Cloud Alliances Business Development Lead

Company: Canonical
Location: Chicago
Posted on: February 19, 2026

Job Description:

Job Description Job Description 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 for our Cloud Alliances Business Development Lead to coordinate our 'go-to-market' with tier 1 Cloud Partners. We develop joint product roadmaps, drive delivery, and formulate go-to-market plans, content and processes, enabling differentiated offerings and robust product life-cycle support anchored to best-in-class Canonical products. This role supports the interaction of Canonical's sales, marketing and alliances teams with counterparts at the cloud to jointly service customers and prospects. This role is responsible for quarterly and yearly public cloud derived revenue budget forecasts. The successful candidate is someone who is passionate about tech and driving revenue growth through collaboration. If you are data-driven and skilled at navigating complex new technical challenges, learn quickly, and ready to architect strategies across global teams, this challenging role is for you. Location: This role will be based remotely in the Americas region. The role entails Collaborating with product, engineering, alliance and marketing teams at a cloud partner to align on open-source strategies. Capturing partner requirements, evaluating gaps, and identifying Canonical opportunities. Coordinating with marketing and product teams on messaging, content creation, and launch plans. Creating partner- and customer-facing materials like reference architectures, joint blueprints, webinars, presentations, videos, and white papers. Driving Ubuntu adoption within targeted alliance accounts, advocating its benefits to stakeholders and working with partners on enablement training for their development, delivery, support and commercial teams. Influencing Cloud customers to build with Canonical technology. Up to 25% travel, including internationally, for internal conferences and to drive partnerships in person. 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. Experience in software development and system architecture. Customer-facing experience in software engineering, product management, business development, technology strategy or similar functions. Excellent communication skills across all levels of stakeholders - individual contributors to the C-suite; 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 and experience Experience with open source software and open source business models. Team leadership, product management or program management experience. Understanding of marketing and go-to-market strategy. Sector-specific experience in finance, telecommunications, automotive, or public sectors. Working knowledge of independent hardware and software vendor go-to-market motions. Post-graduate degree in science, technology or engineering field. 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.

Keywords: Canonical, Naperville , Cloud Alliances Business Development Lead, IT / Software / Systems , Chicago, Illinois