About this role.
Canonical is hiring an Engineering Manager to lead a distributed team focused on productising business workloads on Kubernetes using Python. This role blends technical leadership with hands-on engineering, requiring expertise in Docker, Kubernetes, and Python frameworks. The manager will coach and develop engineers, drive agile practices, and collaborate with global leadership. This is a remote-first role with up to 20% travel for team and company events. The ideal candidate has a software engineering background, proven experience in DevOps culture, and a passion for open source technology.
Role DNA
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Job Complexity
4/5Pace & Pressure
4/5Autonomy Level
5/5Communication Load
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Core skills
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Cover letter sample
Dear Hiring Team,
I am excited to apply for the Engineering Manager - Python and K8s position at Canonical. With a strong background in Python development, Kubernetes operations, and leading distributed engineering teams, I am passionate about building products that empower organisations to operate software at scale. My experience in fostering agile culture, mentoring engineers, and driving technical excellence aligns with Canonical's mission to advance open source innovation.
In my previous role, I successfully led a team in transforming internal workloads to run on Kubernetes, improving reliability and automation. I believe in leading by example and have consistently contributed to code while guiding team strategy and execution. I am eager to bring my technical expertise and leadership skills to Canonical's global team and help productise business workloads that keep Ubuntu and its ecosystem highly available.
Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to the opportunity to discuss how I can contribute to Canonical's success.
Sample interview questions
I have worked with Kubernetes for over five years, managing clusters for microservices and internal tools. In my last role, I led a migration of several monolithic workloads to Kubernetes, which reduced deployment time by 60% and improved resource utilisation. I used Helm for packaging and implemented automated scaling policies based on traffic patterns. I also introduced Kubernetes Operators to manage application lifecycle more effectively, ensuring self-healing and easier upgrades.
I believe in leading by example, so I try to spend at least 20% of my time on technical contributions, such as code reviews, design discussions, and occasionally writing critical code. I schedule focused 'deep work' blocks in the morning and reserve afternoons for one-on-ones and team coordination. This approach keeps me technically sharp and credible, while ensuring my team feels supported and guided.
I start by understanding each engineer's career goals and strengths. I then create individual development plans that include stretch assignments, mentorship, and opportunities to lead small initiatives. I regularly provide constructive feedback during one-on-ones and encourage a blameless post-mortem culture. I also promote cross-training and pair programming to broaden their skill sets and prepare them for more senior roles.
In my previous team, I introduced a 'definition of done' checklist that included automated tests, documentation, and security reviews. I also championed an open design review process where any engineer could contribute to architectural decisions. These initiatives increased test coverage by 30% and reduced bugs in production. To foster collaboration, I organised quarterly team workshops and encouraged cross-team knowledge sharing sessions.
I use a continuous planning approach where we break down work into small, well-defined milestones. I involve the team in estimation and use historical data to improve accuracy. I share progress transparently with stakeholders through regular demos and status updates. If we encounter blockers, I prioritise open communication and adjust scope rather than compromising quality. This approach builds trust and ensures we deliver value predictably.
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.
We are hiring a Engineering Manager – Python and K8s that is passionate about building a world-class devops culture in corporate information systems. We are confident that we can dramatically improve the experience of running complex business operations – and then we can help our customers embrace those new techniques and products. Traditionally, IS is an inward-facing operation. We would like to transform our IS team into an extension of the product engineering capability at Canonical. Our internal workloads are in many cases the same open source workloads that our customers want to operate. This team will productise those workloads for real-time automated operations on Kubernetes.
As an engineering manager you’ll lead a team in your local time zone, focused on the business workloads that make Ubuntu, Canonical, and our various services highly available around the planet.You will be responsible for sound software architecture and best practices in software quality, testing and documentation.Technical leadership experience and a background in software engineering are prerequisites for this role. You will be expected to lead, challenge, and develop strong engineers, positively influence the culture, facilitate technical delivery, and work with your team on strategy and execution.
What you’ll do
- You’ll lead a team focused on productising business workloads
- You will build and manage a regional team of engineers
- You’ll develop your team through coaching, mentoring, and feedback
- You will demonstrate sound engineering by directly contributing toward your team’s goals
- Set reasonable schedules based on considered estimates, with feedback loops for improvement
- Set and manage expectations with other engineering teams and external stakeholders
- Advance modern, agile software development practices
- Maintain a culture of quality and engineering excellence
- Grow a healthy, collaborative engineering culture in line with the company values
- Be an active part of the leadership team and collaborate with other leaders in the organisation
- Work from home with global travel up to 20% for internal and external events
Who you are
- You have experience in Docker and Kubernetes operations
- You have a software engineering background, with proven Python experience
- You have experience developing Python frameworks, and understand the importance of stable consumable APIs
- You love embracing new technologies and pushing the boundaries of what is possible
- You have an interest in building products that improve how people operate software and infrastructure everywhere
- You love developing and growing people and have a track record of doing it
- You are knowledgeable and passionate about software development
- You have experience working in an agile development environment
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
- Team Member Assistance Program & Wellness Platform
- 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 our 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.
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