Engineering Manager

Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets. Our platform, Ubuntu, is widely used in enterprise initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation, and IoT. Our customers include leading public cloud and silicon providers, and industry leaders in many sectors. The company operates globally with 1200+ colleagues in 75+ countries and very few office-based roles. Teams meet two to four times yearly in person in locations around the world to align on strategy and execution.

The company is founder-led, profitable, and growing. This is a general track for first-level engineering management positions at Canonical. We believe open source is transforming the tech sector and enterprise compute, and we aim to make open source easier, more reliable, and more secure for deployment and development. Our engineers are carefully selected from applicants globally, with a focus on brilliance and motivation to advance open source. Engineering managers help teams achieve more and feel proud of the results.

Engineering Managers should be outstanding developers who are comfortable reviewing patches or software design specs. They are trusted engineers who understand the importance of a whole-team effort in creating great products and who enjoy seeing colleagues develop. They should contribute code to set the standard, while recognizing that their influence on team direction, focus, and delivery is more significant than the code they write. We grow management skills and train engineers who are interested in soft skills to be managers.

A typical first-level software engineering team is based in a single time zone (e.g., EMEA, Americas, or APAC) with an Engineering Manager and a Senior Engineer dedicated to a single product, working together to shape the roadmap, technical strategy, code, documentation, and community engagement. Both are capable of coding and comfortable assigning work and maintaining delivery expectations. They will both undergo management training at Canonical to align on team behaviours, habits, routines, norms, and standards, while focusing on different aspects of the problem.

• Lead and develop a team of engineers, ranging from graduate to senior
• Work remotely in a single major time zone, sometimes two
• Coach, mentor, and offer career development feedback
• Identify and measure team health indicators
• Implement disciplined engineering processes
• Represent your team and product to stakeholders, partners, and customers
• Develop and evangelise great engineering and organisational practices
• Plan and manage progress on agreed goals and projects
• Be an active part of the leadership team, collaborating with other leaders

• An exceptional academic track record from both high school and university
• Undergraduate degree in Computer Science or STEM, or a compelling narrative about an alternative path
• Drive and a track record of going above and beyond expectations
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English
• A love of developing and growing people and a track record of it
• Experience in leading, coaching, and mentoring software developers
• Organised and able to ensure your team delivers timely, high-quality results
• Well-organised, self-starting, and able to deliver to schedule
• Professional manner of interacting with colleagues, partners, and the community
• You have advanced expertise in your domain
• You are knowledgeable and passionate about software development
• You have solid experience working in an agile development environment
• You have a demonstrated drive for continual learning
• Builds trust, relationships, and confidence
• Result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments
• Ability to travel twice a year, for company events up to two weeks each

Additional Skills We Value

• Experience in a developer advocacy or community role
• Ops and system administration experience
• Performance engineering and security experience

We consider geographical location, experience, and performance in shaping compensation worldwide. We revisit compensation annually (and more often for graduates and associates) to ensure we recognise 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

Canonical is a pioneering tech firm at the forefront of the global move to open source. As the company that publishes Ubuntu, one of the most important open-source projects and the platform for AI, IoT, and the cloud, we are changing the world of software. We recruit on a global basis and set a very high standard for people joining the company. We expect excellence; to succeed, we need to be the best at what we do. Most colleagues at Canonical have worked from home since our inception in 2004. Working here is a step into the future and will challenge you to think differently, work smarter, learn new skills, and raise your game.

Canonical is an equal opportunity employer

We are proud to foster a workplace free from discrimination. Diversity of experience, perspectives, and background create a better work environment and better products. Whatever your identity, we will give your application fair consideration.