Engineering Director - Golang, Linux Security & Growth in Columbus

Canonical is a leading provider of open-source software and operating systems for 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 more than 80 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.

We are hiring an Engineering Director who strives for taking ownership of the development and operations of internal software products serving Canonical business and a popular security solution, Livepatch. A successful candidate has a track record of delivering full-stack software services, adheres to high engineering quality standards, and continuously develops their skills as well as the skills of their direct reports. This is an exciting opportunity to work with highly enthusiastic people on innovative engineering solutions supporting Canonical's growth.

The Engineering Director will lead the Commercial Systems unit — three engineering teams that closely collaborate with other engineering and business teams at Canonical. Services designed, developed, and operated by the Commercial Systems unit are at the heart of Canonical's business.

The three teams are:

• Billing: Designs, develops, and operates a Golang service that provides a standardized and scalable capability to turn metrics into billable amounts, enable customers to see their current spend at any time, and ensure accurate, reliable, and timely billing. Integrates with other engineering, business, and payment systems.
• Contracts: Designs, develops, and operates a Golang service that will become the single source of truth for all contracts with all customers. Provides a standardized CPQ capability and stores signed contracts in a structured format. Integrates with CRM and accounting systems.
• Livepatch: Designs and develops a service for the delivery of Linux kernel patches to shrink the exploit window for critical and high-severity Linux kernel vulnerabilities — patching the kernel between security maintenance windows while the system runs. The team develops Golang-based client and backend components.

Location: This role will be based remotely in the EMEA region.

The Role Entails

• Leading multiple teams of engineers, ranging from graduates to seniors
• Developing your engineering managers to maintain Canonical culture in their teams
• Developing and evangelizing great engineering practices and processes in the teams
• Setting and implementing solid performance management with performance goals and objectives with your direct reports and teams
• Identifying and measuring indicators of team health, and taking action where needed
• Being accountable for the product development roadmaps in the teams
• Being an active part of the Commercial Systems leadership team, collaborating with other leaders
• Expanding your teams by hiring great talent
• Collaborating with stakeholders and product users

What We Are Looking For

• Exceptional academic track record from both high school and university
• Undergraduate degree in a technical subject, or a compelling narrative about your alternative chosen path
• Proven ability to drive multiple teams or large teams of software engineers to deliver outstanding results
• Engineering experience in at least one of the following: Golang, Python, Java, or distributed integrations
• Track record of going above and beyond expectations to achieve outstanding results
• Professional written and spoken English with excellent presentation skills
• Result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments
• Ability to travel internationally twice a year, for company events up to two weeks long

Nice-to-Have Skills

• Performance engineering and DevOps/SRE experience
• Experience with accounting, sales, sales operations, or other business roles

What We Offer

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 or commission. 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 Program
• 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 of software. We recruit on a global basis and set a very high standard for people joining the company. Most colleagues at Canonical have worked from home 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.