Engineering Manager - Ubuntu Core

As an Engineering Manager at Ubuntu Core, you will be responsible for leading a distributed team of engineers, managing project timelines, prioritizing requests from stakeholders, and promoting agile software development practices. You will also directly contribute to the team’s goals through hands-on engineering work while ensuring the group maintains a supportive and collaborative culture.

To qualify as an Engineering Manager for Ubuntu Core, you should have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, STEM, or a related field, alongside solid experience in software development and managing engineering teams. Knowledge of embedded software, Linux environments, and programming languages such as Golang, C/C++, and Shell is essential.

Working remotely as an Engineering Manager at Ubuntu Core allows you to lead your team from anywhere in Africa while ensuring productivity and collaboration. You will have the flexibility to set your own schedule, and you will also have the opportunity for global travel twice a year, allowing you to connect in person with your colleagues during company events.

Ubuntu Core prides itself on fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where different identities and backgrounds are valued. The engineering culture encourages collaboration, innovation, and personal growth, giving you the chance to be an active part of leadership and contribute to a positive work environment.

As an Engineering Manager at Ubuntu Core, you will develop invaluable leadership skills such as coaching and mentoring engineers, managing project expectations, and improving agile practices. Additionally, you will sharpen your technical skills while developing efficient software solutions for embedded systems.

An effective answer should highlight specific experiences where you've successfully led a team, the challenges faced, and how you addressed them. Emphasize your leadership style and how you foster collaboration within your team.

Discuss your approach to gathering stakeholder feedback, evaluating the impact of requests, and balancing these with your team’s capacity. Providing a framework or tool you use for prioritization can be very effective.

Illustrate your technical background with embedded systems and Linux distributions. Mention any specific projects you’ve worked on that utilized Ubuntu Core or similar systems and the outcomes of those projects.

Describe strategies you've implemented to promote communication and team-building among remote team members. Discuss how you've addressed challenges related to collaboration when working from home.

Explain the agile practices you're experienced with and why you think they are vital to the success of the team. Including examples of how you've applied these practices in previous roles can strengthen your answer.

Discuss your planning and execution strategies, focusing on how you track progress, adjust priorities, and keep team members aligned on deadlines. Mention any project management tools you prefer.

Highlight your philosophy towards mentorship, including how you identify the needs of junior engineers and how you tailor your guidance to help them develop their skills and confidence.

Share insights on industry trends and potential obstacles you foresee. Address how you would prepare your team to face these challenges in software development and deployment.

Discuss various methods you use to keep your knowledge and skills up-to-date, such as attending conferences, taking online courses, and participating in relevant communities or forums.

Explain how you communicate best practices within your team and organization, including methods for training and encouraging feedback from team members to foster a culture of continuous improvement.