Software Alliance Ecosystem Manager

Canonical; United States; Remote; USD 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus or commission

Learning & development budget

Annual holiday leave

Parental leave

Employee Assistance Programme

Travel opportunities

Travel upgrades

Distributed team sprints

Job summary

Canonical seeks a Software Alliances professional to collaborate with product, engineering, alliance and marketing teams across partners to align on open-source strategies and drive Ubuntu adoption. You will capture partner requirements, identify opportunities, and coordinate launch plans while creating joint materials for customers and partners.

The role emphasizes remote-first work, cross-region travel up to 25%, and interaction with global teams to shape competitive offerings and lifecycle

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in science, technology and/or engineering is required or strongly preferred.
• Experience in software development and system architecture.
• Customer-facing experience in software engineering, product management, business development, technology strategy or related functions.
• Excellent communication skills across all levels of stakeholders; ability to synthesize complex material.
• Ability to think and operate at both strategic and tactical levels.
• Remote-first workplace environment; self-motivated and disciplined.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with product, engineering, alliance and marketing teams at partners to align on open-source strategies.
• Capture partner requirements, evaluate gaps, and identify Canonical opportunities.
• Coordinate with marketing and product teams on messaging, content creation, and launch plans.
• Create partner- and customer-facing materials like reference architectures, joint blueprints, webinars, presentations, videos, and white papers.
• Drive Ubuntu adoption within targeted alliance accounts, advocate its benefits to stakeholders, and work with partners on enablement training for their development, delivery, support and commercial teams.
• Influence alliance partners to build with Canonical technology.

Skills

Software development

System architecture

Customer-facing

Strategic thinking

Remote work

Education

Bachelor’s degree in science/technology/engineering

Job description

Software Alliances – Canonical

The Software Alliances team at Canonical works with leading software companies to optimize and enable their products with Ubuntu and other Canonical software, for instance our AI offerings. We develop joint product roadmaps, drive delivery, and formulate go-to-market plans, content and processes, enabling differentiated offerings and robust product life-cycle support anchored to best-in-class Canonical products. Enterprises are able to receive the benefits of open source, securely maintained, and validated solutions from cloud to edge, whether purchased from Canonical, embedded in Alliance partners’ products, or accessed through the cloud. The successful candidate is someone who has a background in technology, engineering or product management and is interested in continuing to grow their career in business development. If you are someone who can navigate complex new technical challenges, learn quickly, and architect solutions and strategies across global teams, this challenging role is for you. This role is ideal for early career professionals with up to 7 years of experience.

Location: This role will be based remotely in the Americas or EMEA region. Up to 25% travel, including internationally, for internal conferences and to drive partnerships in person.

Role responsibilities

• Collaborate with product, engineering, alliance and marketing teams at partners to align on open-source strategies.
• Capture partner requirements, evaluate gaps, and identify Canonical opportunities.
• Coordinate with marketing and product teams on messaging, content creation, and launch plans.
• Create partner- and customer-facing materials like reference architectures, joint blueprints, webinars, presentations, videos, and white papers.
• Drive Ubuntu adoption within targeted alliance accounts, advocate its benefits to stakeholders, and work with partners on enablement training for their development, delivery, support and commercial teams.
• Influence alliance partners to build with Canonical technology.

What we’re looking for in you

• Exceptional academic track record from both high school and university or a compelling narrative about your alternative chosen path.
• Bachelor’s degree in science, technology and/or engineering.
• Experience in software development and system architecture.
• Customer-facing experience in software engineering, product management, business development, technology strategy or similar functions.
• Excellent communication skills across all levels of stakeholders – individual contributors to the C‑suite; ability to grasp complex material and synthesize key points.
• Ability to think and work at both strategic and tactical levels.
• Disciplined and self‑motivated for a remote‑first workplace environment.
• Nice‑to‑have skills and experience: Experience with open source software and open source business models; team leadership, product management or program management experience; understanding of marketing and go-to-market strategy; sector‑specific experience in finance, telecommunications, automotive, or public sectors; working knowledge of independent hardware and software vendor go-to-market motions; post‑graduate degree in science, technology or engineering field.

What we offer colleagues

• We consider geographic 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.
• Personal learning and development budget of USD2,000 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.
• Distributed work environment with twice‑yearly team sprints in person.

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. 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…