Opportunity

GitOps Engineering Manager – DevOps Leadership at Canonical in Columbus

Location Columbus
Company Canonical
Source jobicy
Posted 2026-08-01 02:48:42

Career & Market Insight

This is a senior IC-to-manager bridge role that demands both deep Linux/DevOps technical expertise and proven people leadership — a relatively rare combination that commands strong market premiums. Engineering manager roles at this level at globally distributed tech companies typically range from $130,000–$180,000+ USD annually; Canonical's geo-adjusted model may pay less in lower-cost regions but offers meaningful non-cash perks.

Skills you'll develop and deepen:

  • GitOps and infrastructure-as-code at scale (Kubernetes, Terraform, Juju, cloud-native tooling)
  • Distributed team leadership and async management — increasingly in demand as remote-first companies proliferate
  • Managed services delivery and SLA ownership — directly transferable to cloud consulting, platform engineering director, and VP Engineering tracks
  • Open source product strategy alignment — valuable for roles at Red Hat, HashiCorp, SUSE, or hyperscaler DevRel/Partner Engineering teams

Green flags: Canonical is profitable, founder-led, and has operated remotely since 2004 — signaling financial stability and genuine remote-first culture rather than a post-pandemic retrofit. The open source mandate means your work is publicly visible, a strong portfolio signal.

Watch points: Canonical's academic requirement ("exceptional track record from high school and university") is unusual and may screen out strong practitioners. Compensation is geo-adjusted without published bands, requiring negotiation savvy. The role spans operations management and hands-on technical depth — burnout risk is real without strong boundary-setting.

Overall, this is an excellent stepping stone to Director of Engineering or VP Infrastructure at a scale-up or enterprise open-source company.

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 a GitOps Engineering Manager aspiring for a world-class devops and gitops engineering management challenge, bringing together operations management, software engineering and product development, and team leadership in a single high-value role. You will need to be a Linux and operations expert, as well as a great manager capable of leading a high-performance team, to excel in this role.

Our mission is to pioneer and prove new and better approaches to large-scale IS. We support Canonical and Ubuntu operations, but we also help shape Canonical's managed application service offerings, raising the bar on devops and cloud-native operations. We take infra-as-code to the next level, blazing a trail to next-generation model-driven operations. We not only aim to automate every process that underpins our business, we also share that automation as open source packages which others use to drive their own operations.

We work across the full stack, from bare metal to Kubernetes, including cloud and virtualisation. We also work across the full range of infrastructure, from public cloud to private cloud and edge.

We have fully distributed, home-based teams in EMEA, APAC and the Americas. You will lead a team in your time zone, and report to a global director who may not be in your time zone.

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

The Role Entails

  • Lead your team in daily agile devops practices
  • Represent the IS team to stakeholders, customers, and internal teams
  • Organize, coordinate and drive internal projects
  • Mentor engineers to improve their skills
  • Identify and measure team health indicators
  • Implement structured engineering and operations processes
  • Ensure proper team focus on priorities, milestones, and deliverables
  • Work to meet service level agreements with customer deployments around the globe
  • Deliver quality managed services in a consistent, timely manner

What We Are Looking For in You

  • Drive and a track record of going above-and-beyond expectations
  • Proven experience of software delivery using infrastructure as code
  • Proven experience managing devops teams for SaaS or similar offerings
  • Understanding of testing methodologies and maintainable code quality
  • Technical aptitude for understanding complex distributed systems
  • Experience with cloud topologies and technologies
  • Ability to travel twice a year, for company events up to two weeks long
  • An exceptional academic track record from both high school and university

Nice-to-Have Skills

  • Experience with Ubuntu system administration
  • Experience with agile software development methodologies
  • Experience working in and managing distributed teams

What We Offer Colleagues

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. We expect excellence — in order to succeed, we need to be the best at what we do. 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this GitOps Engineering Manager role truly remote or does it require time in an office?
The role is fully remote and home-based, with no office requirement. Canonical has operated as a distributed company since 2004, and the only in-person requirement is traveling to twice-yearly team sprints, each up to two weeks long.
Which countries or regions can applicants be based in for this role?
The role is open to candidates based remotely in the APAC or EMEA regions. Canonical has colleagues in more than 80 countries globally.
Is salary information published for this position?
Canonical does not publish fixed salary bands; compensation is shaped by geographical location, experience, and performance, with an annual review cycle. A performance-driven annual bonus or commission is offered in addition to base pay.
What technical background is required to be considered for this role?
Candidates need proven experience managing DevOps teams for SaaS or similar offerings, hands-on experience with infrastructure as code, familiarity with cloud topologies, and a strong Linux and operations background. Experience with Ubuntu system administration is a bonus.
What does Canonical's learning and development support look like?
Canonical provides a personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year for all team members, in addition to recognition rewards and an annual compensation review.
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