Lead DevOps Engineer

Contract-to-Permanent: 6 month contract converts permanent Salary: $130-150k base + performance bonus Hybrid: 4 days - Downtown Toronto

Overview

We are seeking a Lead DevOps Engineer who combines deep technical expertise with informal leadership capabilities. This individual will serve as a senior contributor within the DevOps organization, helping guide a team of highly skilled engineers while remaining hands-on in the environment when critical issues arise. The ideal candidate will have strong experience supporting CI/CD ecosystems, SaaS platforms, deployment tooling, and DevOps infrastructure. While previous people management experience is not required, the successful candidate must demonstrate leadership qualities, collaboration skills, and the ability to coordinate efforts across a team of technical experts. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys solving complex technical challenges, mentoring peers, and influencing technical direction without necessarily coming from a formal management background.

Key Responsibilities

Act as a technical leader within the DevOps organization, providing guidance and support to engineers across the team. Troubleshoot and resolve complex issues within CI/CD pipelines and deployment ecosystems. Support and maintain both SaaS-based and on-premises DevOps tools and platforms. Monitor platform health, performance, and operational stability across multiple environments. Collaborate with engineering teams to improve deployment processes, automation, reliability, and operational efficiency. Coordinate incident response efforts, engaging appropriate subject matter experts when required. Drive root cause analysis and implement preventative measures to reduce recurring issues. Contribute hands-on technical expertise during major incidents and production-impacting events. Help establish best practices around DevOps operations, deployment automation, and platform management. Work closely with team members to prioritize work, organize initiatives, and ensure successful execution of objectives.

Required Qualifications

6-8+ years of DevOps, Platform Engineering, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), or Infrastructure Engineering experience. Strong experience supporting and troubleshooting CI/CD pipelines and deployment ecosystems. Experience working with GitHub and source-control-based deployment workflows. Knowledge of SaaS-based DevOps tools and platforms. Experience with on-premises infrastructure, deployment tooling, and operational support. Strong troubleshooting and production support capabilities. Proven ability to navigate technical incidents and coordinate resolution efforts across multiple stakeholders. Excellent communication and collaboration skills. Comfortable balancing hands-on technical work with leadership responsibilities.

Preferred Qualifications

Previous experience serving as a Technical Lead, Team Lead, or Senior Engineer. Exposure to Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) practices. Experience mentoring junior engineers or leading technical initiatives. Experience driving continuous improvement initiatives within DevOps environments. Background supporting enterprise-scale CI/CD and cloud infrastructure platforms.

Desired Soft Skills

Strong leadership presence without relying on direct authority. Collaborative and team-oriented mindset. Outgoing personality with the confidence to engage stakeholders and technical teams. Strong appetite for learning and continuous improvement. Ability to remain calm and organized during high-pressure production issues. Comfortable working within a highly technical, fast-paced engineering environment.