Director, R&D

Jonas Software•Oakville, ON

61d•$130,000 - $145,000•Remote

About The Position

The Director of Research & Development (R&D) is responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of RBRO Solutions’ full product and technology innovation lifecycle. This includes ownership of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and the AI Development Lifecycle (AI DLC) across all products and platforms. This role provides executive leadership to Product Management, Software Development, Quality Assurance, Architecture, and AI/ML functions. The Director of R&D will drive innovation, scalability, security, and quality while ensuring timely and cost-effective product delivery. This position reports to the President.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering or equivalent discipline or industry experience.
10+ years of progressive experience in software product organizations.
5+ years in senior leadership managing multi-functional R&D teams.
Proven hands-on leadership experience implementing and managing AI Development Lifecycle (AI DLC) frameworks.
Experience delivering AI-enabled products or features from concept through production.
Strong understanding of machine learning workflows, MLOps, model governance, data pipelines, and ethical AI practices.
Experience integrating AI solutions into enterprise-grade SaaS platforms.
Deep experience leading full SDLC environments across product, architecture, QA, and DevOps.
Proven experience implementing and managing Agile & SCRUM methodologies at scale.
Demonstrated success delivering SaaS and cloud-based software products to market.
Project management skills have enabled you to consistently hit project completion targets within budget
You are a master at coordinating resources and orchestrating teams to achieve results
A highly motivated self-starter a high level of initiative and a sense of urgency
Very strong leadership and management skills
Ability to communicate needs, verbally and in written form, to the team, clients and other stakeholders
Enjoy leading and managing people and creating a sense of unity towards a common business goal
Ability to create an engaged team and can work very effectively with distributed teams using virtual technologies

Responsibilities

Define and execute the R&D vision, strategy, and multi-year technology roadmap aligned with corporate objectives.
Lead innovation initiatives across cloud, SaaS, AI/ML, automation, and emerging legal technology trends.
Champion adoption and governance of AI DLC methodology, ensuring responsible, ethical, secure, and scalable AI integration into products.
Evaluate and implement emerging technologies that strengthen RBRO’s competitive advantage.
Contribute to executive planning, budgeting, and long-term product strategy.
Establish and operationalize AI DLC best practices including data strategy, model development, validation, governance, and monitoring.
Ensure AI initiatives align with regulatory, legal, and ethical standards relevant to legal technology markets.
Implement AI/MLOps practices for scalable, reliable AI model deployment and monitoring.
Drive cross-functional alignment between engineering, product, and QA teams.
Provide full strategic and operational oversight of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).
Lead Product, Development, QA, and Architecture teams by setting priorities and measurable goals.
Ensure projects are delivered on time, within scope and budget, and aligned with business value.
Establish development standards, architecture governance, and secure coding practices.
Continuously improve development velocity, product quality, and engineering efficiency.
Inspire, mentor, and grow high-performing multi-disciplinary, multi-national R&D teams.
Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement.
Build succession plans and leadership bench strength within R&D.
Promote collaboration between technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Oversee system architecture ensuring scalability, performance, and security.
Guide modernization initiatives including cloud-native and microservices architectures.
Maintain high standards in quality assurance, automation, and DevOps.
Ensure cybersecurity best practices and data protection standards are embedded into all development processes.
Provide technical insight and strategic guidance to the executive leadership team.
Communicate progress, risks, innovation initiatives, and ROI to senior leadership.
Partner closely with Sales, Customer Success, and Marketing to align product innovation with market demand.
Represent RBRO Solutions in industry forums and technology partnerships.