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Director Sustaining Engineering Jobs (NOW HIRING)

The Engineering Project Manager, Sustaining Engineering leads complex cross-functional projects ... Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority, facilitate cross-functional decision ...

The Engineering Project Manager, Sustaining Engineering leads complex cross-functional projects ... Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority, facilitate cross-functional decision ...

Direct and coordinate all engineering activities, including new product development (NPD), sustaining engineering, systems engineering, and technology development (mechanical and software), ensuring ...

$106K - $140K/yr

The Engineering Project Manager, Sustaining Engineering leads complex cross-functional projects ... Demonstrated ability to influence without direct authority, facilitate cross-functional decision ...

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Director Sustaining Engineering information

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$74K

$344.7K

$400K

How much do director sustaining engineering jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 10, 2026, the average yearly pay for director sustaining engineering in the United States is $344,742.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $281,000.00 and $400,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What does a director sustaining engineering do?

A Director of Sustaining Engineering leads teams responsible for maintaining, supporting, and improving existing products after their initial release. This role involves managing post-launch product issues, overseeing updates and enhancements, ensuring product quality, and driving process improvements. The director coordinates cross-functional teams to resolve technical problems quickly, manages resources, and communicates with stakeholders about product changes. Additionally, they play a critical role in extending the product lifecycle, reducing costs, and ensuring customer satisfaction.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a director sustaining engineering?

To thrive as a Director of Sustaining Engineering, you need in-depth engineering expertise, strong leadership abilities, and a track record in managing complex product lifecycles, typically supported by an engineering degree and significant industry experience. Familiarity with product lifecycle management (PLM) systems, quality management tools, and relevant certifications like Six Sigma or PMP are commonly required. Outstanding problem-solving, cross-functional communication, and stakeholder management skills help drive continuous improvement and team effectiveness. These competencies are crucial for ensuring product reliability, minimizing downtime, and aligning engineering efforts with business objectives.

How does a director sustaining engineering typically collaborate with cross-functional teams to address product issues in the field?

A Director of Sustaining Engineering regularly partners with product management, quality assurance, customer support, and manufacturing teams to quickly identify, prioritize, and resolve product issues reported in the field. They lead root cause analyses, ensure effective communication across departments, and coordinate timely implementation of solutions or improvements. This collaborative approach not only minimizes downtime for customers but also drives ongoing product quality enhancements and helps align future development with user needs.

What is the difference between Director Sustaining Engineering vs Product Engineering Manager?

AspectDirector Sustaining EngineeringProduct Engineering Manager
ResponsibilitiesOversees product support, issue resolution, and continuous improvement of existing productsLeads product development teams, manages product lifecycle from concept to launch
Required SkillsTechnical expertise in product maintenance, problem-solving, cross-functional coordinationProject management, product design, team leadership
Work EnvironmentFocus on post-sales support, collaboration with engineering and customer serviceFocus on new product development, cross-department collaboration

While both roles require technical knowledge and leadership, the Director Sustaining Engineering primarily manages ongoing product support and improvements, whereas the Product Engineering Manager focuses on developing new products and features. Both roles are vital in the product lifecycle but differ in scope and focus areas.

What cities are hiring for Director Sustaining Engineering jobs?

Cities with the most Director Sustaining Engineering job openings:

What states have the most Director Sustaining Engineering jobs?

States with the most job openings for Director Sustaining Engineering jobs include:

What are popular job titles related to Director Sustaining Engineering jobs?

For Director Sustaining Engineering jobs, the most frequently searched job titles are:

Infographic showing various Director Sustaining Engineering job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 91% Full Time, 4% Part Time, 4% Contract, and 1% Nights. Highlights an 86% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 9% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $344,742 per year, or $165.7 per hour.

Software Engineering Manager - Sustaining Engineering

Chicago, IL • On-site

Full-time

Re-posted 9 days ago


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 1100+ 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 Engineering Manager for Sustaining Engineering passionate about open source software, Linux and cloud computing. Come build a rewarding, meaningful career working with the best and brightest people in technology at Canonical, the growing international software company behind Ubuntu.

Sustaining Engineering is a business critical team that continuously improves various open source software by resolving software defects reported by customers. Software stack includes everything from the kernel all the way up to the user space applications and IaaS platforms. This position leads one of our regional teams and is one of several managers, who report directly to the global Director of Sustaining Engineering.

Our customers build large-scale mission critical infrastructure and application solutions on Ubuntu and open source from Canonical. While not actively developing products, Sustaining Engineering, as part of Support Engineering, solves problems for the customer and for the benefit of the wider Open Source community. This team is well staffed with experts in every time zone and, while the work can be challenging sometimes, the team is resourced to ensure a good work-life balance and ongoing development of each team member.

As an engineering manager in the Sustaining Engineering team, your primary responsibility is to the people you support: ensuring that they are growing as engineers, making valuable contributions, and generally having a great experience at Canonical. Technical leadership and a solid background in software development are a must, so that you are able to help your team members grow professionally. You will have the opportunity to influence the culture, facilitate technical delivery, and work with your team on strategy and execution.

Location: This is a globally remote role, unless specified otherwise.

The role entails
  • Manage and lead a distributed team of engineers
  • Hire, coach, mentor, provide feedback and career development guidance to your team
  • Manage & measure key performance indicators (KPIs), and training
  • Support timely delivery of bug fixes, patches, and other technical solutions to address business needs in a variety of technology fields, including but not limited to Ubuntu, OpenStack, Ceph, Kubernetes, Juju & MAAS
  • Demonstrate the very best of Canonical in customer interactions
  • Set and manage expectations with other engineering teams, senior management, and external stakeholders
  • Advocate and advance modern software development practices
  • Grow a healthy, collaborative engineering culture in line with the company value
  • Collaborate with other teams in the organisation
  • Work from home with global travel up to 10% for internal and external events
What we are looking for in you
  • Professional software delivery experience using C, C++, Go, Python, or similar
  • You are knowledgeable and passionate about software development
  • Leadership experience displaying ability to organise and prioritise complex problem resolution and bug fixes
  • Experience with version control systems such as git
  • Experience with debugging tools such as gdb, crash or other
  • Demonstrated strong commitment to testing methodologies and maintainable code quality
  • Excellent communication skills in the English language, both verbal and written
  • Experience with Linux, with a preference towards Ubuntu
  • Experience with Open Source and Open Source Business Models
  • People management experience in a support organisation is a strong plus
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 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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