Scale Engineer

Lead Engineer

Lead · Full Time

CAN: Toronto (111 Richmond Street West)CAD 186k – 236k1mo ago
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Role

What you'll do.

Lead Engineer at Xero is a senior full-time role based in Vancouver with a hybrid work model (1-2 days on-site). You'll architect and scale distributed systems, mentor engineering teams, and modernize monolithic platforms while working with C#, .NET, React, AWS, and Kubernetes. This position requires proven expertise in large-scale system design, modern engineering practices, and a passion for technical excellence to serve millions of global users.

Responsibilities

  • Architect and Scale Distributed Systems: Design and implement high-availability, distributed systems that serve millions of global users. Lead technical decisions for refactoring monolithic architectures into scalable, maintainable microservices. Establish patterns and best practices for distributed system reliability, performance optimization, and fault tolerance across the platform.
  • Drive System Modernization Initiatives: Lead the modernization of legacy systems through strategic refactoring and architectural improvements. Evaluate and recommend technologies for system decomposition. Champion the migration from monolithic components to scalable, cloud-native architectures that support long-term business growth.
  • Mentor and Coach Engineering Teams: Act as a technical leader and role model, coaching engineers through complex technical challenges and architectural decisions. Foster a culture of continuous learning through code reviews, knowledge-sharing sessions, and hands-on mentorship. Support engineer growth and development through constructive feedback and professional development guidance.
  • Enhance Developer Experience and Engineering Practices: Drive maturation of CI/CD pipelines, automated testing frameworks, and test-driven development practices. Improve build systems, deployment automation, and development tooling to increase team productivity. Establish technical standards for code quality, testing coverage, and engineering excellence across the organization.
  • Lead Technical Design and Solution Architecture: Make major code design decisions and contribute to enterprise-wide technical solutioning. Design scalable solutions that balance immediate delivery needs with long-term architectural goals. Collaborate with product and design teams to translate business requirements into robust technical implementations.
  • Maintain and Evolve Technology Stack: Oversee the diverse technology ecosystem including C#, .NET, React, AWS, and Kubernetes. Evaluate emerging technologies and assess their fit within the platform. Ensure technical consistency, documentation, and knowledge sharing across the engineering organization regarding technology choices and best practices.
  • Contribute to Engineering Standards and Best Practices: Help establish and evolve global engineering standards and technical frameworks. Participate in architectural reviews and technical decision-making processes. Document and communicate technical standards, architectural patterns, and engineering guidelines to ensure organizational alignment.

Qualifications

What we look for.

Technical

  • Distributed Systems Architecture

    Extensive experience designing and operating large-scale, distributed systems in high-availability environments. Strong understanding of system design principles, scalability patterns, and strategies for handling millions of concurrent users across global infrastructure.

  • Backend Development in Multiple Languages

    Proven experience building high-quality software across diverse programming languages and frameworks. Proficiency in modern backend technologies, with particular strength in C# and .NET ecosystems. Ability to quickly learn adjacent technologies and apply them effectively.

  • Cloud Infrastructure and Container Orchestration

    Deep expertise with AWS cloud services, including compute, storage, networking, and managed services. Strong hands-on experience with Kubernetes for container orchestration, deployment automation, and cluster management in production environments.

  • Modern Software Engineering Practices

    Mastery of automated testing frameworks, test-driven development (TDD), refactoring techniques, and agile delivery methodologies. Experience implementing and mentoring others on continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) practices and development tooling optimization.

  • Frontend Development Technologies

    Solid understanding of modern frontend frameworks such as React. Ability to work across full-stack challenges and collaborate effectively with frontend teams on system integration and performance optimization.

  • System Performance and Reliability

    Expertise in optimizing system performance, managing technical debt, and implementing reliability engineering practices. Experience with monitoring, observability, logging, and debugging large-scale production systems.

Education

  • Bachelor's Degree or Equivalent

    Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field, or equivalent professional experience demonstrating strong fundamental computer science knowledge and software engineering principles.

Experience

  • Large-Scale System Delivery

    Minimum 7+ years of software engineering experience with proven track record delivering and operating complex systems in production. Demonstrated success building and scaling systems that serve large user bases with high availability requirements.

  • Senior Technical Leadership

    Experience leading technical initiatives, making architectural decisions, and influencing engineering culture within teams. Demonstrated ability to balance technical excellence with pragmatic delivery while maintaining code quality standards.

  • Mentorship and Team Development

    Proven experience coaching and mentoring junior and mid-level engineers. Track record of fostering technical growth through code reviews, technical discussions, and supportive feedback mechanisms.

  • Cross-Functional Collaboration

    Experience working effectively with product managers, designers, and other stakeholders in agile team environments. Demonstrated ability to translate business requirements into technical solutions while communicating technical complexity to non-technical audiences.

Skills

Required

  • C# and .NET Development

    Advanced proficiency in C# and the .NET ecosystem. Experience with modern .NET features, async/await patterns, dependency injection, and building scalable backend services.

  • Distributed Systems Design

    Deep knowledge of distributed system concepts including consistency models, replication strategies, load balancing, and fault tolerance. Experience with eventual consistency, CAP theorem, and service decomposition.

  • AWS Cloud Platform

    Production experience with AWS services including EC2, RDS, S3, Lambda, ECS, and managed databases. Understanding of AWS networking, security, and cost optimization strategies.

  • Kubernetes and Container Technologies

    Hands-on expertise with Kubernetes clusters, containerization with Docker, deployment strategies, and orchestration patterns. Experience with Helm, service meshes, or other Kubernetes ecosystem tools.

  • Test-Driven Development

    Strong proficiency in writing unit tests, integration tests, and end-to-end tests. Experience with testing frameworks and strategies for maintaining high test coverage in large codebases.

  • Code Refactoring and Technical Debt Management

    Expertise in identifying, prioritizing, and systematically addressing technical debt. Experience refactoring large monolithic systems and modernizing legacy codebases while maintaining system stability.

  • CI/CD Pipeline Development

    Experience designing and implementing continuous integration and continuous deployment pipelines. Knowledge of Git workflows, automated testing in CI/CD, and deployment automation tools.

Preferred

  • React Frontend Development

    Nice to have

    Experience building user interfaces with React, including component design, state management, and integration with backend APIs. Understanding of modern frontend patterns and performance optimization.

  • Microservices Architecture

    Nice to have

    Practical experience designing and building microservices-based systems. Knowledge of service communication patterns, API design, and managing complexity in distributed architectures.

  • Cloud-Native Development

    Nice to have

    Experience developing applications following cloud-native principles including containerization, serverless computing, and leveraging managed services for scalability and cost efficiency.

  • Observability and Monitoring

    Nice to have

    Familiarity with monitoring, logging, and distributed tracing tools for production systems. Experience implementing observability strategies and debugging production issues at scale.

  • API Design and REST/GraphQL

    Nice to have

    Strong background in designing scalable, maintainable APIs. Experience with REST principles, versioning strategies, and potentially GraphQL for API development.

  • Database Architecture and Optimization

    Nice to have

    Experience with relational databases, NoSQL systems, caching strategies, and database performance optimization. Understanding of data modeling for scalability and consistency requirements.

  • Agile and Lean Development

    Nice to have

    Demonstrated experience working in Agile environments with practices like sprint planning, retrospectives, and continuous delivery. Familiarity with Lean principles for optimizing team velocity.

Tech stack

Languages

C#JavaScript/TypeScript

Frameworks

.NETReactASP.NET Core

Databases

Relational DatabasesNoSQL DatabasesCaching Systems

Tools

AWS (Amazon Web Services)KubernetesDockerGitCI/CD Tools

Other

Agile MethodologiesTest Automation FrameworksSystem Design and Architecture Patterns

Compensation

Pay and benefits.

Base·CAD 186,000 – 236,000

Equity·Stock options

Benefits

  • Equity and Performance Incentives

    Participate in Xero's equity program with stock options and performance-based incentives aligned with company growth and individual contribution.

  • Comprehensive Health and Wellness Benefits

    World-class health coverage including medical, dental, and vision insurance. Wellness programs supporting physical and mental health initiatives across the employee lifecycle.

  • Retirement Savings Program

    Employer-matched retirement savings plans supporting long-term financial planning and security. Competitive contribution matching rates.

  • Professional Development

    Investment in continuous learning through conference attendance, training programs, and skill development opportunities. Support for staying current with emerging technologies and industry trends.

  • Flexible Work Arrangement

    Hybrid work model with 1-2 days on-site in Vancouver office per week. Remote work flexibility supporting work-life balance while enabling team collaboration during strategic 'boost days'.

  • Collaborative Work Environment

    Access to modern office facilities in Vancouver with collaborative spaces designed for solving complex technical problems and fostering team culture and knowledge sharing.

  • Xero Perks Program

    Comprehensive employee benefits program including wellness initiatives, professional development resources, and various lifestyle perks supporting employee wellbeing and satisfaction.

Full posting

Original listing.

The role / impact

You will focus on solving engineering problems at scale, moving beyond feature delivery to influence the architecture and implementation of distributed systems. By refactoring complex, monolithic systems and building high-quality, scalable software, your work ensures our platform remains robust and reliable for millions of global users.

As a senior member of the team, you will have the autonomy to make major code design decisions and contribute to global engineering standards. You will balance technical excellence with mentorship, acting as a role model and coaching others through complex technical challenges to help them grow.


The team / how they connect

You will join a collaborative environment where engineers, product owners, and designers work together using agile and delivery practices to ship meaningful code. The team prioritises continuous learning and mastery, frequently participating in code reviews and knowledge-sharing sessions to maintain a high bar for technical craft.


The team is currently working on / Initially, you will focus on

  • Modernising systems by refactoring monolithic components into distributed, scalable architectures.

  • Enhancing the developer experience through the maturation of CI/CD concepts, tooling, and TDD practices.

  • Building and maintaining a diverse tech stack that includes C#, .Net, React, AWS, and Kubernetes.

  • Developing and implementing technical solution designs that align with long-term engineering frameworks.

Where and how you can work

This role is based onsite our Vancouver office, where we embrace a hybrid working model, 1-2 days in office a week. You will have the flexibility to work from home while joining the team in the office for "boost days" to collaborate, socialise, and solve complex problems in person. We are open to ON or AB applicants who may be willing to relocate.


Here are some of the things we are looking for

  • Proven experience delivering and operating complex, large-scale systems (distributed/high-availability environments), with strong fundamentals and the ability to ramp quickly across adjacent technologies (we’re tech-stack agnostic).

  • You bring a growth mindset and a passion for proactively maintaining and sharing technical knowledge with your peers.

  • A background in designing and building high-quality software within a range of languages and tools is essential.

  • You possess the ability to lead major code design decisions and contribute to wider technical solutioning.

  • Experience with modern engineering practices like automated testing, refactoring, and agile delivery is key to your success.

  • You enjoy mentoring other engineers and helping them grow their technical skills through supportive coaching.

  • A deep care for technical excellence and a drive to solve large-scale engineering challenges motivates your daily work.

Apply even if your experience isn't a perfect match! At Xero, we hire based on your skills, passion, and the unique perspective you can bring to enhance our culture and team. We are also tech stack agnostic, so please apply if you've worked with adjacent technologies.

Compensation Philosophy

At Xero, we value the impact and skills you bring to the team. We don’t just hire for a role; we invest in people. We believe in a Total Package philosophy - which means your value isn't just a single number on a paycheck. While base salary is a core component, we look at your compensation through a holistic lens that includes equity, performance incentives, and world-class benefits.

The base salary range for this role in Canada is $186,000 - $236,000 CAD.

Please note that this range represents base salary only. We believe in rewarding our people for their total contribution, which is why we look at compensation through a holistic lens. In addition to base pay, your total package may include:

  • Variable Pay: Eligibility commissions or equity based on role and performance.

  • Comprehensive Benefits: World-class health, wellness, and retirement programs.

  • Xero Perks: Inside Xero Explore our full suite of benefits, from wellbeing initiatives to professional development.


Individual pay is determined by various factors, including geography, level of experience, and the specific skills you bring to the role

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