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CanonicalEngineering Director - Commercial Systems
This is a full-time, remote Engineering Director role based in the EMEA region. The director leads Canonical's Commercial Systems unit, which owns the development and operation…
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About This Role
This is a full-time, remote Engineering Director role based in the EMEA region. The director leads Canonical's Commercial Systems unit, which owns the development and operation of internal software serving the company's business, along with Livepatch, a Linux kernel security solution. The unit's services sit at the heart of Canonical's business operations. The unit is organised as three engineering teams, each led by an engineering manager. The Billing team builds…
Job Description
This is a full-time, remote Engineering Director role based in the EMEA region. The director leads Canonical's Commercial Systems unit, which owns the development and operation of internal software serving the company's business, along with Livepatch, a Linux kernel security solution. The unit's services sit at the heart of Canonical's business operations.
The unit is organised as three engineering teams, each led by an engineering manager. The Billing team builds a Go service that turns metrics into billable amounts, lets customers see their current spend at any time, and connects with payment and other business and engineering systems. The Contracts team builds a Go service meant to serve as the one authoritative record of customer contracts, offering standardised CPQ capability and keeping executed agreements in a structured layout, with links to CRM and accounting systems. The Livepatch team builds a service that delivers Linux kernel patches while the system runs, reducing the period in which serious kernel flaws can be exploited between security maintenance windows. Its Go client and backend are built alongside Canonical's Kernel team, which develops the security patches.
The director leads several teams of engineers, from graduates to seniors, and develops the engineering managers who lead them. Responsibilities include setting performance targets, measuring team health, owning product roadmaps, hiring strong people, and working with stakeholders and those who use the products. The director also takes an active part in the Commercial Systems leadership team. Applicants need an exceptional academic record and a technical undergraduate degree, or a compelling alternative route. A proven ability to lead multiple or large engineering teams and experience in Go, Python, Java or distributed integrations are required. Professional English with strong presentation skills, a results focus and international travel up to two weeks, twice a year, are also expected. Performance engineering, DevOps or SRE experience, and business background in accounting, sales or sales operations, are nice to have.
Responsibilities
- Lead multiple teams of engineers, from graduates to seniors
- Develop engineering managers so they maintain Canonical's culture in their teams
- Establish great engineering practices and processes across the teams
- Set performance goals and objectives with direct reports and teams
- Track indicators of team health and act on them and act where needed
- Own the product development roadmaps for the teams
- Hire strong talent to expand the teams
- Collaborate with stakeholders and product users
Requirements
- An exceptional academic record from high school and university
- A technical undergraduate degree, or a compelling alternative path
- Demonstrated capacity to lead several squads, or large squads, of software engineers toward excellent results
- Hands-on engineering in one or more of Go, Python, Java or distributed integrations
- A history of surpassing expectations to deliver excellent outcomes
- Strong written and spoken English, with polished presentation skills
- Outcome-focused, and self-driven about meeting commitments
- Readiness to make international trips two times annually for company events lasting up to two weeks
Qualifications
- Performance engineering and DevOps or SRE experience
- Background in accounting, selling, sales ops or similar business functions
Core Skills
Benefits
- Annual compensation review and a bonus or commission linked to performance
- USD 2,000 each year for personal learning and development
- Twice-yearly in-person team sprints in a distributed setup
- Annual holiday leave, plus maternity and paternity leave
- Employee Assistance Program
- Priority Pass access, plus upgraded seats on long-haul trips to company events
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers are based only on the employer’s listing; where it doesn’t say, neither do we.
Is this Engineering Director role remote?
Yes. The posting describes the role as remote and based in the EMEA region.
What experience is needed for this director role?
The posting asks for a proven ability to lead multiple or large engineering teams and engineering experience in Go, Python, Java or distributed integrations.
What does the Commercial Systems unit work on?
The unit has three teams covering a billing service, a contracts service and the Livepatch kernel patching service, which are built largely in Go.
Is the role full-time, and what is the salary?
The role is full-time, and the posting does not specify a base salary. It mentions a bonus or commission linked to performance.
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