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.

Our Ubuntu Engineering teams build the operating system platform used by millions of developers, enterprises, device makers, cloud providers, and open source communities worldwide.

Location: We have remote roles open in every time zone.

About the team

The Ubuntu Foundations Package Management team, as part of the broader Ubuntu Foundations organisation, develops and maintains the software management infrastructure that underpins every Ubuntu system.

The team owns technologies at the heart of Ubuntu's software, driver, firmware, and upgrade experience, including APT, dpkg, firmware management, and driver management.

Its mission is to provide the technologies that enable Ubuntu systems to be installed, maintained, updated, upgraded, and managed throughout their lifecycle. The team balances innovation with the stability and reliability expected from one of the world's most widely used Linux distributions.

The team works across the full engineering lifecycle, from roadmap definition and architecture through implementation, testing, release engineering, and upstream collaboration, ensuring the continued evolution of the technologies that manage software, drivers, firmware, and upgrades across Ubuntu systems.

The Role

We are looking for a Software Engineering Manager to lead the Ubuntu Foundations Package Management team.

This is a technical leadership role combining people management with active engineering involvement. You will lead a team of experienced engineers responsible for the package management and system lifecycle technologies that underpin Ubuntu. Working closely with stakeholders across Ubuntu Engineering, you will define technical direction, grow engineering talent, build strong cross-team partnerships, and ensure the continued evolution of Ubuntu's software, driver, firmware, and upgrade experience.

You will report to the Ubuntu Foundations Engineering director and collaborate closely with other Ubuntu Engineering teams, including Desktop, Server, Security, Release Engineering, Launchpad, Debcrafters, OEM, and Product.

What You’ll Do

Technical Leadership

Define the technical vision and roadmap for Ubuntu's package management and system lifecycle platform
Participate in design reviews and key technical decisions affecting software management and system lifecycle technologies across the Ubuntu ecosystem
Promote high standards for performance, reliability, security, and maintainability

Team Leadership

Lead and support a team of engineers responsible for key Ubuntu platform technologies.
Mentor and grow engineers, helping them expand their technical leadership, ownership, and organizational impact
Foster a culture of ownership, collaboration, and continuous improvement

Delivery and Engineering Excellence

Plan and deliver improvements across multiple Ubuntu release cycles
Balance innovation with stability, compatibility, and long-term maintainability
Improve test automation, release quality, and operational reliability

Collaboration and Community

Build strong partnerships across Ubuntu Engineering, including Release Engineering, Launchpad, Desktop, Server, Security, OEM, and Product teams
Collaborate with Debian, upstream projects, and the Ubuntu open source community

What We Are Looking For

Required

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
Strong background in software engineering and system design
Experience leading engineering teams, including people management, coaching, and performance development
Experience developing or operating Linux distribution technologies, package management systems, or software distribution infrastructure
Strong understanding of systems software and operating system architecture
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Ability to work effectively in a globally distributed engineering team
Ability to travel twice a year, for company events up to two weeks each

Nice to Have

Familiarity with package repositories, archives, or release engineering processes
Experience contributing to Debian, Ubuntu, or other open source infrastructure projects
Performance, reliability, or security engineering experience

We know that strong candidates may not meet every qualification. If you are excited by this role and our mission, we encourage you to apply.

What Success Looks Like

First 3 Months

Build strong relationships with the team and stakeholders across Ubuntu Engineering
Gain a deep understanding of Ubuntu package management, update flows, archive interactions, and release processes
Identify key improvement opportunities in reliability, test coverage, engineering processes, and product quality

First 6 to 12 Months

Establish strong partnerships with stakeholders across Ubuntu Engineering, including Release Engineering, Launchpad, Desktop, Server, Security, OEM, and Product
Grow the team and raise the overall level of engineering excellence, ownership, and technical leadership
Improve roadmap clarity, planning, and execution across the team's portfolio
Deliver meaningful improvements to Ubuntu's package management and system lifecycle platform

What we offer you

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 recognize 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 on a daily basis. 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. Canonical has been a remote-first company since its 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.

Engineering Manager - Ubuntu Desktop Apps

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