Engineering Manager - Ubuntu Desktop Apps

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 locatio