Software Engineering Manager - Cross-platform C++ - Multipass

Canonical Group Ltd; Manama; Remote; BHD 45,000 - 68,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Distributed work environment with team sprints

Personal learning budget of USD 2,000

Annual compensation review

Recognition rewards

Annual holiday leave

Maternity and paternity leave

Employee Assistance Programme

Travel opportunities to meet colleagues

Priority Pass for travel upgrades

Job summary

A leading open source software provider is seeking a Software Engineering Manager to lead a remote team in developing the Multipass workstation mini-cloud. The successful candidate will have expertise in C++ and cross-platform development, alongside strong leadership skills. Responsibilities include coaching engineers, engaging with the open source community, and participating in code reviews. This position offers a flexible work environment, competitive compensation, and opportunities for professional growth.

Qualifications

• Strong track record of developing and growing engineering talent.
• Experience in delivering high-quality software.
• Knowledge of open source development practices.
• Excellent written and verbal technical communication.
• Open source experience and community involvement.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of remote engineers.
• Develop talent through coaching and mentoring.
• Set expectations with engineering teams and stakeholders.
• Participate in code and architectural reviews.
• Engage with open source community and partners.
• Engage with Canonical and open source communities.
• Work from home with travel 4 to 6 weeks per year.

Skills

Leadership and team development

C++ development

Cross-platform development

Technical communication

Problem-solving

Team leadership & people development

Education

Bachelor’s or equivalent in Computer Science or STEM

Tools

Hyper‑V

VirtualBox

KVM

Job description

Software Engineering Manager - Cross-platform C++ - Multipass

Home based - Middle East, Manama, Bahrain

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 more than 80 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 a Software Engineering Manager to lead Multipass, the workstation mini-cloud at your fingertips. Multipass is published for macOS, Windows, and also Linux. At its simplest you can say multipass launch and you will get a new VM on your workstation. The goal is not to be a full cloud, of course. The goal is to give developers a local cloud experience on their workstation, which they can use to run builds in the background, or to try cloud appliances, or to test their own cloud deployments and cloud-init scripts, free of charge. People sometimes use it as a build farm on a shared server, for example.

As an engineering manager at Canonical you must have a solid technical background, but your responsibility is to run an effective team and develop the colleagues you manage. You are expected to help them grow as engineers, do important work, do it outstandingly well, find professional and personal satisfaction, and work well with colleagues and the community. Technical leadership experience and a background in software engineering are necessary prerequisites for this role. You will be expected to lead, challenge, and develop engineers, positively influence the culture, facilitate technical delivery, and work with your team on strategy and execution.

The successful candidate will have experience leading successful, collaborative engineering teams, and demonstrate the ability to solve challenging problems.

Location: This is a remote position available in EMEA and the Americas.

The role entails

• Lead a team of remote engineers
• Develop talent through coaching, mentoring, feedback and hands‑on career development
• Set and manage expectations with other engineering teams, senior management, and external stakeholders
• Advocate and advance modern software development practices
• Participate in the engineering process through code and architectural review
• Engage with teams at Canonical, the open source community and partners
• Work from home with global travel for 4 to 6 weeks per year for internal and external events

What we are looking for in you

• You love developing and growing people and have a strong track record of doing it
• You are focused on success and the delivery of timely, high quality software
• You have a Bachelor’s or equivalent in Computer Science, STEM or similar degree
• You have strong written and verbal technical communication skills
• Expertise in modern C++ development
• Cross‑platform development experience on macOS and/or Windows
• Knowledge of hypervisor technologies such as Hyper‑V, VirtualBox, and KVM
• Open source experience and involvement

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 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
• 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