Software Engineering Director

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:

Python and Golang

C / C++ / Rust

Data infrastructure

HTML / CSS / JavaScript / Typescript / React

Flutter

Distro packaging and systems

SAAS and web microservices

Kernel

Servers

Graphics, Browser and Desktop

Silicon enablement and embedded devices

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

Lead multiple teams of engineers, ranging from graduate to senior

Develop your engineering managers and maintain Canonical culture

Hire staff level engineers for specific roles like performance and quality

Coach, mentor, and offer career development feedback

Identify and measure indicators of team health and productivity

Ensure rounded delivery including community participation and docs

Implement disciplined engineering processes and defend them

Set and measure progress against benchmark goals for speed and efficiency

Represent your product to stakeholders, partners, and customers

Develop and evangelise great engineering and organisational practices

Plan and manage progress on agreed goals and projects

Be an active part of the leadership team, collaborating with other leaders

Collaborate with leads for related or dependent products

What we’re looking for in you

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

Extensive management experience and confidence to set high expectations

Outstanding Linux based software engineering track record

Drive and a track record of going above-and-beyond expectations

Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English

Public speaking and presentation skills

A love of developing and growing people and a track record of it

Experience in leading, coaching and mentoring software developers

Organise