Director - SW Engineering
About the role
Director of Software Engineering
Director of Software Engineering (Desktop / Real-Time / 3D)
Location: Greater Toronto Area (strongly preferred)
Open to: Canada-wide candidates willing to travel regularly to Toronto
Work Model: Hybrid (3 days/week onsite in Toronto)
Travel: :10% (North America + select international events)
Compensation: $180,000-$200,000 base + ESOP + benefits +
About The Opportunity
SRA Staffing is partnering with a Canadian software company (backed by a large global software group) that builds sophisticated desktop products used for 3D visualization, design, and real-time environments . The organization is undertaking a ground-up rebuild and modernization of a complex, graphics-heavy desktop application. This leader will own the engineering modernization strategy, raise delivery and release discipline, and help shape the next-generation platform.
This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who is comfortable staying close to the code and guiding a tenured engineering team through a multi-year technical transformation.
What You'll Do
Engineering Leadership
- Lead and grow a team of :10-20 engineers (desktop/systems + DevOps)
- Drive strong execution across a modernization roadmap
- Raise standards across code quality, testing, performance, and operational excellence
Architecture & Modernization
- Lead a ground-up rebuild or deep modernization of a complex desktop product
- Guide architecture decisions across rendering/graphics, geometry/CAD-style capabilities, and platform foundations
- Balance reuse of valuable legacy concepts with modern architectural patterns
Hands-On Technical Contribution
- Stay close to the code via design reviews, architecture spikes, and selective implementation
- Unblock teams by getting "on the keyboard” when needed
- Reason about performance, rendering pipelines, geometry concepts, and real-time constraints
CI/CD & Release Discipline
- Own and improve CI/CD and release practices for a complex desktop application
- Drive measurable improvements in build pipelines, testing, and release reliability
Stakeholder & Customer Engagement
- Communicate clearly with executives, engineers, and customers
- Represent engineering in customer-facing and industry settings (trade shows, conferences)
What We're Looking For (Must-Haves)
Technical / Domain
- Strong desktop and/or real-time software background (not web-only)
- Exposure to high-performance and/or hardware-integrated systems
- Experience in at least one of: visualization, simulation, gaming, CAD/drafting, AR/VR, virtual production, robotics
- Proven experience leading a ground-up rebuild or major modernization of a complex product (not just web/e-commerce migrations)
- Ability to reason about (hands-on preferred):
- Rendering engines / 3D graphics pipelines (OpenGL/DirectX/Vulkan/Unreal/Unity or similar)
- CAD-like concepts (2D/3D drafting, geometric constraints, parametric models)
Hands-On Leadership
- Background as a hands-on developer; can still read/write/review code
- Comfortable leading :10-20 engineers and driving change across practices and tooling
- Comfortable owning CI/CD and release practices
Executive Presence & Culture
- Confident interacting with senior stakeholders and customers
- Comfortable operating in high-visibility, reputationally sensitive environments
- Motivated, growth-oriented, and interested in progressing toward a CTO-track career path
Location & Eligibility
- GTA-based candidates preferred; 2-3 days/week onsite in Toronto
- Canada-wide candidates considered if they can travel at least quarterly to Toronto
- Quebec-based candidates are not eligible (no provincial entity)
- This is not a remote-only role
How to Apply
If you are interested in exploring this opportunity, please connect with:
Anusha
About SRA Staffing - SRA Group
SRA has been connecting top-tier IT talent with leading organizations across Canada, the U.S., and India since 2002. As a trusted partner for both public and private sector employers, we specialize in providing diverse staffing, solutions and software services - including contract, permanent, project-based, and offshore placements—to precisely meet each employer's unique needs.
Our personalized approach, and deep sector expertise across Financial services, Healthcare, Engineering, Education and more, combined with our unwavering commitment to excellence, ensure streamlined recruitment processes that optimize your time and resources.
Director - SW Engineering
About the role
Director of Software Engineering
Director of Software Engineering (Desktop / Real-Time / 3D)
Location: Greater Toronto Area (strongly preferred)
Open to: Canada-wide candidates willing to travel regularly to Toronto
Work Model: Hybrid (3 days/week onsite in Toronto)
Travel: :10% (North America + select international events)
Compensation: $180,000-$200,000 base + ESOP + benefits +
About The Opportunity
SRA Staffing is partnering with a Canadian software company (backed by a large global software group) that builds sophisticated desktop products used for 3D visualization, design, and real-time environments . The organization is undertaking a ground-up rebuild and modernization of a complex, graphics-heavy desktop application. This leader will own the engineering modernization strategy, raise delivery and release discipline, and help shape the next-generation platform.
This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who is comfortable staying close to the code and guiding a tenured engineering team through a multi-year technical transformation.
What You'll Do
Engineering Leadership
- Lead and grow a team of :10-20 engineers (desktop/systems + DevOps)
- Drive strong execution across a modernization roadmap
- Raise standards across code quality, testing, performance, and operational excellence
Architecture & Modernization
- Lead a ground-up rebuild or deep modernization of a complex desktop product
- Guide architecture decisions across rendering/graphics, geometry/CAD-style capabilities, and platform foundations
- Balance reuse of valuable legacy concepts with modern architectural patterns
Hands-On Technical Contribution
- Stay close to the code via design reviews, architecture spikes, and selective implementation
- Unblock teams by getting "on the keyboard” when needed
- Reason about performance, rendering pipelines, geometry concepts, and real-time constraints
CI/CD & Release Discipline
- Own and improve CI/CD and release practices for a complex desktop application
- Drive measurable improvements in build pipelines, testing, and release reliability
Stakeholder & Customer Engagement
- Communicate clearly with executives, engineers, and customers
- Represent engineering in customer-facing and industry settings (trade shows, conferences)
What We're Looking For (Must-Haves)
Technical / Domain
- Strong desktop and/or real-time software background (not web-only)
- Exposure to high-performance and/or hardware-integrated systems
- Experience in at least one of: visualization, simulation, gaming, CAD/drafting, AR/VR, virtual production, robotics
- Proven experience leading a ground-up rebuild or major modernization of a complex product (not just web/e-commerce migrations)
- Ability to reason about (hands-on preferred):
- Rendering engines / 3D graphics pipelines (OpenGL/DirectX/Vulkan/Unreal/Unity or similar)
- CAD-like concepts (2D/3D drafting, geometric constraints, parametric models)
Hands-On Leadership
- Background as a hands-on developer; can still read/write/review code
- Comfortable leading :10-20 engineers and driving change across practices and tooling
- Comfortable owning CI/CD and release practices
Executive Presence & Culture
- Confident interacting with senior stakeholders and customers
- Comfortable operating in high-visibility, reputationally sensitive environments
- Motivated, growth-oriented, and interested in progressing toward a CTO-track career path
Location & Eligibility
- GTA-based candidates preferred; 2-3 days/week onsite in Toronto
- Canada-wide candidates considered if they can travel at least quarterly to Toronto
- Quebec-based candidates are not eligible (no provincial entity)
- This is not a remote-only role
How to Apply
If you are interested in exploring this opportunity, please connect with:
Anusha
About SRA Staffing - SRA Group
SRA has been connecting top-tier IT talent with leading organizations across Canada, the U.S., and India since 2002. As a trusted partner for both public and private sector employers, we specialize in providing diverse staffing, solutions and software services - including contract, permanent, project-based, and offshore placements—to precisely meet each employer's unique needs.
Our personalized approach, and deep sector expertise across Financial services, Healthcare, Engineering, Education and more, combined with our unwavering commitment to excellence, ensure streamlined recruitment processes that optimize your time and resources.