Jobs · Full-time

Engineering Manager Python/K8s at Canonical - Remote — Columbus

LocationColumbus
CompanyCanonical
Sourcejobicy
Posted2026-08-03 10:21:24

Traveler-Friendly Insight

Canonical is one of the most nomad-friendly employers in tech. The company has operated as a fully distributed team since 2004, with 1,200+ employees across 75+ countries and almost no office-based roles. This Engineering Manager position is explicitly remote and regionally aligned — you lead a team in your own time zone (APAC or EMEA), meaning schedule flexibility is high within those broad regions.

Timezone considerations: The role is anchored to either APAC or EMEA time zones, which covers a very wide band. Digital nomads based in Southeast Asia (Bali, Chiang Mai, Ho Chi Minh City), South Asia, or anywhere from Lisbon to Dubai can align comfortably. Pure Americas-based nomads may find the overlap challenging for synchronous meetings.

Travel perks are exceptional for a remote role:

  • Up to 20% travel (roughly 10 weeks/year) for team sprints and company events — all paid
  • Priority Pass lounge access for long-haul travel
  • Travel upgrades for company events
  • Team sprints happen twice yearly in "interesting locations" — essentially paid travel experiences

Visa suitability: With no salary range disclosed, visa income thresholds are harder to assess. However, APAC countries like Thailand (LTR Visa), Indonesia (KITAS), and Malaysia (DE Rantau) all offer digital nomad options compatible with remote employment. In EMEA, Portugal's D8 visa and UAE remote work permits are well-suited. The $2,000 annual L&D budget can also fund certifications useful for visa applications.

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 Engineering Manager - Python and K8s who 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 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

  • Lead a team focused on productising business workloads
  • Build and manage a regional team of engineers
  • Develop your team through coaching, mentoring, and feedback
  • 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 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this Engineering Manager role truly fully remote?
Yes — Canonical has operated as a fully distributed company since 2004 with very few office-based roles. This position is work-from-home with up to 20% travel for team sprints and company events.
What time zones are acceptable for this role?
The role is specifically open to candidates in APAC and EMEA time zones, as you will lead a regional team aligned to your local time zone.
Is there a disclosed salary range for this position?
No specific salary range is published. Canonical states that compensation is shaped by geographical location, experience, and performance, with an annual review cycle and performance-driven bonus.
How much travel is required for this remote role?
Up to 20% travel per year (approximately 10 weeks) is expected for internal team sprints (twice yearly) and external events, with Priority Pass and travel upgrades provided for long-haul trips.
Do I need to be an active coder as an Engineering Manager at Canonical?
Yes — the role requires you to "directly contribute toward your team's goals," meaning hands-on software engineering contributions are expected alongside management responsibilities, with a background in Python and Kubernetes being prerequisites.
Job4Travelers
Curated By

Job4Travelers

Helping travelers find remote work and build location-independent careers around the world.

Similar Opportunities