Observability Engineering Manager

Engineering managers at Canonical are always coders who are able to review and lead both architecture and code. They should also of course be astute judges of character, and comfortable setting expectations and holding colleagues accountable to them.

We are investing in the Grafana logging, monitoring and observability stack, to make it easier to deploy and operate on Kubernetes. This is part of a broader initiative to deliver the world's best suite of open source tools, where we provide deep integration and automation for best-of-breed open source offerings that cover metrics, logging, telemetry, alerting, tracing and profiling. Our goal is to make it very simple for distributed systems engineers and devops to build, debug and run complex distributed systems with very high levels of confidence and the ability to inspect, correlate and understand the internal dynamics of these solutions.

Our implementation of Kubernetes operators for the Grafana LMA stack is opinionated, resilient, and scalable, providing deep insights out of the box. The user experience is polished and seamless for the end-users, and its administrators will enjoy smooth, lightweight Day 1 and Day 2 operations. We are excited to be improving the state of the art for open source LMA and also to be expanding the integrations which make it very easy to use with a wide range of open source solutions.

The team has grown and we are now looking for a dedicated technical engineering manager. As part of the observability group, you will lead the development of the Logging, Monitoring and Alerting elements.

This is an exciting opportunity for a software engineer passionate about open source software, Linux, Kubernetes, and Observability. Build a rewarding, meaningful career working with the best and brightest people in technology at Canonical, the growing international software company behind Ubuntu.

As an Engineering Manager at Canonical, you must be technically strong, but your main responsibility is to run an effective team and develop the colleagues you manage. You will develop and review code as a leader, but know that the best way to improve the product is to ensure that the whole team is focused, productive and unblocked. You are expected to help them grow as engineers, do meaningful work, do it outstandingly well, find professional and personal satisfaction, and work well with colleagues and the community. You will also be expected to be a positive influence on culture, facilitate technical delivery, and regularly reflect with your team on strategy and execution. You will collaborate closely with other Engineering Managers, product managers, and architects, producing an engineering roadmap with ambitious and achievable goals.

We expect Engineering Managers to be fluent in the programming language, architecture, and components that their team uses. Code reviews and architectural leadership are part of the job. The commitment to healthy engineering practices, documentation, quality and performance optimisation is as important, as is the requirement for fair and clear management, and the obligation to ensure a high-performing team.

Location: This role can be home based in the EMEA or Americas regions.

What your day will look like

• Manage a distributed team of engineers and its observability portfolio
• Organize and lead the team’s processes in order to help it achieve its objectives
• Conduct one-on-one meetings with team members
• Identify and measure team health indicators
• Interact with a vibrant community
• Review code produced by other engineers
• Attend conferences to represent Canonical and its Observability Stack

What we are looking for in you

• An exceptional academic track record from both high school and university
• Drive and a track record of going above-and-beyond expectations
• A proven track record of professional experience of software delivery
• Professional python development experience, preferably with a track record in open source
• A proven understanding of the importance of observability and monitoring for keeping software running smoothly
• Experience designing and implementing observability solutions
• An exceptional academic track record from both high school and preferably university
• Willingness to travel up to 4 times a year for internal events
• Professional written and spoken English 
• Experience with Linux (Debian or Ubuntu preferred) 
• Excellent interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability 
• Passion, thoughtfulness, and self-motivation 
• Excellent communication and presentation skills 
• Result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments 

Additional skills that you might also bring

• Engineering management experience
• A working knowledge of Go
• Open source contribution experience
• Interest and experience with with container technologies

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. 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 of open source. 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.

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Last updated on Feb 21, 2024