Open Source Engineering Manager

About NetApp

NetApp is the intelligent data infrastructure company, turning a world of disruption into opportunity for every customer. No matter the data type, workload or environment, we help our customers identify and realize new business possibilities. And it all starts with our people.

If this sounds like something you want to be part of, NetApp is the place for you. You can help bring new ideas to life, approaching each challenge with fresh eyes. Of course, you won't be doing it alone. At NetApp, we're all about asking for help when we need it, collaborating with others, and partnering across the organization - and beyond.

Job Summary

As an Open Source Engineering Manager, you will lead our Open Source Contributions team to shape the future of key open source ecosystems such as Cassandra, OpenSearch, Kafka, and Cadence. You’ll empower your team to deliver meaningful contributions that enhance customer value, improve platform outcomes, and strengthen NetApp Instaclustr’s influence in the open source world.

This role offers a unique opportunity to lead a multi-project portfolio critical to our managed platform and collaborate across Product, Engineering, DevRel, and Marketing teams. Together, we’ll amplify the impact of open source, drive innovation, and deliver measurable business outcomes. In this role, yuu will:

- Lead, mentor, and grow a distributed team of open source engineers, fostering a culture of ownership, collaboration, and growth.
- Define and execute the open source engagement strategy, including setting team OKRs aligned to business and community needs.
- Collaborate with Product Management to translate customer needs into upstream roadmaps and provide feedback to internal product and engineering teams.
- Represent NetApp in key open source communities and foundations by participating in working groups, steering committees, and community events.
- Partner with Product, Engineering, and Support teams to address complex customer issues in upstream code and ensure alignment on contributions.
- Champion inclusive governance and healthy contributor/user experiences in priority communities.
- Track deliverables, manage risks, and ensure the team operates with a clear strategy and measurable outcomes.
- Develop and implement career growth plans for your team, ensuring their continued professional development and success.

Job Requirements

We are looking for candidates who possess a combination of technical expertise, leadership skills, and a passion for open source. While we value experience, we prioritize skills and potential over specific backgrounds. You have:

- Experience: 5+ years of experience in relevant technical roles, with at least 3 years of leadership responsibility.
- Open Source Knowledge: Familiarity with open source communities, governance models, and licensing.
- Technical Skills: Ability to read and review code, work with tools like Git and CI/CD pipelines, and use IDEs.
- Cloud Experience: Knowledge of cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP, or Azure.
- AI Knowledge: Understanding of AI use cases and tools, and how they can enhance workflows.
- Communication: Strong written and verbal communication skills, with experience engaging in community communications (e.g., GitHub, mailing lists, Slack).
- Self-Management: Ability to work independently in a distributed team, with comfort in asynchronous communication and occasional meetings outside of standard time zones.
- Knowledge of storage technologies (e.g., S3, NFS, Block vs. File) is a plus but not required.

At NetApp, we embrace a hybrid working environment designed to strengthen connection, collaboration, and culture for all employees. This means that most roles will have some level of in-office and/or in-person expectations, which will be shared during the recruitment process.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

NetApp is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and to compliance with all laws that prohibit employment discrimination based on age, race, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, disability or genetic information, pregnancy, and any protected classification.

Why NetApp?

We are all about helping customers turn challenges into business opportunity. It starts with bringing new thinking to age-old problems, like how to use data most effectively to run better - but also to innovate. We tailor our approach to the customer's unique needs with a combination of fresh thinking and proven approaches.

We enable a healthy work-life balance. Our volunteer time off program is best in class, offering employees 40 hours of paid time per year to volunteer with their favourite organizations. We provide comprehensive medical, dental, wellness, and vision plans for you and your family. We offer educational assistance, legal services, and access to discounts. Finally, we provide financial savings programs to help you plan for your future.

If you want to help us build knowledge and solve big problems, let's talk.