This is the general track for Engineering Director at Canonical, apply here if you are confident to run a project which spans teams and time zones, hiring and managing engineering managers and staff engineers.
Canonical’s largest software products are built by multiple teams working together under a single director of engineering. Once you have passed the first round of interviews we will discuss specific software products which would be a good fit for your interests.
We believe that open source is just starting to transform the tech sector and enterprise compute. Our goal is to make open source easier, more reliable and more secure for deployment and development. We strive to be the provider of ‘most software to most companies’. To deliver on that ambition, our engineers are carefully selected from the applicants across the globe. We select for brilliance and motivation to take open source to the next level. Our engineering directors set the pace and the direction to help teams achieve more than they realised they could, and feel proud of the result.
Even though this is a senior management position, managing managers, we expect Engineering Directors to be outstanding developers with the confidence to lead by example across the full range of activities in their teams. You need to understand what great code looks like in the language and genre of your product - whether that is a web service, or a system daemon, or a desktop application, or a distributed system. You’ll need to know how to drive testing and benchmarking to improve the clarity in your teams around quality and performance. You’ll also need to be confident to set and defend high expectations of work ethic, consistency, focus and learning.
We have director level roles across a wide range of engineering domains, including:
1. Python and Golang
2. C / C++ / Rust
3. Data infrastructure
4. HTML / CSS / JavaScript / Typescript / React
5. Flutter
6. Distro packaging and systems
7. SAAS and web microservices
8. Kernel
9. Servers
10. Graphics, Browser and Desktop
11. Silicon enablement and embedded devices
12. Product Security
If your domain of expertise isn’t listed above, yet you feel it’s relevant to Canonical, then feel free to apply anyway. We will route you to the most suitable team.
Location: The role is remote, with positions available in all time zones. It includes a requirement for global travel for twice per year, for trips up to two weeks long.
What you’ll do
13. Lead multiple teams of engineers, ranging from graduate to senior
14. Develop your engineering managers and maintain Canonical culture
15. Hire staff level engineers for specific roles like performance and quality
16. Coach, mentor, and offer career development feedback
17. Identify and measure indicators of team health and productivity
18. Ensure rounded delivery including community participation and docs
19. Implement disciplined engineering processes and defend them
20. Set and measure progress against benchmark goals for speed and efficiency
21. Represent your product to stakeholders, partners, and customers
22. Develop and evangelise great engineering and organisational practices
23. Plan and manage progress on agreed goals and projects
24. Be an active part of the leadership team, collaborating with other leaders
25. Collaborate with leads for related or dependent products
What we’re looking for in you
26. An exceptional academic track record from both high school and university
27. Undergraduate degree in Computer Science or STEM, or a compelling narrative about your alternative path
28. Extensive management experience and confidence to set high expectations
29. Outstanding Linux based software engineering track record
30. Drive and a track record of going above-and-beyond expectations
31. Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English
32. Public speaking and presentation skills
33. A love of developing and growing people and a track record of it
34. Experience in leading, coaching and mentoring software developers
35. Organised and able to ensure your team delivers timely, high quality results
36. Well-organised, self-starting and able to deliver to schedule
37. Professional manner interacting with colleagues, partners, and community
38. You have advanced expertise in your own domain
39. You are knowledgeable and passionate about software development
40. You have solid experience working in an agile development environment
41. You have a demonstrated drive for continual learning
42. Builds trust, relationships and confidence
43. Result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments
44. Ability to travel twice a year, for company events up to two weeks each
Additional skills we value
45. Experience in a developer advocacy or community role
46. Open source community engagement and leadership
47. Ops and system administration experience
48. Performance engineering and security experience
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 recognise 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.
49. Distributed work environment with twice-yearly team sprints in person
50. Personal learning and development budget of USD 2, per year
51. Annual compensation review
52. Recognition rewards
53. Annual holiday leave
54. Maternity and paternity leave
55. Employee Assistance Programme
56. Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues
57. Priority Pass, and travel upgrades for long haul company events