Engineering Manager - Ubuntu Package Management

About the Role

This role is offered in partnership with an external company based in New Zealand. The Engineering Manager will lead a team that develops foundational technologies for software management and system lifecycle operations on Ubuntu. The position blends technical leadership with people management, driving the engineering vision while fostering growth among skilled engineers. The manager will oversee areas including package management, software distribution, driver and firmware handling, updates, upgrades, and release procedures.

As a strategic influencer, you will guide the architecture, roadmap, and engineering quality, emphasizing reliability, security, and long-term maintainability. Collaboration with globally distributed teams and cross-functional stakeholders including product, security, desktop, server, and release engineering will be key. This opportunity also allows you to contribute to widely adopted open source infrastructure and engage with upstream communities.

Key Responsibilities

• Set the technical vision and roadmap for package management and system lifecycle technologies, ensuring alignment with platform goals.
• Participate in architectural decisions and design reviews focusing on software management, updates, upgrades, and infrastructure components.
• Champion engineering excellence by promoting high standards in performance, reliability, security, compatibility, and maintainability.
• Lead, mentor, and support an experienced engineering team to foster ownership, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Enhance talent development through coaching and performance management.
• Manage delivery across multiple release cycles balancing innovation with stability and sustainability.
• Advance test automation, release quality, engineering processes, and operational reliability.
• Build strong partnerships across various teams including desktop, server, security, release engineering, product, and OEM.
• Engage with Debian and other upstream open source projects to encourage collaboration and technology evolution.
• Identify areas to improve roadmap clarity, planning, execution, and product quality.

Requirements

• Excellent academic record in high school and university, holding a degree in Computer Science, STEM, or equivalent professional experience.
• Extensive expertise in software engineering, system design, and complex technical platform development.
• Demonstrated engineering management skills including people management, mentoring, and performance development.
• Proficient in Linux distribution technologies, package management systems, or software distribution infrastructure.
• Strong understanding of systems software and operating system architectures.
• Familiar with package repositories, archives, package management, or software lifecycle tools.
• Knowledgeable in release engineering and software reliability challenges over multiple release cycles.
• Experience in contributing to Debian, Ubuntu, or other open source infrastructure projects is advantageous.
• Background in performance engineering, reliability, or security is beneficial.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills to convey complex technical ideas and collaborate effectively.
• Ability to work efficiently in a globally distributed engineering environment and foster inter-functional relationships.
• Willingness to travel internationally approximately twice yearly for events lasting up to two weeks.

Benefits and Additional Information

• Work within a remote-first global organization supporting employees across different time zones.
• Attend in-person team sprints and company events approximately twice annually in various locations.
• Personal development budget of USD 2000 annually for learning and growth.
• Compensation tailored by geography, experience, and performance, including an annual performance bonus.
• Regular compensation reviews to reward strong performance and stay competitive.
• Recognition programs to celebrate employee achievements.
• Paid annual holiday leave to support personal wellness.
• Maternity and paternity leave provisions.
• Access to Employee Assistance Programs for support.
• Opportunities to travel globally and connect with colleagues in person.
• Travel benefits including Priority Pass and upgrades for eligible long-haul company events.
• Chance to contribute to foundational Linux and open source systems that are widely used.

Additional Notes

This position requires collaboration with a partner company that manages application reviews and hiring decisions. The recruitment employs AI-driven candidate matching to ensure a fair, timely assessment aligned with role requirements. Final hiring determinations and subsequent processes are conducted by the partnering employer's internal team. Candidates acknowledge data processing for recruitment purposes in compliance with applicable privacy laws. AI tools may support application evaluation but do not substitute human judgment.