Software Alliances Director, Americas at Canonical

Role overview

This job description has been rewritten in fresh language using the facts in the listing. Source credit and original listing details are available below.

Canonical’s Software Alliances team works with software companies to improve and enable their products using Ubuntu and other Canonical software, including AI offerings. The team develops shared product roadmaps, coordinates delivery, and builds go-to-market plans, content, and processes. Its work supports differentiated partner offerings and product lifecycle support, helping enterprises use securely maintained, validated open-source solutions across cloud and edge environments.

As Software Alliances Director, you will shape account strategy and coordinate with partner and Canonical teams across product, engineering, alliances, and marketing. The work includes identifying partner needs and opportunities, supporting Ubuntu adoption, influencing partners to build with Canonical technology, and preparing joint materials and launch plans. The role is remote in the Americas and involves up to 25% travel, including international travel for conferences and in-person partnership work. Canonical describes the role as suited to professionals with 7+ years of experience.

Canonical offers a distributed work environment with twice-yearly in-person team sprints, a USD 2,000 annual learning and development budget, annual compensation reviews, recognition rewards, annual holiday leave, maternity and paternity leave, and access to a Team Member Assistance Program and Wellness Platform. Colleagues may also travel to meet one another, with Priority Pass and travel upgrades for long-haul company events. Compensation varies by geography, experience, and performance and includes base pay plus a performance-driven annual bonus or commission.

Role at a glance: Lead software alliance strategy and partner enablement for Canonical across the Americas in a remote role with up to 25% travel.

Responsibilities mentioned in the listing

• Set account strategy for major accounts, regions, or industry verticals.
• Coordinate with partner product, engineering, alliance, and marketing teams to align on open-source strategies.
• Gather partner requirements, assess gaps, and identify opportunities for Canonical.
• Work with marketing and product teams on messaging, content, and launch plans.
• Develop partner- and customer-facing materials, including reference architectures, joint blueprints, webinars, presentations, videos, and white papers.
• Promote Ubuntu adoption within target alliance accounts, communicate its benefits to stakeholders, and coordinate partner enablement training for development, delivery, support, and commercial teams.
• Influence alliance partners to build with Canonical technology.

Qualifications stated in the listing

• Ideally, 7+ years of professional experience.
• Demonstrated success in business development or product management, as both a leader and an individual contributor in major accounts.
• Evidence of cross-functional leadership and the ability to influence others.
• Strong academic performance in high school and university, or a compelling account of an alternative 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 a similar function.
• Excellent communication skills with stakeholders at all levels, from individual contributors to the C-suite, and the ability to understand complex material and distill key points.