Experience managing technical teams.
• Experience contributing to or leading open-source projects.
• Experience with Linux distributions/distribution engineering.
• Experience with software packaging and distribution mechanisms.
• Performance or Security Engineering experience.

What We Offer Colleagues

We consider geographical location, experience, and performance when shaping compensation worldwide. We revisit compensation annually (and more frequently for graduates and associates) to ensure we recognize 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 2,000 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.