Software Technical Lead

Software Technical Lead

Onsite 1 day per week.

$165-190k CAN.

We are seeking a Technical Lead to own the technical direction, architecture, and quality of our internal platforms:

This is a player-coach role that combines hands-on technical leadership with team management.

You are not simply maintaining existing systems. You are a forward-thinking architect who understands that the future of these platforms is deeply tied to AI, automation, and data-driven decision making. You will be the final authority on how systems are built, while partnering closely with the Head of AI & ML to ensure AI enablement is a core design principle rather than an afterthought.

This role is ideal for a senior engineer who wants to shape technical direction while staying close to the code and who thrives in environments where they can build both products and teams.

What You Will Do

Architecture and Technical Direction

• Own architectural decisions for internal apps as the primary technical decision-maker.
• Design systems with AI readiness as a first principle, ensuring data flows, APIs, and service boundaries support current and future ML integration.
• Lead design reviews and validate technical approaches before development begins.
• Partner closely with the Head of AI & ML to co-design AI and platform integration patterns with shared ownership.
• Evaluate build versus buy decisions and select third-party tools, with a strong focus on AI-native solutions.
• Document architectural decisions and technical rationale for major initiatives.
• Identify technical debt and propose remediation strategies, particularly where debt limits AI or ML extensibility.

AI-Enabled Development and Innovation

• Champion the use of AI within the development process by adopting and promoting AI coding tools such as GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and Claude.
• Collaborate with the Head of AI & ML to identify areas where automation, prediction, or intelligence can replace manual workflows.
• Apply judgment on where AI creates real business leverage, not just technical novelty.
• Stay current on the AI tooling landscape and make disciplined adoption decisions that balance innovation with engineering rigor.

Business Impact and Strategic Thinking

• Understand and internalize the commercial goals of internal apps, making technical decisions grounded in business outcomes.
• Translate product and business requirements into technical strategy, and clearly communicate technical constraints and opportunities to non-technical stakeholders.
• Partner with product and operations teams to prioritize work based on value delivered.
• Contribute technical insight to roadmap planning, resourcing discussions, and build versus buy decisions.

Team Leadership and Code Quality

• Manage and develop a team of full-stack developers and DevOps resources.
• Own code quality through reviews, standards, and best practices.
• Model and encourage AI-augmented workflows as a standard engineering practice.
• Provide mentorship and technical guidance to the development team.
• Contribute hands-on to complex technical challenges and critical-path work.

Delivery and Infrastructure

• Provide technical estimates and highlight complexity during sprint planning.
• Design and implement integrations with third-party ad platforms via API, including Xandr, OpenX, and PubMatic.
• Oversee infrastructure and deployment practices in partnership with DevOps resources.
• Identify, escalate, and propose solutions to technical risks and tradeoffs.

What You Bring

Required

• Eight or more years of software development experience with increasing technical leadership responsibility.
• Experience leading small engineering teams of two to five developers.
• Proven collaboration with ML or AI teams on system design and integration.
• Hands-on use of AI-assisted development tools, with a clear perspective on embedding them into team workflows.
• Strong architectural judgment with the ability to evaluate tradeoffs and make sound technical decisions.
• Full-stack or backend architecture experience with comfort integrating front-end systems.
• Experience designing and implementing API integrations with third-party platforms.
• Ability to connect technical decisions to business strategy, including cost, velocity, scalability, and competitive advantage.
• Track record of establishing technical standards and improving code quality.
• Familiarity with DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud infrastructure.
• Clear communication skills with the ability to translate technical concepts for non-technical audiences.

Nice to Have

• Experience in ad tech, marketing technology, or operations platforms.
• Familiarity with data science workflows and building platforms that support experimentation and model deployment.
• Knowledge of SR&ED-eligible R&D work in Canada.
• Experience using Linear or similar project management tools.

What Success Looks Like in Year One

• internal apps have a clear, documented technical architecture trusted by stakeholders.
• AI and ML capabilities are embedded into platform workflows, delivering measurable operational efficiency.
• The engineering team consistently uses AI tooling as part of standard development practices.
• Technical decisions are grounded in business context and communicated clearly across the organization.
• A strong, collaborative partnership exists with the Head of AI & ML, with shared ownership of the AI-enabled roadmap.