About Canonical

Canonical is a pioneering technology company at the forefront of the global shift to open source software. As the publisher of Ubuntu, the world's leading Linux distribution, Canonical powers breakthrough enterprise initiatives in public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation, and IoT. Ubuntu is trusted by the world's top public cloud providers, silicon manufacturers, and industry leaders across sectors. With over 1,200 colleagues spanning more than 80 countries, Canonical embodies a fully distributed, remote-first culture. Teams collaborate globally, meeting in person just two to four times a year in exciting international locations to align on strategy and execution. Founder-led and profitable, Canonical continues to grow while pushing the boundaries of open source innovation.

Role Overview

The Site Reliability Engineering Manager role at Canonical is a high-impact leadership position blending operations management, software engineering, product development, and team leadership. You will lead a distributed team in the APAC region, focusing on world-class devops and gitops practices. The Information Systems team supports services for over 60 million Ubuntu users worldwide, pioneering model-driven operations and infra-as-code at scale. From Kubernetes orchestration to kernel-level optimizations, you'll work with cutting-edge technologies in a fast-paced environment. Reporting to a global director, you'll ensure seamless operations for Canonical's managed services and Ubuntu deployments, sharing automation as open source tools that benefit the broader community.

Key Responsibilities

In this role, you'll drive excellence across engineering and operations:

• Lead your team in daily agile devops practices, fostering collaboration and efficiency.
• Represent the IS team to stakeholders, customers, and internal groups, communicating progress and challenges effectively.
• Organize, coordinate, and drive internal projects to meet milestones and deliverables.
• Mentor engineers, helping them enhance skills and grow professionally.
• Identify and track team health indicators to maintain high performance.
• Implement structured engineering and operations processes for reliability.
• Ensure team focus on priorities, meeting service level agreements for global customer deployments.
• Deliver consistent, high-quality managed services in a timely manner.

Qualifications & Requirements

Canonical seeks proven leaders with deep technical expertise:

• Drive and a track record of exceeding expectations in high-stakes environments.
• Proven experience in software delivery using infrastructure as code (IaC).
• Hands-on management of devops teams for SaaS or similar large-scale offerings.
• Strong understanding of testing methodologies and maintainable code quality.
• Technical aptitude for complex distributed systems and cloud topologies.
• Experience with modern cloud technologies and operations.
• Willingness to travel twice a year for up to two-week company events.
• Exceptional academic record from high school and university.

Nice-to-have skills include Ubuntu system administration, agile methodologies, and managing distributed teams.

Benefits & Perks

Canonical offers competitive, globally fair compensation tailored to location, experience, and performance, with annual reviews and performance bonuses. Key perks include:

• Fully distributed home-based work with twice-yearly in-person sprints in inspiring locations.
• USD 2,000 personal learning and development budget annually.
• Performance-driven annual bonus or commission.
• Recognition rewards for outstanding contributions.
• Generous annual holiday leave, maternity, and paternity leave.
• Employee Assistance Program for well-being support.
• Priority Pass membership and travel upgrades for long-haul company events.

Career Growth

At Canonical, career progression is merit-based in a flat, high-performance culture. As SRE Manager, you'll gain exposure to global stakeholders, cutting-edge open source projects, and leadership opportunities across Ubuntu's ecosystem. Regular feedback, mentorship, and the $2,000 learning budget empower continuous growth. Excel here, and advance to director-level roles shaping Canonical's operations strategy.

Why Join Canonical

Join a profitable, growing company revolutionizing open source for enterprise. Work remotely from APAC while contributing to Ubuntu, the platform behind AI, cloud, and IoT innovations. Thrive in a remote-first environment with minimal travel, diverse global teams, and a commitment to work-life balance. Canonical's focus on automation, open source sharing, and next-gen devops positions you at the industry's forefront.

Role FAQs

Q: Is this role fully remote? Yes, home-based in APAC with occasional travel for team sprints.

Q: What technologies will I work with? Kubernetes, IaC tools, cloud platforms, Linux kernel, and Canonical's open source automation.

Q: How is the team structured? Distributed across time zones, with you leading the APAC subgroup reporting to a global director.

Q: What's the compensation approach? Competitive base with annual reviews, bonuses, and location-adjusted fairness.

Q: Do I need Ubuntu experience? Preferred but not required; Linux and devops expertise are essential.