Lead developer Jobs in Waterloo, ON

Amazing opportunity for someone who lives in or close to the Kitchener/Waterloo area. We are also willing to assist with relocation costs if you choose to relocate to be closer to work. Please note there is a km restriction in order to qualify for the relocation support. This is a hybrid role with 3 days in office.


We are seeking a Technical Lead to serve as the engineering anchor and ultimate technical decision-maker for our development team. In this role, your primary mission is to provide strong technical guidance, drive code performance improvements, and champion engineering excellence across our C++ and algorithm-heavy applications. You will balance hands-on development with high-level technical leadership, tackling complex architectural challenges, refactoring legacy code for peak optimization, and mentoring your fellow developers.



Advantages
What we Offer:


Flexible hours

Hybrid working environment (3 days in office)

Free parking

Vacation Days (15 - 20)

Professional Development Day

Christmas shut down

Summer core hours

Strong work-life balance

Casual dress code

Competitive group benefits plan

Strong focus on mental health support benefits

Sick and Personal days

RRSP matching program

Life Insurance

Access to Employee Share Scheme

Maternity & Paternity benefits

Referral program

Rewards and Recognition program

Training and Development Support

Monthly Lunch and Learns

Fitness & Wellness reimbursement

An active social committee

Organized Volunteer Events

Game room, including a flight simulator!

Active Inclusion & Diversity Committee

And much more


Responsibilities
Define architectural direction, evaluate complex technical trade-offs, manage technical debt, and establish robust development practices for C++ and algorithmic development.
Proactively identify bottlenecks, lead deep code refactoring initiatives, and squeeze peak system performance out of legacy C++ codebases.
Reverse engineering complex legacy code to maintain and enhance critical aviation scheduling algorithms.
Independently drive complex technical features from architectural design documentation through to successful deployment, ensuring technical initiatives align with Skywise's broader business goals.
Establish operational excellence standards and lead comprehensive code reviews to ensure secure, high-quality deliverables, while championing the strategic integration, mentorship, and team-wide adoption of AI-powered tools and best practices in AI-assisted engineering.
Actively guide, support, and nurture the professional growth of junior and intermediate team members, fostering a collaborative, modern, and highly engaged engineering culture.
Serve as the technical spokesperson for the team, confidently translating and articulating complex architectural concepts to both technical team members and non-technical business stakeholders.

Qualifications
Experience and education:

At least seven (7+) years of professional experience developing software with C++ and complex algorithms.
Proven track record of providing technical guidance, leading software teams, and making critical technical decisions.
Strong, hands-on experience in code optimization, system performance tuning, and refactoring complex codebases as well as working with relational databases (SQL).
Demonstrated experience diagnosing, debugging, and resolving software issues in live production environments.
Exceptional technical communication skills, with the ability to confidently articulate complex architectural concepts to both technical team members and business stakeholders.
Experience working with cloud environments, specifically AWS is an asset.
You have a College Diploma or Bachelor's Degree within the software engineering area of study or equivalent professional experience.
Proficiency in English.

Summary
We are seeking a Technical Lead to serve as the engineering anchor and ultimate technical decision-maker for our development team. In this role, your primary mission is to provide strong technical guidance, drive code performance improvements, and champion engineering excellence across our C++ and algorithm-heavy applications. You will balance hands-on development with high-level technical leadership, tackling complex architectural challenges, refactoring legacy code for peak optimization, and mentoring your fellow developers.

Randstad Canada is committed to fostering a workforce reflective of all peoples of Canada. As a result, we are committed to developing and implementing strategies to increase the equity, diversity and inclusion within the workplace by examining our internal policies, practices, and systems throughout the entire lifecycle of our workforce, including its recruitment, retention and advancement for all employees. In addition to our deep commitment to respecting human rights, we are dedicated to positive actions to affect change to ensure everyone has full participation in the workforce free from any barriers, systemic or otherwise, especially equity-seeking groups who are usually underrepresented in Canada's workforce, including those who identify as women or non-binary/gender non-conforming; Indigenous or Aboriginal Peoples; persons with disabilities (visible or invisible) and; members of visible minorities, racialized groups and the LGBTQ2+ community.

Randstad Canada is committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and accessible workplace for all its candidates and employees by supporting their accessibility and accommodation needs throughout the employment lifecycle. We ask that all job applications please identify any accommodation requirements by sending an email to accessibility@randstad.ca to ensure their ability to fully participate in the interview process.