Canonica 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. The company is founded, profitable and growing, with 1200+ colleagues in more than 80 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.

We are hiring an Engineering Manager as we expand the MAAS team. Our mission with MAAS ("Metal as a Service") is to provide the best solution for building and running private bare-metal infrastructure, putting a cloud-style on-demand API in front of physical server provisioning, network configuration, and storage. We seek engineering managers with experience in high-quality software development and high-performance team leadership who also have deep familiarity with Linux on physical servers, Linux storage and data center networking capabilities.

MAAS components span the entire software stack: from low-level hardware detection and provisioning, to the upper level management web interface, API, and CLI. Our most effective engineers are fluent in all these layers and able to anticipate the consequences of design and engineering choices elsewhere in a complex distributed system.

At Canonical you must have a solid technical background, but your responsibility is to run an effective team and develop the colleagues you manage. You are expected to help them grow as engineers, do important work, do it outstandingly well, find professional and personal satisfaction, and work well with colleagues and the community. Technical leadership experience and a background in software engineering are prerequisites for this role. You will be expected to lead, challenge, and develop engineers, positively influence the culture, facilitate technical delivery, and work with your team on strategy and execution. You will also collaborate across engineering. The MAAS team interfaces with teams responsible for cloud-init, LXD, and our public cloud offerings.

The successful candidate will have leadership attributes, deep knowledge of Linux, and the ability to solve challenging distributed systems problems. Location: This is a work-from-anywhere position available in EMEA or the Americas.

The role entails:

• Leading a distributed team of engineers in your time zone (teams are organized by Americas, EMEA, etc.)
• Talent development through coaching, mentoring, feedback and career planning
• Setting and managing expectations with other engineering teams, senior management, and external stakeholders
• Advocating for and advancing modern software development practices
• Participating in the engineering process through code and architectural review
• Engaging with broader teams at Canonical, the open source community and partners
• Travel to internal and external global events for 4 to 6 weeks per year

What we are looking for in you

• Exceptional academic track record from both high school and university
• Undergraduate degree in a technical subject
• Confidence to respectfully speak up, exchange feedback, and share ideas without hesitation
• Track record of going above-and-beyond expectations to achieve outstanding results
• Leadership and commitment to skills development and mentorship
• Passion for technology evidenced by personal projects and initiatives
• The work ethic and confidence to shine alongside motivated colleagues
• Professional written and spoken English with excellent presentation skills
• Experience with Linux (Debian or Ubuntu preferred)
• Excellent interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability
• Appreciative of diversity, polite, and effective in a multi-cultural, multi-national organization
• Thoughtfulness and self-motivation
• Result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments
• Ability to travel internationally twice a year for company events up to two weeks long
• You understand modern Linux cloud computing technologies, including networking, storage, containers and Kubernetes
• You have experience programming in Python and Go
• You love developing and growing people and have a strong track record of doing it

Nice-to-have skills

• Typescript using modern web frameworks such as React, Angular, Svelte or Vue

What we offer colleagues

• Distributed work environment with twice-yearly team sprints in person — we have been working remotely since 2004
• 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
• Travel upgrades for long-haul company events

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.

Seniority level: Mid-Senior level

Employment type: Full-time

Job function: Engineering and Information Technology

Industries: Software Development

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

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