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 75+ 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 Silicon Alliance partner manager in Beijing or Shanghai to drive Canonical’s joint initiatives and technical engagements with major semiconductor partners. The Silicon Alliances Team works with the leading semiconductor companies to combine open source adoption with innovative optimizations to get the most from each new chip. With our semiconductor partners, we develop joint product roadmaps, drive delivery, formulate go-to-market plans and conceptualize new business models, enabling differentiated hardware and robust product life-cycle support while still anchored to best-in-class Ubuntu. The end goal is a frictionless experience to deploy, maintain, and develop on any hardware from cloud to edge.

The successful candidate is someone who is passionate about both hardware and software technology with interest to grow into 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.

Location: This is an office based role in Beijing or Shanghai. .

The role entails

• Collaborating with product, engineering, and alliance teams at silicon partners to align on open-source strategies.
• Ensuring Canonical’s product requirements are clear and delivery is executed as planned.
• Maintaining relationships with engineering teams to integrate and optimize Ubuntu.
• Acting as the product champion and point of contact for named siliconpartners.
• Coordinating with marketing and product teams on messaging, content creation, and launch plans.
• Creating partner- and customer-facing materials like webinars, presentations, videos, and white papers.
• Driving Ubuntu adoption across partner products, advocating its benefits to stakeholders.
• Leading in making Canonical products the default choice for our partners to build on and accelerating adoption of our technology by end users on their platforms.

What we are 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.
• Fundamental understanding of the semiconductor industry and ecosystem.
• Experience in software and system architecture.
• Customer-facing experience in business development, technology strategy or similar functions.
• Excellent communication skills with 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

• Experience with open source software and open source business models.
• Team leadership or program management experience.

• Understanding of marketing and go-to-market strategy
• Experience working with Chinese based tech companies.

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 recognize 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
• Team Member Assistance Program & Wellness Platform
• 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 our 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 identity, we will give your application fair consideration.