Lead Software Engineer

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Lead Software Engineer based in Canada. As a Lead Software Engineer, you will take ownership of the engineering function within an established software business, combining hands-on development with technical leadership and strategic decision-making. You will modernize existing systems, accelerate software delivery, and introduce engineering practices that improve reliability, maintainability, and team productivity. Working closely with general managers and business stakeholders, you will shape product roadmaps and translate business priorities into effective technical solutions. You will leverage AI-powered coding tools and agentic workflows to help teams deliver in days what once took weeks. The role offers the opportunity to work across diverse technology stacks, improve legacy platforms, and build AI-powered product capabilities. You will also mentor existing engineers, strengthen development practices, and create lasting improvements in how software teams operate. Accountabilities: As the technical leader for an established software product, you will be responsible for delivering meaningful improvements while building stronger engineering capabilities and aligning technical decisions with business objectives. - Lead hands-on development: Work directly in the codebase from day one, learn the existing technology stack, and deliver working software to customers frequently. - Modernize software delivery: Improve the software development lifecycle through continuous integration, automated testing, staging environments, feature flags, reliable deployment processes, and AI-assisted development tools. - Mentor and develop engineers: Coach existing team members, improve code quality, share engineering best practices, and help the team become more effective and independent.

- Shape the product roadmap: Partner with the general manager to prioritize initiatives, evaluate trade-offs, and determine which features and improvements deliver the greatest business value. - Accelerate engineering with AI: Introduce and optimize coding-agent workflows that reduce development time, improve productivity, and enable teams to accomplish more with available resources. - Integrate AI into products: Build production-ready AI capabilities involving retrieval, tool use, evaluation frameworks, and appropriate guardrails. - Improve legacy systems: Identify technical bottlenecks, strengthen existing architectures, and modernize codebases without relying on unnecessary full rewrites. - Operate with autonomy: Make sound technical decisions, take ownership of outcomes, and collaborate directly with business operators and customers. Requirements: The ideal candidate is an experienced, adaptable software engineer who combines strong technical execution with sound judgment, coaching ability, and a practical approach to improving established products and teams. - At least 7 years of software engineering experience, including experience as a technical lead, founding engineer, CTO of a small company, or the primary engineer responsible for maintaining and developing a product. - Proven ability to work across multiple technology stacks, with production experience in at least three different stacks and the ability to learn unfamiliar technologies quickly. - Strong hands-on development skills and a track record of delivering production software in established codebases. - Experience taking over complex or poorly maintained codebases and helping teams regain momentum and improve engineering practices. - Daily use of AI coding agents, with the ability to explain and demonstrate your development workflows and setup. - Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers, improve code quality, and establish effective software development processes.