Technical Lead, Application Engineering

Heart & Stroke

21h • $80,000 - $105,000 • Remote

About The Position

At Heart & Stroke our mission is to promote health, save lives and enhance recovery. We are committed to a culture that exemplifies our core values: champion health, practice humility, embrace change, drive impact, learn and grow and be heartfelt as we work together to beat heart disease and stroke. We believe in equity, diversity and inclusion ― it’s embedded in our values and core mission work to support all people in Canada to lead healthier lives. We are committed to applying this principle to cultivate a welcoming environment that embraces diversity among our employees. Candidates from diverse backgrounds, including but not limited to, Indigenous peoples, racialized communities, 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, women, and people living with disabilities are encouraged to apply. To learn more about our mission, values, commitment to EDI, and the difference Heart & Stroke makes in the lives of people in Canada at every age, please visit our website . The opportunity Heart & Stroke offers a remote work environment and candidates can work from anywhere in Canada. Candidate must be available to travel to our Toronto office 1-2 times a month. The technical lead, application engineering leads a team responsible for building bespoke custom applications and integration into the company’s technology ecosystem. As Heart and Stroke is modernizing key technology solutions and also, it’s technology engineering ways of working, this role is also accountable for driving software engineering maturity uplift and productivity improvements through the progressive operationalization of modern delivery methods and emerging technologies including AI-assisted development tools. In addition, this role architects technology solutions, supported by the Director of Software and Platform Engineering and then oversees the full execution lifecycle, from discovery and design through development, testing, deployment, and operational support. The technical lead ensures all solutions are scalable, secure, maintainable, and aligned with enterprise strategy and business objectives. This role combines hands-on technical delivery and architecture expertise with leadership responsibilities, guiding teams through both a delivery transformation and day to day complex projects and working closely with Platform and Data teams, as required, Security and Infrastructure & Operations to deliver technical solutions. The technical lead serves as the bridge collaborating closely with product, fundraising, mission, marketing and project management. The ideal candidate brings a strong blend of technical leadership, software architecture and engineering expertise, AI experience and system integration experience, along with the ability to work cross-functionally with stakeholders across Product, Fundraising, Marketing, Engineering, Security, and Infrastructure & Operations. Please note that the internal title of this role is Manager, Application Engineering.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and progressive professional experience.
• 3 to 5+ years managing engineering teams.
• 7+ years overall software engineering experience.
• Experience operationalizing and using AI-assisted development tools and productivity measurement frameworks.
• Experience driving engineering process transformation.
• Strong architectural judgment and system integration expertise at enterprise scale.
• Experience with Azure, API/microservices and modern code frameworks (e.g. React, Node.js, JavaScript, Python).
• Experience with project stakeholder management and the ability to translate business requirements into technical solutions.
• Experience with modern development stacks (e.g. React, Node.js, JavaScript, Python).
• Demonstrated application of security-by-design principles across architecture, development and delivery.
• AI assisted design, development and QA tool chain (Anthropic, OpenAI, Microsoft, Google et cetera).
• Demonstrated application of security-by-design principles across architecture, development and delivery.
• Hands-on experience with application integration, APIs, or event-driven systems.
• Practical knowledge of cloud platforms (Azure preferred, or GCP).
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, Git-based workflows, and Agile delivery.
• Technology solution design, implementation, and troubleshooting.
• Custom application engineering, operations and reliability management.
• Business requirements translation into technical solutions.
• Excellent stakeholder communication and collaboration.
• Team management and hands-on technical and requirements gathering coaching.
• Vendor coordination and delivery oversight.
• Solution estimation and budget management skills – engineering project execution.
• Ability to work in a fast paced, agile and multiple stakeholder environment; both with a team environment and independently as required.
• Ability to prioritize and work on multiple tasks across multiple stakeholders.
• Ability to work with cross functional teams to see a project to successful completion.
• Performs well under pressure.
• Shows diplomacy, tact, and good judgment when conflict arises.
• Experience working in a collaborative development environment.
• Strong understanding of software development environments and databases.
• Strong analytical skills in application diagnostics, issue isolation and troubleshooting.
• Comfortable facilitating conversations with different stakeholders, presenting technical concepts to non-technical audiences.

Nice To Haves

• Experience implementing, integrating, or enhancing Digital Experience Platforms (Contentful, Optimizely, Sitecore or other), an asset.
• Experience implementing, integrating or enhancing enterprise platforms such as HRIS, an asset.
• General experience with best practices related to implementing and enhancing off the shelf software (configuration over customization), an asset.

Responsibilities

• Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration Work closely with Product, Fundraising, Marketing and Mission stakeholders, and Project Managers to clarify project scope, elicit requirements, and identify project delivery timelines.
• Help elicit and clarify requirements, business objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure effective solution design Provide clear communication of project status, risks, and dependencies to technology leadership and stakeholders. Communicate technical concepts clearly to non-technical stakeholders
• Project Intake, Solution Design & Execution Contribute to intake process ensuring clarity and completion of business requirements Lead solution design and work estimation to inform and support prioritization across multiple concurrent initiatives with the Director, Application & Platform Engineering Assign and manage execution activities across the team to ensure scope, timelines and budget are met Ensure effective transition to operations post deployment or launch
• Technical Leadership & Vendor Engagement Guide technical development and delivery of solutions for custom applications and system integrations Align technical decisions with business objectives and architectural standards for new engineering solution intake and project scope identified by the Director.
• Drive and manage technical design reviews, code reviews and solution assessments Manage technology vendors engaged in projects to ensure high quality, secure delivery that meets contractual scope, budget and timelines Ensure vendors project work aligns with H&S standards for architecture, development, and security
• Engineering Delivery Leadership Architect major changes to existing solutions and work with the Director of Software engineering to co-architect new solutions, using a methodical approach that anchors on functional and non-functional requirements, manages risks and considers alternatives.
• Oversee 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. Partner with Director to advance engineering standards and operating model.
• Drive automation, CI/CD robustness, observability, and documentation maturity. Plan and execute a structural technical debt reduction exercise. Contribute to internal application solution design standards, integration standards, API governance, and patterns (REST, event‑driven, messaging).
• AI-Enabled Engineering Adoption & Operationalization Leverage experience to drive evaluation, pilot and adoption of AI-assisted development, QA and design tools and associated processes. Operationalize approved AI tools into workflows and CI/CD pipelines. Establish governance and usage guardrails with Security and Infrastructure. Coach team in responsible AI-assisted engineering practices. Measure productivity, quality, and risk impact of AI-enabled practices.
• Operational Excellence Work with Infrastructure & Operations and Business requirements partner 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.
• Talent Management 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 while ensuring accurate administration of employee related information: absence records, vacation, title, etc. Foster collaboration with cross-functional partners in Product, Business, Data and Application Engineering, Security, and Infrastructure & Operations.

Benefits

• We offer a generous paid time-off package including vacation days, personal days, wellness days, and paid company-wide closure between December 25 and January 1.
• We also provide competitive health, medical, dental and vision benefits, life insurance, disability benefits, an employee assistance program (EAP) and a defined contribution pension plan with employer matching.
• Our employees also enjoy a flexible hybrid working model and reimbursement for mobile phones and home office setup, as well as opportunities for professional development.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Number of Employees: 251-500 employees