Lead Software Architect

// About Providius

Providius has been at the forefront of innovation in the Media & Entertainment industry for over a decade, delivering solutions to complex challenges in IP media and IT infrastructure within mission-critical environments.

Headquartered in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, we are a privately held company focused on building practical, reliable systems that solve real-world problems.

// What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for a senior technical leader to take ownership of the architecture for a significant engineering effort and turn high-level concepts into working systems.

This is not a role where everything is already defined. We need someone who can work through ambiguity, make sound architectural decisions, and determine what is actually possible, what is not, and what it will take to get there.

You will be expected to operate with a high degree of ownership and autonomy, and to act as the technical authority on architecture and system design, including the design and delivery of production-grade, AI-native solutions.

// Position Overview

You will own the technical architecture end to end: the overall system design, the data pipeline, the integration of machine learning into the product, and the technical decisions that determine whether the work holds up in production. You will inherit and evolve an existing architecture, with the current architecture lead available in an advisory capacity during a clean handover.

This role is hands-on. You will be designing systems, writing code, and working directly with real-world constraints, while setting the architectural standards and direction the team builds toward.

// Duties and Responsibilities

• Own and evolve the end-to-end technical architecture and system design
• Make and document key architectural decisions and the tradeoffs behind them
• Design the data acquisition and processing pipelines that the system depends on
• Architect how machine learning is integrated, served, and operated within production systems
• Contribute hands-on to development, especially on the hardest and highest-risk parts
• Set technical standards and provide architectural oversight as the team grows
• Work through a clean handover from the current architecture lead
• Identify risks, constraints, and tradeoffs, and communicate them clearly
• Collaborate with engineering, product, and leadership to keep direction aligned

Requirements

// Tech Stack

• Backend: Python, Java, C and C++
• Python tooling: pydantic, FastAPI, asyncio, pytest
• ML and AI: PyTorch, model serving and MLOps tooling
• Data: PostgreSQL, TimescaleDB
• Streaming and processing: Kafka, Flink
• Networking and telemetry: NetFlow, sFlow, IPFIX, packet capture
• Infrastructure: Linux (Ubuntu), Docker, CI/CD

// Domain Expertise (Highly Desirable)

Deep domain expertise is highly desirable for this role. Strong candidates will bring hands-on experience across several of the following:

• Broadcast and AV-over-IP, including SMPTE ST 2110 and ST 2110-40 ancillary data
• Precision timing, including PTP / IEEE 1588 and NTP
• OT and industrial protocols, including Modbus, DNP3, and EtherNet/IP
• High-throughput network telemetry and line-rate packet capture
• Compliance-driven environments such as NERC-CIP, NIST, or PCI DSS

// Required Skills / Experience

• 8+ years of software engineering experience, with significant time in an architecture or technical leadership role
• Proven experience designing and building data-intensive and distributed systems
• Experience designing and delivering production-grade, AI-native solutions, including integrating and operationalizing machine learning
• Strong system design and architectural fundamentals
• Experience leading or mentoring engineers and setting technical standards
• Ability to operate effectively in ambiguous or evolving environments
• Comfortable balancing hands-on work with architectural leadership
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to clearly explain technical decisions and tradeoffs

// Nice to haves

• Experience building or scaling new systems from early stages
• Background in networking, real-time, or telemetry-heavy systems
• Experience architecting ML platforms, model serving, or MLOps at scale
• Experience working in smaller teams or startup environments

// What this Role Requires

• Ownership and the ability to move work forward without detailed direction
• Strong judgment in balancing speed, quality, and tradeoffs
• A clear sense of what to rebuild versus iterate on
• Confidence to push back constructively
• Strong accountability for the architecture and its outcomes

// Why join Providius

• Work on systems that operate in real-time, high-stakes environments
• Small team with high ownership and direct impact
• Opportunity to grow into architecture and technical leadership

Benefits

Benefits

• Dental care
• Extended health care
• On-site parking
• Paid time off
• Vision care