Product Manager - Industrial Sector Lead

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 Product Manager - Industrial Sector Lead. Open source technologies are transforming the industrial sector, enabling innovation in IoT, edge computing, robotics, and Industry 4.0 solutions. Ubuntu is a key component of these innovations, widely deployed across manufacturing, automation, and industrial platforms. Canonical has created a product leadership role for industrial technologies. If you have a passion for tech and business, an appreciation for open source, and good communication skills, then you will enjoy a product leadership role at Canonical.

This role is an exceptional opportunity for a technology leader in the industrial sector with experience in automation systems, IoT platforms, and edge computing. Key focus areas include:

• IoT solutions for smart manufacturing and industrial automation.
• Edge computing platforms for real-time processing and analytics.
• Robotics and AI applications for industrial use cases.
• Industry 4.0 technologies and integration with cloud platforms.
• Open source software and community engagement in industrial innovation.

This role encompasses product leadership and go-to-market strategy in the Industrial sector, ensuring that the product vision is translated into actionable plans and successful market launches, overseeing the entire product lifecycle from conception to delivery, while staying ahead of market demands. Sector Leads play a pivotal role in identifying market opportunities, bridging the gaps between technology and business, and fathoming user perception about the product to drive its success in the Industry. They collaborate closely with engineering, design, marketing, sales, and the management, to gather insights, to align business goals with market needs, and to drive the success of their products and contribute to the overall business strategy of the organization. Sector Leads in Canonical require a blend of technical expertise, strategic thinking, project management skills, and effective communication to successfully deliver a technology product that meets both user needs and business objectives. We prefer accomplished professionals with software engineering experience who strive to become business executives and entrepreneurs to strategize product development, drive engagement, and promote the open source paradigm. 

Location: This role will be based remotely in the EMEA region. You will be expected to be located within this region.

The role entails

• Lead the lifecycle of the product development by reviewing the priorities and goals for the product you are responsible for.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams such as engineering, design, marketing, and sales, to address common challenges across projects, to align on priorities, to enable informed decisions in the teams, and to keep business execution on track
• Conduct market research, analyse industry trends, and gather customer feedback to identify opportunities, and to ensure alignment with Canonical's overall vision
• Communicate the product vision, status updates, and key decisions to ensure alignment and manage expectations
• Conduct usability testing, analyse user feedback, and iterate on the product to improve the user experience
• Collaborate with marketing, sales, and support teams to develop go-to-market strategies, create product documentation, and provide training
• Contribute to the success of our sales team in winning new opportunities, by reviewing customer feedback and participating in customer meetings

What we are looking for in you

• Exceptional academic results at high school and university
• Practised product management experience in technical domains related to the usage and/or the management of open source software
• Solid knowledge of Industry 4.0, IoT, and edge computing technologies
• Excellent writing and presentation skills
• Commercial astuteness for pricing and product strategy
• Understanding of physical compute - servers, networking, storage
• Understanding of industrial-specific open source software such as IoT frameworks, OPC UA, EdgeX Foundry, ROS (Robot Operating System), and industrial automation platforms
• Understanding of the open source infrastructure projects such Kubernetes and Openstack,
• Solid knowledge of Linux and the wider Open Source Software community and understanding of computer architecture, including awareness of Ubuntu offering
• Passion to write about technologies and the Tech landscape with an insatiable intellectual curiosity, and be passionate about the future of technology
• Have a strong sense of ownership with a view that every part of the product's success is your responsibility
• Be a problem solver and have the ability to think out of the box
• A strong work ethic, and personal interests aligned with the open source philosophy
• Very good communications skills in English, both verbal and written
• Willingness to travel up to 4 times a year for internal events

What we offer you

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

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.

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