Senior Software Developer

RBR Ltd.•Ottawa, ON

4d•CA$120,000 - CA$155,000

About The Position

As the Senior Software Developer, you’ll be joining a small, collaborative software team at RBR. Your primary focus will be Ruskin, RBR’s flagship cross-platform desktop application (Mac and Windows) that connects to, configures, and deploys our full instrument lineup, and integrates with other internal systems to keep everything in one place. A secondary focus is our calibration software ecosystem, including a standalone calibration application currently being spun out of Ruskin into its own product. You’ll work closely with every engineering discipline at RBR, which means your code has a direct impact on the physical instruments our customers rely on. This is a full-stack role with real breadth: from UI and databases through to low-level instrument communications and release engineering. You’ll own 3–4 projects at a time, seeing them from requirements through to delivery, and interfacing directly with other teams to make it happen. This is a fast-moving environment where priorities shift by the hour, the right person finds that energising, not frustrating.

Requirements

Hands-on Java development experience (J2SE, J2ME, or J2EE) - you’ve built real software and can show it
Experience developing desktop applications (Windows and/or macOS) - this is not a SaaS or cloud role
Comfort spanning the full stack: UI through to backend, data, and external system integrations
A track record of contributing to QA and testing - not handing it off to someone else
Some exposure to DevOps practices and build automation; you’ve created or improved automated processes
Strong OOP fundamentals, design patterns, and cross-platform development experience

Nice To Haves

UI frameworks: SWT, Swing, or JavaFX for desktop; HTML and REST for where we’re headed
SQLite for database experience; Spring or Spring Boot signals awareness of our modern Java direction
Eclipse IDE familiarity
UI/UX sensibility — even informal experience thinking about usability and design
Familiarity with AI development tools (GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.) or a genuine interest in working with them — this is a real differentiator for us
Experience architecting complex, multi-tiered systems integrating hardware, databases, APIs, and user interfaces

Responsibilities

Evolve Ruskin’s sophisticated multi-layered Java-based desktop platform and design scalable systems for processing sensor data
Drive the software roadmap and long-term architectural vision
Contribute to and improve our CI/CD pipelines, build system, and release planning
Build and improve automated testing and DevOps processes, everyone on this team chips in here
Develop robust communication protocols between Ruskin and RBR’s instrument lineup
Optimise database and storage interactions
Architect and maintain instrument communication frameworks
Build and maintain calibration software systems and REST APIs using Spring/Spring Boot
Develop and improve our standalone calibration application (currently being spun out of Ruskin)
Integrate calibration workflows with QA, manufacturing, and lab operations
Design intuitive UIs for both researchers (customers) and RBR’s internal Calibration team
Balance functionality with usability for mission-critical desktop applications
Bring a UI/UX lens to design discussions, we want someone who thinks about the end user, not just the code
Provide internal support to Engineering, Production, and Calibration teams
Action support tickets from external users and the global oceanographic community
Review and test code changes from other developers, QA is a shared responsibility, not a separate function
Provide technical mentorship and conduct design and code reviews
Support researchers deploying instruments worldwide and contribute to open science
Provide developer-level support to the global oceanographic community
Ensure data accuracy through reliable, well-integrated calibration systems