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Product Manager - AI

Canonical

Remote OK
Home based - EMEA
EMEA
US hours

Hirezar Summary for South African Applicants

This remote ok full time position at Canonical is open across the EMEA region, which includes South Africa. As a remote position, you can work from anywhere in South Africa — whether you're based in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, or a smaller town.

Job Description

<p>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.</p>
<p>The company is founder led, profitable and growing.</p>
<p>Canonical’s product management team are technologists who have a passion for delivering products and solutions that help shape market demands while elevating open source software everywhere. This is a general application track for the product management positions at Canonical. You will set a clear vision, prioritize work effectively, and ensure the team delivers high-quality products that meet business and user needs. Apply here if you excel at leadership, communication, and technical vision, and believe you can drive product strategy for the business needs of tomorrow. During the interview process we will identify specific software products which would be a good fit for your interests.</p>
<p>We believe that open source is transforming the way that enterprises solve their business needs. Although open source has been around for thirty years, it is only now fundamental to every corner of the software landscape. Going forward we believe open source will have an even bigger impact as it moves into specialised vertical markets. Our goal is to make open source easier, more reliable and more secure for deployment and development. We strive to be the provider of ‘most software to most companies’, starting with Ubuntu but expanding to cover every class of application on every class of compute. To deliver on that ambition, we select product managers for their intellect and strong drive to advance the open source community. Together, we aim to improve open source quality, outreach, and impact. Our product managers set the vision and the direction to ensure teams deliver the right products in the right markets at the right time. They push the boundaries of the technology landscape to identify and deliver products into new and existing market opportunities.</p>
<p>Our product managers are technology professionals with a software engineering background who strive to become business executives and entrepreneurs. We discuss strategy, plan product development, drive engagement, and promote the open source way. We oversee the entire product lifecycle from conception to delivery, blending technical expertise, strategic thinking, analytics, project management skills and effective communication to ensure products meet both user needs and business objectives.</p>
<p>We have open product manager roles across a wide range of product domains, including:</p>
<ul>
<li>Ubuntu Platform - Our Ubuntu experience on Desktop, Server, Windows (WSL), Multipass, Gaming, Enterprise, &amp; Hardware Enablement</li>
<li>Ubuntu Pro Services - Our key commercial offerings Ubuntu Pro, Compliance, Standards, Security Engineering, and Managed Services on cloud and on prem</li>
<li>AI/ML &amp; MLOps - Open source AI/ML solutions, AIOps automation, model lifecycle management, Kubeflow, MLFlow, KServe, and AI infrastructure on cloud and edge</li>
<li>IoT - Ubuntu on embedded devices and/or edge servers, device management, and robotics</li>
<li>Cloud - Ubuntu in public and private clouds, promoting automation frameworks, and including technologies such as Kubernetes, MAAS, and LXD</li>
<li>Telco - Open source for Telco's including technologies and standards related to Core Network, RAN/vRAN, SoNIC, DENT, and SmartNICs</li>
<li>Finance - Open source solutions for financial institutions including trading platforms, blockchain technologies, regulatory compliance, and AI-driven analytics</li>
<li>Automotive - Open source solutions for autonomous driving, in-vehicle infotainment, connected vehicles, and compliance with automotive industry standards such as ISO 26262 and ISO 21434</li>
<li>Application Management - Open source solutions in the enterprise including Observability, IAM, App Stores and technologies such Grafana, GitOps, and Juju Charms</li>
</ul>
<p>If your domain of expertise isn’t listed above, yet you feel it’s relevant to Canonical, then feel free to apply anyway. We will route you to the most suitable team.</p>
<p><strong>Location:</strong> These roles are home based in the EMEA time zone. You will be expected to be located in this region.</p>
<h3>The role entails</h3>
<ul>
<li>Lead the product development lifecycle, reviewing the priorities and goals for your product</li>
<li>Collaborate with cross-functional teams such as engineer

Tips for South African Applicants

Timezone Advantage

South Africa (SAST, UTC+2) overlaps well with European business hours and has a few hours of overlap with US East Coast. Mention your timezone flexibility in your application.

Salary in Context

Even without a listed salary, international remote roles typically pay 2-3x more than equivalent local positions in South Africa due to the exchange rate advantage.

Application Tips

Tailor your CV to international standards — use a clean format, highlight remote work experience, and include your English proficiency. Many SA applicants succeed by emphasising their strong work ethic and cultural adaptability.

Load Shedding Preparedness

If you're applying for a remote role, having a backup power solution (UPS, inverter, or generator) and mobile data as a backup internet connection shows employers you're prepared for South Africa's infrastructure challenges.

About Canonical

Canonical is a company in the Operations industry that hires remote workers from South Africa. They currently have 230 open positions on Hirezar. View all Canonical jobs →