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CanonicalUbuntu Engineering Manager
Canonical is looking for a full-time Ubuntu Engineering Manager to work remotely. The job sits within the company's Ubuntu Engineering group, where managers are expected to…
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About This Role
Canonical is looking for a full-time Ubuntu Engineering Manager to work remotely. The job sits within the company's Ubuntu Engineering group, where managers are expected to care about software quality, speed and robustness, and to grow strong teams of engineers. Managers here stay hands-on with the code and also with the workflow and the people around it. The post carries responsibility for a technical roadmap and for the people in…
Job Description
Canonical is looking for a full-time Ubuntu Engineering Manager to work remotely. The job sits within the company's Ubuntu Engineering group, where managers are expected to care about software quality, speed and robustness, and to grow strong teams of engineers.
Managers here stay hands-on with the code and also with the workflow and the people around it. The post carries responsibility for a technical roadmap and for the people in the team, including their development and the satisfaction they get from the work. Ubuntu is built by four principal groups. Foundations maintains the base layer: compilers, toolchains, boot loaders, filesystems and core utilities. Server steers the Ubuntu Server distribution. Desktop covers the desktop edition as well as Ubuntu Core Desktop and WSL, plus gaming work and Flutter-built applications. Debcrafters is a newer team that keeps the Ubuntu archive moving and healthy.
The role suits a person with a software engineering background, a proven record of leading technical work, and a long-term commitment to open source. The company says its remote positions are open in every time zone, and that the leadership path also includes senior manager posts.
Canonical is the company behind Ubuntu, an open source operating system used heavily in public cloud, data science, AI and IoT. Its workforce is spread across dozens of countries, and its teams gather in person a few times a year to agree on direction.
Responsibilities
- Own a technical roadmap and answer for the team's delivery
- Develop engineers so they grow professionally and find the work rewarding
- Raise the bar for how developers and everyday users experience Linux
- Direct the building and release of fast, high-quality code written in Rust, Go or Python
- Shape architecture and set quality expectations through design work and code review
- Plan, estimate and deliver engineering projects
- Partner with product managers to define the direction for Ubuntu
- Coach engineers and give them candid technical feedback
- Contribute to upstream and adjacent open source work, and write technical and community documentation
Requirements
- Experience leading technical work, backed by a software engineering background
- A record of carrying technical initiatives further than was asked
- Ability to coach others toward excellent engineering results
- Solid hands-on work in one or more of Rust, Go, Python, Flutter, C and C++
- A genuine enthusiasm for open source software
- Strong spoken and written English, with good interpersonal communication
- Driven and results-focused, keen to keep commitments
- Ready to attend company gatherings abroad twice a year, each lasting up to two weeks
- A technical degree (or an equivalent route) and a strong academic history through school and university
Qualifications
- Track record of running technical teams
- Involvement in leading or contributing to open source initiatives
- Knowledge of Linux distributions and how distribution engineering works
- Familiarity with packaging and distribution tooling
- Background in performance or security engineering
Core Skills
Benefits
- Pay considers location, experience and performance, and is reviewed each year
- Annual performance bonus
- Learning allowance of USD 2,000 yearly
- Team gatherings held in person twice a year
- Vacation time plus maternity and paternity leave
- Support through an employee assistance scheme
- Priority Pass membership and better seating on long-haul company trips
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers are based only on the employer’s listing; where it doesn’t say, neither do we.
Is the role remote?
Yes. The listing is marked remote, and the company says its remote roles are open in every time zone.
What employment type is it?
It is full-time.
What technical background is needed?
Technical leadership and a software engineering background are required, along with solid hands-on work in one or more of Rust, Go, Python, Flutter, C or C++.
Is pay stated?
No figure is listed. The posting says pay depends on location, experience and performance, and mentions an annual bonus.
Sample Interview Questions
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