Technical Lead

Appnovation Technologies · Toronto

About us

Appnovation is the AI Product Company. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, with teams around the world, Appnovation builds AI products, delivers enterprise AI and digital solutions, and co-invests with clients to bring new AI products to market.

Open source has been the foundation of Appnovation's work since 2007, and it remains the foundation underneath every AI product the company builds today. Appnovation teams work with organizations in highly regulated industries, including global leaders such as Pfizer, Google and AstraZeneca, to help them adopt AI they can govern and own.

About the Role

We are hiring a Technical Lead to own the technical direction, quality and client relationship for a new dedicated Appnovation team serving a health and longevity client.

You will be the team's technical voice to the client, translating business goals into a clear technical plan and communicating trade-offs, risk and progress to stakeholders.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role, not a line-management position. You will design, code and review across a React and Next.js frontend and Python and Node.js services, while being accountable for the technical outcome of the whole team.

Key Responsibilities:

Technical direction and quality

Set the team's technical direction and own architecture and design decisions.
Uphold coding standards and best practices through consistent code review.
Ensure developers test their own work before it reaches QA.

Documentation and knowledge sharing

Own documentation for architecture, design decisions and technical specifications.
Turn one-to-one guidance into reusable material so onboarding and handoff don't depend on any one person.
Stay current on compliance requirements for handling personal health data.

Team leadership and mentoring

Break plans down into well-formed tasks and stories the team can act on.
Delegate work fairly and evenly across the team.
Coach and mentor developers to grow the team's capability.

Client communication and stakeholder management

Serve as the client's primary contact for technical discussions.
Explain technical concepts, options and status to non-technical stakeholders in plain language.
Manage client expectations honestly on scope, effort and risk.

Delivery

Lead technical input to planning, estimation and backlog refinement.
Track progress against milestones and budget with the project manager.
Identify technical risks early and escalate critical issues before they become surprises.

Commercial awareness

Seek client feedback and fold it into development cycles.
Spot genuine opportunities to add value for the client, and bring them to the account team.

What we are looking for

Must-Have:

At least 8 years of professional software engineering experience, including 2+ years leading a team's technical direction.
Proven ability to turn a technical vision into a clear, actionable plan a team can execute.
Excellent communication with non-technical audiences.

Technologies

Frontend: React, Next.js, TypeScript
Backend: Python, Node.js

Nice to Have

Consulting or agency experience, managing client relationships alongside delivery.
Experience in health, life sciences or other regulated industries, including handling sensitive personal data.
Experience establishing team practices from scratch on a new engagement.

Who you are

You make decisions with incomplete information, document the reasoning, and revisit them when the evidence changes.
You lead by raising the capability of the people around you, so the team never depends on one person.
You earn trust by explaining technology in terms of the outcomes people care about.

What Appnovation Offers

Challenging and rewarding work with real impact
Direct Access to Cutting-Edge AI Platforms
Diverse and Inclusive Culture
Growth opportunities for personal and professional development
A collaborative and innovative work environment where your ideas are valued
Exposure to exciting projects and high-profile clients
Supportive work environment with access to company leaders
Hybrid working model

Thank you for your interest in a career with Appnovation Technologies! Please note that only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

At Appnovation, we recognize that diverse teams are the strongest teams. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is not only something that we embrace - we celebrate it! We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and we encourage applicants from all backgrounds, lived experiences and industries to apply. Come join us at Appnovation, and learn more about how we stay true to our company values as we build better lives through better digital.

Accommodations are available upon request throughout the recruitment process.

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