Ubuntu Package Management - Engineering Manager

About this role

<p>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.</p> <p>The company is founder led, profitable and growing.</p> <p>Our Ubuntu Engineering teams build the operating system platform used by millions of developers, enterprises, device makers, cloud providers, and open source communities worldwide.</p> <p><strong>Location:</strong> We have remote roles open in every time zone.</p> <h2>About the team</h2> <p>The <strong>Ubuntu Foundations Package Management team</strong>, as part of the broader <strong>Ubuntu Foundations</strong> organisation, develops and maintains the software management infrastructure that underpins every Ubuntu system.</p> <p>The team owns technologies at the heart of Ubuntu's software, driver, firmware, and upgrade experience, including APT, dpkg, firmware management, and driver management.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <h2>The Role</h2> <p>We are looking for a <strong>Software Engineering Manager</strong> to lead the <strong>Ubuntu Foundations Package Management team</strong>.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <h2>What You’ll Do</h2> <p><strong>Technical Leadership</strong></p> <ul> <li>Define the technical vision and roadmap for Ubuntu's package management and system lifecycle platform</li> <li>Participate in design reviews and key technical decisions affecting software management and system lifecycle technologies across the Ubuntu ecosystem</li> <li>Promote high standards for performance, reliability, security, and maintainability</li> </ul> <p><strong>Team Leadership</strong></p> <ul> <li>Lead and support a team of engineers responsible for key Ubuntu platform technologies.</li> <li>Mentor and grow engineers, helping them expand their technical leadership, ownership, and organizational impact</li> <li>Foster a culture of ownership, collaboration, and continuous improvement</li> </ul> <p><strong>Delivery and Engineering Excellence</strong></p> <ul> <li>Plan and deliver improvements across multiple Ubuntu release cycles</li> <li>Balance innovation with stability, compatibility, and long-term maintainability</li> <li>Improve test automation, release quality, and operational reliability</li> </ul> <p><strong>Collaboration and Community</strong></p> <ul> <li>Build strong partnerships across Ubuntu Engineering, including Release Engineering, Launchpad, Desktop, Server, Security, OEM, and Product teams</li> <li>Collaborate with Debian, upstream projects, and the Ubuntu open source community</li> </ul> <h2>What We Are Looking For</h2> <p><strong>Required</strong></p> <ul> <li>An exceptional academic track record from both high school and university</li> <li>Undergraduate degree in Computer Science or STEM, or a compelling narrative about your alternative path</li> <li>Strong background in software engineering and system design</li> <li>Experience leading engineering teams, including people management, coaching, and performance development</li> <li>Experience developing or operating Linux distribution technologies, package management systems, or software distribution infrastructure</li> <li>Strong understanding of systems software and operating system architecture</li> <li>Excellent written and verbal communication skills</li> <li>Ability to work effectively in a globally distributed engineering team</li> <li>Ability to travel twice a year, for company events up to two weeks each</li> </ul> <p><strong>Nice to…