Senior Manager, Application Engineering

Heart & Stroke

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Application Engineering Manager plays a significant role in increasing capacity and business initiatives by leading the design, delivery, and technical evolution of bespoke application capabilities that support enterprise-wide mission, fundraising, and operational needs. The team is comprised of software developers, a business system analyst and a technical product engineer. This role will also be responsible of leading the Technical Product Engineering for the rapid prototyping of new AI initiatives. This role leads and owns the end-to-end architecture and engineering execution lifecycle, from discovery and design through development, testing, deployment, and operational support. The senior manager ensures all solutions are scalable, secure, maintainable, and aligned with enterprise architecture standards and business objectives. This role combines hands-on technical expertise with leadership responsibilities, leading the team through complex projects and working closely with Platform, Quality Engineering and Data teams, Security, and Infrastructure & Operations to deliver technical solutions. The Senior Manager serves as a bridge, collaborating closely with product, fundraising, mission, marketing, and project management. This role sits at the intersection of business and technology. Business teams own outcomes, priorities, and requirements; this role owns the application engineering strategy required to deliver them. That includes technical leadership as to application selection, architecture, integration, scalability, engineering standards, delivery execution, and ongoing application operations. In practice, this role is accountable for technical delivery outcomes and is a critical enabler of business outcomes by ensuring enterprise application solutions are well-designed, secure, scalable, maintainable, and fit for purpose. Owns application engineering delivery outcomes and influences enterprise application standards, delivery practices, and cross‑project trade‑offs in partnership with the Director. The Senior Manager, Application Engineering brings a strong blend of technical leadership, software architecture and engineering expertise, and system integration experience, along with the ability to work cross functionally with internal and external stakeholders.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and progressive professional experience.
• Minimum 5+ years of technical leadership experience leading teams of developers, engineers and analysts including coaching and driving delivery accountability
• 7+ years of experience in application engineering, architecture and technical solution design, with demonstrated ownership of end-to-end delivery across complex environments
• Strong experience with Azure, API/microservices, and modern code frameworks (e.g., React, Node.js, JavaScript, Python)
• Experience working in cross-functional environments, translating business requirements into scaleable technical solutions and influencing delivery across multiple stakeholder groups
• Experience working with external vendors and delivery partners, including managing scope, quality, timelines, and knowledge transfer to internal teams
• Demonstrated application of security-by-design principles across architecture, development, and delivery
• Strong application architecture and integration expertise including hands-on experience with APIs, event-driven systems, and end-to-end solution design.
• Strong knowledge of cloud platforms (Azure preferred, or GCP) and modern application engineering practices
• Experience with modern development stacks (e.g., React, Node.js, JavaScript, Python), CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, Git-based workflows, and Agile delivery
• Demonstrated application of security-by-design principles across architecture, development, and delivery
• Technology solution design, implementation, and troubleshooting
• Proven experience with custom application engineering delivery operations and reliability management
• Experience applying AI-enabled capabilities within application or engineering contexts, with appropriate guardrails for quality, security, and operational fit
• Excellent stakeholder communication and collaboration including ability to elicit business requirements and translate into scalable technical solutions
• Experience leading engineering teams with a hands-on approach, including coaching technical leads and building leadership capacity within the team
• Strong vendor and partner management experience, including delivery oversight, quality assurance, and knowledge transfer to internal teams
• Solution estimation and budget management skills – engineering project execution.
• Ability to prioritize and work on multiple tasks across multiple stakeholders
• Performs well under pressure. Shows diplomacy, tact, and good judgment when conflict arises.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills in application diagnostics, issue isolation, and resolution across integrated systems
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts, trade-offs and risks clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences, including senior leadership

Responsibilities

• Work closely with enterprise partners; business, product, Fundraising, Marketing and Mission stakeholders, and Project Managers to clarify application priorities, business outcomes, dependencies, project scope, delivery sequencing and elicit requirements, and identify project delivery timelines across application platforms
• Elicit business requirements, and service objectives into application technology approaches, clearly articulating risks, trade-off, constraint, and key performance indicators (KPIs), and implementation considerations, from internal stakeholders to clarify and ensure effective solution design.
• Responsible of decision making around solution and technology project feasibility.
• Provide clear communication of application delivery project status, risks, dependencies, and decision points to technology leadership and business stakeholders
• Working with the Director, Applications and Platform Engineering, build alignment across business and end to end technology teams to support cohesive delivery across applications, platforms, data, security, infrastructure and operations
• Communicate technical concepts clearly to non-technical stakeholders and bridge any gaps to ensure seamless delivery
• Lead technology planning and technical roadmap development across enterprise bespoke applications, including leading technical due diligence, architecture evaluation, integration planning, and technical selection, in close collaboration with the Director and business stakeholders
• Prioritize and sequence application work across multiple concurrent initiatives, balancing business value, technical risk, architectural integrity, delivery capacity, and operational sustainability.
• Apply application engineering leadership, architecture, and delivery patterns to assess and structure initiatives
• Manage application engineering capacity across concurrent initiatives, advising technology leadership on sequencing, trade-offs, and delivery feasibility
• Provide leadership for major application modernization and migration initiatives, including planning, dependency management, risk resolution, and technical transition.
• Lead and contribute to the intake process, ensuring clarity and completeness of business requirements
• Lead end-to-end bespoke application solution design and work estimation to inform and support prioritization across multiple concurrent initiatives, with support from the Director, Applications & Platform Engineering
• Assign and manage execution activities across the team to ensure scope, timelines and budget are met while surfacing risks and trade-offs with recommendations
• Ensure effective transition to operations post deployment or launch leading the collaboration with the Infrastructure and Operations team
• Drive end-to-end solution architecture and delivery of solutions for custom applications and system integrations
• Align technical decisions with business objectives and architectural standards and make technical trade-offs within standards and guardrails set by the Director.
• Drive and manage technical design reviews, code reviews and solution assessments to ensure alignment with enterprise architecture and platform constraints
• Manage vendors selection and technical oversight, delivery quality, adherence to architecture, development and security standards
• Ensure vendors provide documentation and knowledge transfer to enable a smooth transition to operations
• Establish governance practices for enterprise application change management, configuration, versioning, release management, and operational transition working closely with the Director to ensure alignment with emerging portfolio standards.
• Prioritize, assign and manage execution activities across the team and perform execution activities, as required, to ensure business outcomes, scope, timelines and budget are met
• Provides hands‑on engagement in complex solution design, architectural spikes, critical delivery phases, and high‑risk initiatives while maintaining overall leadership accountability.
• Lead end-to-end solution development of bespoke applications and integrations tailored to business needs, using modern frameworks and engineering best practices.
• Ensure code quality through standards, peer reviews, automated testing, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Embed security and compliance into development workflows.
• Contribute to internal application solution design standards, integration standards, API governance, and patterns (REST, event driven, messaging).
• Forecast and effectively manage technology application budget including year one operational costs, working within the budgetary guardrails set by the Director.
• Support the Director, as required, on new technical solution analysis
• Lead the technology strategy for AI embedded technology products.
• Support software engineers in solution design, production readiness, and the integration of AI prototypes and proof-of-concepts
• Work with Infrastructure & Operations and business requirements partners to identify non-functional requirements, including operability, availability, performance, reliability, and security
• Identify solution designs that implement these requirements in an efficient and well architected manner
• Drive continuous improvement through agile ceremonies, including sprint planning and retrospectives
• Ensure technical documentation is completed/updated for all delivered solutions.
• Support issue management escalation (level 3) and drive continuous improvement.
• Support disaster recovery and high-availability strategies.
• Lead talent development, ensuring high standards, competence and that staff is well supported in fulfilling their accountabilities, developing their skills and achieving their career potential.
• Develop and maintain solid succession planning and leadership development plans.
• Providing clear direction on business goals and priorities; ensure optimal deployment of resources to achieve business goals.
• Build and develop cohesive lateral relationships cross functionally.
• Establish performance plan and objectives and review on an ongoing basis; provide coaching and feedback as per the performance management process
• As required, recruit skilled talent in support of current and future Foundation needs, following Foundation policies, interviewing methodology and assessment guidelines.
• Familiarize and comply with all Heart & Stroke policies, ensuring accurate administration of employee-related information (e.g., absence records, vacation, titles, etc.).
• Foster collaboration with cross-functional partners in Product, Business, Data and Application Engineering, Security, and Infrastructure & Operations.

Benefits

• Competitive health, medical, dental and vision benefits
• Life insurance
• Disability benefits
• An employee assistance program (EAP)
• A defined contribution pension plan with employer matching
• Flexible hybrid working model
• Reimbursement for mobile phones and home office setup
• Opportunities for professional development
• Generous paid time-off package including vacation days, personal days, wellness days, and paid company-wide closure between December 25 and January 1.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager