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 Desktop engineering teams build the modern Linux desktop experience used daily by millions of developers, enterprises, and open source communities worldwide.

Location: We have remote roles open in every time zone.

About the team

The Ubuntu Desktop Apps team, as part of the broader Ubuntu Desktop team, designs and builds the core user-facing applications that shape the Ubuntu desktop experience.

This includes key projects such as the Ubuntu Desktop Installer, the Ubuntu App Center, the Ubuntu Security Center, TPM-backed full disk encryption integration and Application Permission prompting.

Our applications are primarily built using Flutter and Dart, with system components and services implemented in Go and Rust.

The team works across the full engineering lifecycle, defining the roadmap, contributing to product design and system architecture, implementing features and conducting code reviews, maintaining CI/CD pipelines and automated testing, improving quality, reliability, and performance, and ensuring smooth release management and delivery to users.

The Role

We are looking for a Software Engineering Manager to lead the Ubuntu Desktop Apps team.

This is a technical leadership role combining people management with active engineering involvement. You will guide the team in delivering modern desktop applications that integrate seamlessly with the Ubuntu platform while ensuring high standards of quality, performance, and security.

You will report to the Ubuntu Desktop Engineering director and collaborate closely with design, product management, and other Ubuntu engineering teams to deliver a coherent and forward-looking desktop experience for millions of users.

What You’ll Do

Technical Leadership

• Guide architecture and technical direction for Ubuntu desktop applications
• Ensure strong integration with the Ubuntu platform, Snap ecosystem, and system services
• Participate in design reviews and key technical decisions
• Promote high standards for performance, reliability, and security

Team Leadership

• Lead and support a team of talented engineers
• Mentor and grow engineers across frontend and systems domains
• Foster a culture of ownership, collaboration, and continuous improvement

Delivery and Engineering Excellence

• Plan and deliver features across multiple release cycles
• Balance innovation with reliability and maintainability
• Improve CI/CD pipelines, test coverage, and release quality

Collaboration and Community

• Work with product and design teams to deliver intuitive user experiences
• Collaborate across Canonical engineering teams
• Engage with 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 building and shipping graphical applications
• Experience leading engineering projects or teams
• Expertise in Flutter and Dart, with experience in Go or Rust as a plus
• Experience working with modern Linux desktop technologies such as Wayland, D-Bus, Systemd, or GNOME
• 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

• Experience contributing to or leading open source projects
• Experience with Linux distribution development
• Familiarity with software packaging and application sandboxing
• Performance 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
• Gain a deep understanding of the Ubuntu desktop architecture and application stack
• Identify key improvement opportunities in engineering processes or product quality

First 6 - 12 Months

• Deliver meaningful improvements to the Ubuntu desktop application experience
• Strengthen development workflows, testing practices, and delivery reliability
• Help the team grow and maintain a high standard of engineering excellence

What we offer you

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. 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 Programme
• 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 on a daily basis. 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. Canonical has been a remote-first company 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.