Technical Lead
About The Position
At ShyftLabs, we live and breathe data. Since 2020, weâve been helping Fortune 500 companies unlock growth with cutting-edge digital solutions that transform industries and create measurable business impact. Weâre growing fast and weâre looking for passionate problem-solvers who are ready to turn big ideas into real outcomes. Weâre an ambitious Toronto-based startup building data-driven products that operate at massive scale, and weâre looking for a Technical Lead / Backend Architect to help shape our backend foundation for the next stage of growth. Youâll be hands-on designing distributed systems that handle billions of events monthly, while guiding the engineering team in building scalable, secure, and high-performing services. This is an opportunity to take ownership of architecture decisions, influence technology direction, and work alongside a passionate team that moves fast, experiments boldly, and values craftsmanship.
Requirements
- 8+ years of backend development experience, including 3+ years in a technical leadership or architecture role.
- Deep expertise in distributed systems, event-driven architecture, and data-intensive applications.
- Strong proficiency in at least one backend language (Node.js, Python, Go, or Java).
- Hands-on experience with Kafka, ClickHouse, Snowflake, and relational databases.
- Proven experience scaling systems on AWS or GCP.
- Exceptional communication, mentorship, and problem-solving skills.
- A startup mindset - someone who is adaptable, execution-focused, and unafraid to get hands-on when needed.
Responsibilities
- Architect & Deliver: Design and implement distributed backend systems capable of handling billions of monthly events (e.g., AdTech pipelines, CAMS microservices).
- Build Scalable Data Pipelines: Develop robust ingestion and processing frameworks using Kafka, ClickHouse, and Snowflake, ensuring data quality and schema governance.
- Optimize Performance: Lead database optimization efforts across Aurora, Cloud SQL, and PostgreSQL to deliver low-latency, high-availability systems.
- Set the Bar for Engineering: Define and enforce best practices around code quality, CI/CD automation, monitoring, and release management.
- Lead & Mentor: Guide engineers through architectural decisions, conduct design reviews, and balance workload distribution in an Agile setup.
- Drive Cloud Architecture: Design cloud infrastructure on AWS and GCP, with a focus on scalability, cost efficiency, and security compliance.
- Collaborate Cross-Functionally: Partner closely with Product Managers and Data teams to evaluate technical feasibility, define milestones, and deliver on roadmap goals.
- Champion Reliability: Promote observability and reliability engineering practices, building alerting, tracing, and SLO/SLA dashboards for high system visibility.
Benefits
- Hybrid Flexibility: Enjoy a hybrid model with 4 days per week in our Toronto office.
- Downtown Toronto Office: Work in the heart of the city.
- Comprehensive Benefits: We cover 100% of health, dental, and vision insurance premiums for you and your dependents which means no out-of-pocket costs. Eligibility starts from day one itself.
- Growth & Learning: Access extensive learning and development resources to keep leveling up your skills.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
Education Level
No Education Listed
