Who you are

• 5+ years full-stack development with modern frameworks, at least 3 years working with SaaS platforms
• Demonstrable experience integrating AI into development workflows (code generation, QA, CI/CD, automated code reviews, intelligent testing)
• Experience transitioning an existing team and large codebase to an AI-first development process
• Excellent back-end or systems programming knowledge, you have experience working with PHP/Laravel and MySQL
• Experience building and scaling backend systems with REST/GraphQL APIs
• Solid understanding of databases; data engineering experience a plus
• 2+ years hands-on experience with AI APIs and production AI deployments
• Integration patterns for LLMs in existing application architectures
• Experience with back-end tools like Git, unit testing, continuous integration and Linux command line skills
• You're able to clearly articulate the benefits of introducing AI into an existing development process in a secure and maintainable way
• You're empathetic and can work both independently as well as collaboratively in a team environment
• Data engineering experience: ETL pipelines, vector databases, embedding management
• Deployment expertise: Containerization, cloud platforms (AWS/GCP), monitoring AI systems in production
• Prior experience leading projects or mentoring engineers
• Knowledge of micro-services and event-driven architectures

What the job involves

• Optix is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to guide our engineering team through the shift to an AI-first development process — and serve as an internal evangelist for how AI transforms the way we build
• In this role, you’ll combine hands-on technical contributions with leadership responsibilities, setting the foundation for how AI integrates across our product and development practices. Beyond building AI-powered features, you’ll mentor engineers, influence architectural decisions, and champion the adoption of AI-first tools and approaches
• This is a unique opportunity to drive transformation in a profitable SaaS company, shaping both the product and the team as we evolve from a rules-based automation platform into a conversational, agentic workspace management system
• You’ll collaborate directly with the leadership team to ensure Optix not only builds world-class AI capabilities but also does so with a sustainable, scalable engineering culture where AI-first thinking becomes second nature
• Serve alongside Optix's leadership, establishing best practices and development standards
• Guide the team's transition to AI-first development workflows and tooling
• Collaborate with product leadership to translate business objectives into technical AI solutions
• Design and build AI-powered features including intelligent sales widgets, automated message generation, and predictive workflow optimization
• Architect scalable AI systems that integrate seamlessly with our existing automations platform
• Implement evaluation frameworks to continuously improve AI feature performance
• Identify opportunities to leverage AI across our platform for maximum customer impact
• Build the technical foundation for our vision of conversational, agentic workspace management
• Drive adoption of AI development tools and practices across the engineering team

Benefits

• Strong Employee Stock Option Plan offering
• Excellent health and dental coverage program provided by Sunlife
• Mission-driven workplace experience with a positive, collaborative and supportive team culture
• Personal and professional growth opportunities
• Healthy snacks and locally roasted coffee – slow pour is our jam
• Weekly team lunches and socials
• Annual health and fitness credit
• Fun offsite activities that allow us to reconnect as a team
• A beautiful, waterfront Gastown office and a flexible hybrid workplace plan