Engineering Manager - Ubuntu Core

Engineering Manager - Ubuntu Core

Location: Canonical, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

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 breakthrough enterprise initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation, and IoT. The company is founder‑led, profitable, and growing with 1,200+ colleagues in 75+ countries.

We are hiring a technical engineering manager to redefine the embedded Linux experience with the smallest, most secure, and most reliable operating system in the IoT market. This role is for a leader passionate about open source software, Linux, containers, security, and the developer experience, who can influence the future of Linux from the smallest systems up to desktops.

• Build and lead a distributed team of engineers through hiring, coaching, mentoring, feedback and career development.
• Demonstrate sound engineering principles by directly contributing toward your team's goals.
• Coaching and mentoring team members with hands‑on career development.
• Effectively set and manage expectations with other engineering teams, senior management, and external stakeholders.
• Advocate and advance modern, agile software development practices and evangelise great engineering and organizational practices.
• Contribute to a healthy, collaborative engineering culture in line with the company values.
• Actively participate in the leadership team and collaborate with other leaders in the organisation.

• Demonstrated competencies in embedded software development.
• Strong skills in Golang, C++, and Shell.
• Solid understanding of Linux and a modern GNU/Linux distribution, Debian or Ubuntu preferred.
• Love for developing and growing people, with a track record of doing so.
• Demonstrated ability to plan and execute to deliver high‑quality software in a timely manner.
• Solid experience working in an agile development environment.
• Exceptional academic track record from high school and university.
• Undergraduate degree in a technical subject or a compelling narrative about an alternative chosen path.
• Professional written and spoken English with excellent presentation skills.

• Familiarity with an immutable Linux distribution, preferably Ubuntu Core.
• Experience with multiple CPU architectures such as ARM and RISC‑V.
• Experience with Linux native containerisation and security.

• 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.
• Team Member Assistance Program & Wellness Platform.
• 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.

Working here is a step into the future that will challenge you to think differently and raise your game.

Canonical is an equal opportunity employer and 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.