Embedded Linux Engineering Manager - Remote Global — Columbus
Traveler-Friendly Insight
Canonical is one of the most nomad-compatible employers in tech. The company has operated as a fully distributed, remote-first organisation since 2004 — this is not a pandemic-era adaptation. With 1,200+ colleagues across 75+ countries, the culture is genuinely built for location independence.
Timezone flexibility: The role requires you to be based in one of three regions (Americas, EMEA, or APAC) to manage your geo-specific team. This means you need a consistent base timezone, but within that geo you have broad flexibility. This is not a strict 9-to-5 UTC role — async communication is embedded in the culture.
Travel perks for nomads:
- Priority Pass membership and travel upgrades for long-haul company events — a meaningful perk for frequent travellers
- Twice-yearly in-person team sprints in varied global locations — built-in travel
- USD 2,000 annual learning budget can cover conferences or courses en route
Visa considerations: With allowed geographies spanning Americas, EMEA, and APAC, digital nomad visas in countries like Portugal (D8), Costa Rica, or Thailand's LTR visa are well-suited. Many LATAM countries (Colombia, Mexico) allow 90-180 day tourist stays, covering typical sprint cycles.
Cost-of-living context: Without a disclosed salary, budgeting is harder, but engineering manager roles at this level typically command $120K–$180K+ USD equivalent. At that range, Lisbon, Medellín, and Chiang Mai all offer very comfortable lifestyles at 30-50% lower cost than major US/UK cities.
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 an Embedded Linux Field Engineering Manager to lead a regionally-focused team of Field Engineers in Presales and Professional Services activities, by helping customers with solution architecture, design and delivery.
Location: This is a remote role, running a team in one of three Geos — Americas, EMEA, or APAC. You will need to be located in one of those three Geos to manage the specific team that spans a few timezones from you.
Our Internet of Things mission is to enable companies to make fleets of very secure connected devices. Canonical provides the base Ubuntu OS and kernel, with secure update and management mechanisms. Our customers create mission-critical control systems, gateways and appliances that need to meet stringent quality and security requirements, and we aspire to bring this level of security to the wider consumer electronics and device market.
Our Field Engineers are thought leaders helping our customers solve hard problems. They are accomplished technologists that take a hands-on approach to embedded Linux strategy and delivery. They have a passion to help customers achieve ambitious technical and business goals, and to show how the Canonical approach to open source and connected devices brings best-of-breed thinking to the emerging field of edge compute. They also care to develop their colleagues, helping them deepen their understanding of the technology, their ability to manage time, and their awareness of customer business thinking for continuous improvement and personal development.
This career opportunity requires a unique blend of skills. Successful candidates will know Linux well and be proficient coders and scripters. They will have experience of low-level Linux boot, BIOS, firmware and embedded software development methodologies. They also enjoy the pace of change and diversity of client engagements with driven and ambitious technology entrepreneurs. Competitive, business-focused technologists at heart, they are also team drivers that take pride in team and company wins.
The Role Entails
- Lead and develop a team of Field Engineers, ranging from graduate to senior, in the areas of Presales and Professional Services
- Solve customer problems by promoting our technologies and being a trusted advisor
- Work remotely in a single major time zone
- Coach, mentor, and offer career development feedback
- Identify and measure team health indicators
- Implement disciplined engineering processes
- Represent your team and product to stakeholders, partners, and customers
- Develop and evangelise great engineering and organisational practices
- Plan and manage progress on agreed goals and projects
- Be an active part of the leadership team, collaborating with other leaders
What We Are Looking For in You
- Exceptional academic track record from both high school and university
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related technical field
- Extensive embedded Linux experience — Yocto or other
- Extensive Linux experience — Debian or Ubuntu preferred
- Fluency in at least one of Golang, Python, C, C++, or Rust
- Ability to manage a small team
- Experience with customer engagements
- Professional written and spoken English
- Excellent interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability
- Result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments
- An ability to communicate the business benefits of technology
- A humble learner and quick study
Other desirable traits include RTOS experience, additional languages (both programming and human kinds), and previous experience working in a remote-first, diverse, distributed company.
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 recognise 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 Programme
- Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues from your team and others
- 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
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