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 very 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, and industry leaders in many sectors. The company is a pioneer of global distributed collaboration, with 1200+ colleagues in 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.

The company is founder-led, profitable, and growing.

This is a general track for first-level engineering management positions at Canonical.

We believe that open source is just starting to transform the tech sector and enterprise compute. Our goal is to make open source easier, more reliable, and more secure for deployment and development. We strive to be the provider of ‘most software to most companies’. To deliver on that ambition, our engineers are carefully selected from the applicants across the globe. We select for brilliance and motivation to take open source to the next level. Our engineering managers help teams achieve more than they realised they could, and feel proud of the result.

We believe that Engineering Managers should be outstanding developers themselves. They should be completely at home reviewing a patch or a software design spec. 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 themselves to set the standard for coding, but know that the code they write is far less significant than their ability to shape the whole team’s direction, focus, and delivery. 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, such as EMEA or Americas, or APAC, with an Engineering Manager and a Senior Engineer dedicated to a single product, who work as a team to shape the roadmap, technical strategy, code, documentation, and community engagement. They are both capable of coding, and are both leaders comfortable assigning work and maintaining expectations of delivery. They will both be expected to take management training at Canonical so they speak the same language when it comes to team behaviours, habits, routines, norms, and standards, but they focus on different sides of the problem.

An Engineering Manager is responsible for line management and career guidance. The ability to develop engineering talent, to represent your team and product from a technical perspective, and to drive collaboration with other teams and customers are all critical to success in this role.

We have open manager roles across a wide range of engineering domains, including:

• Python and Golang
• C / C++ / Rust
• Data infrastructure
• HTML / CSS / JavaScript / Typescript / React
• Flutter
• Distro packaging and systems
• SAAS and web microservices
• Kernel
• Servers
• Graphics, Browser and Desktop
• Silicon enablement and embedded devices
• Product Security

If your domain of expertise isn’t listed above, yet you feel it’s relevant to Canonical, then feel free to apply anyway. We will route you to the most suitable team.

Location: we have engineering management positions open in every time zone

What you’ll do

• 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

What we’re 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
• 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

What we offer colleagues

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

About Canonical

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; in order 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.

#LI-remote

First Name

Last Name

Email

Resume/CV*

Attach

Enter manually

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

---

School

Select...

Degree

Select...

Discipline

Select...

---

During this application process I agree to use only my own words. I understand that plagiarism, the use of AI or other generated content will disqualify my application.

Select...

Describe your most significant engineering management experience.

Describe your experience providing technical leadership.

In which programming language would you consider yourself and expert, capable of setting an example for the team?

What was your bachelor's university degree result, or expected result if you have not yet graduated? Please include the grading system to help us understand your result e.g. ‘85 out of 100’, ‘2:1 (Grading system: first class, 2:1, 2:2, third class)’ or ‘GPA score of 3.8/4.0 (predicted)’. We have hired outstanding individuals who did not attend or complete university. If this describes you, please continue with your application and enter ‘no degree’.

Universities around the world score degrees in different ways. Please indicate your result, or expected result if you are close to graduation, along with information about the grading system.

How did you perform in mathematics at high school?

Select...

How did you perform in your native language at high school?

Select...

Please share your rationale or evidence for the high school performance selections above. Make reference to provincial, state or nation-wide scoring systems, rankings, or recognition awards, or to competitive or selective college entrance results such as SAT or ACT scores, JAMB, matriculation results, IB results etc. We recognise every system is different but we will ask you to justify your selections above.

We require all colleagues to meet in person 2-4 times a year, at internal company events lasting between 1-2 weeks. We try to pick new and interesting locations that will likely require international travel and entry requirement visas and vaccinations. Are you willing and able to commit to this?

Select...

Please note that if you require any accommodation for travel that relates to a physical disability, do let us know during your hiring process and we will be happy to discuss your requirements further.

Website

LinkedIn Profile

Please confirm that you have read and agree to Canonical's Recruitment Privacy Notice and Privacy Policy.

Select...

In which country do you currently work?

Select...

Please select your current location from the dropdown.

In the past ten years, looking only at the time since you graduated your first undergraduate degree, how many companies have you worked for?

Select...

We're focused specifically on the last ten years, and only the portion of that since you left undergrad university. If you graduated three years ago, just count the number of companies you have worked for in those three years. If you graduated 25 years ago, just count the companies in the last ten years.

If you worked for a company which was acquired or renamed, then please count that as one company not two. Don't count any university jobs or internships. If you have your own company or do private contracting work in addition to your employment, please count that as one company.

Which gender do you identify as?

Select...

This information is being requested to help us maintain equal opportunities, best practices and comply with legal requirements. The submission of this information is entirely voluntary. The information you provide will not be used in our decision making and will not subject you to any adverse treatment.

Please indicate your nationality:

Select...

This information is being requested to help us maintain equal opportunities, best practices and comply with legal requirements. The submission of this information is entirely voluntary. The information you provide will not be visible to, or used by, our decision makers, and will not subject you to any adverse treatment.

Please indicate your race or ethnicity:

Select...

This information is being requested to help us maintain equal opportunities, best practices and comply with legal requirements. The submission of this information is entirely voluntary. The information you provide will not be visible to, or used by, our decision makers, and will not subject you to any adverse treatment.

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Canonical’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Gender

Select...

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Veteran Status

Select...

Form CC-305

Page 1 of 1

OMB Control Number 1250-0005

Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

• Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
• Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
• Blind or low vision
• Cancer (past or present)
• Cardiovascular or heart disease
• Celiac disease
• Cerebral palsy
• Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
• Diabetes
• Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
• Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
• Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
• Intellectual or developmental disability
• Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
• Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
• Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker,