Tech Lead (Remote First)
Job description
About the role
This position sets the technical direction for the Core and Payments product streams. The role guides engineering implementation across both product areas. You will own the architectural vision and translate it into a clear engineering strategy that aligns with business objectives. A significant part of this role involves mentoring engineers and fostering a culture of clean code and robust design. You will act as a key technical advisor to product managers and stakeholders, helping to frame solutions that are both feasible and scalable. The position requires balancing long-term system health with the need to deliver immediate value through iterative releases. You will be responsible for ensuring that security and scalability are foundational considerations in every design decision. Ultimately, you will drive the technical narrative for the organization, ensuring coherence across the Core and Payments streams.
Key facts
What you'll do
The team steers engineering implementation for core and payments products by setting technical direction and reinforcing security and scalability in system design. Iterative, autonomous development and deployment practices are reinforced through engineering guidance and process implementation. Solutions for front-end applications and back-end APIs are designed and implemented under the reporting structure to the engineering manager. Collaboration with product managers, team leads, engineers, and staff developers shapes solutions that unblock team delivery and align with product goals. You will define and uphold coding standards, best practices, and engineering principles to ensure consistency across squads. The role involves breaking down complex initiatives into technical tasks that enable teams to deliver efficiently and on schedule. You will evaluate and recommend tools, frameworks, and libraries that improve the development lifecycle and product quality. A core responsibility is to analyze system metrics and identify opportunities to enhance performance, reliability, and maintainability. You will partner closely with QA and DevOps to establish robust testing strategies and deployment pipelines that reduce risk. This position requires articulating technical trade-offs to non-technical audiences to secure alignment on priorities.
Requirements
The posting states a bachelor's degree requirement. A degree is required for this position. Remote-first work within Canada is mandatory for this role. Clear articulation of complex ideas supports decision-making and deadline adherence while mentoring other team members as needed. You must be eligible to work in Canada without sponsorship. The role demands the ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to diverse stakeholders. A strong understanding of software development lifecycle is essential for success in this position. You should have a proven track record of delivering software in an agile environment. The capacity to manage multiple priorities and adapt to changing requirements is critical. Demonstrated experience in system design and architecture is required. You must be comfortable working with distributed version control and modern development toolchains.
Practical notes
This role operates within Canada and remains remote-first. Typical interview steps
Hiring for engineering roles usually starts with a recruiter screen, followed by one or two technical rounds. Candidates often solve a coding problem, discuss past projects, and answer system design questions. Some loops include a take-home task. Final rounds typically cover team fit and give candidates a chance to ask questions. Interviewers look for how you break down an unfamiliar problem, not just whether you reach the answer. Practicing a few problems aloud and reviewing your own past projects are the best preparation.
Good to know
Senior engineers commonly define system architecture and lead cross-functional collaboration. Modern JavaScript and cloud platforms form the foundation of many digital insurance products. Teams typically use agile workflows and automated testing pipelines. Strong communication skills help align technical decisions with business objectives. Mentoring and knowledge sharing are standard practices in growing technology organizations.
Questions to ask
Good questions to ask the employer in the interview: what does success look like in the first six months, how is the team structured, what is the current biggest challenge, and how are decisions made. Asking about growth paths and the review process is also well received. Employers expect questions, and good ones show preparation.
Career growth
Engineering careers usually progress from individual contributor to senior, staff, and principal levels. Some engineers move into management and lead teams of five to twenty people. Others stay on the technical track. Growth follows demonstrated impact, not tenure alone. A typical engineering ladder has clear levels with defined expectations for scope, quality, and mentorship. Moving up usually requires owning outcomes end to end rather than completing assigned tickets.
About the company
Zensurance is hiring for Tech Lead (Remote First). Toronto, ON.
About the location
Canada's largest city has a strong tech and startup scene. Monthly costs around $2,600. King West and Liberty Village have coworking density. Internet is fast. Winters are cold (-10°C). Summers are warm and the city comes alive. Multicultural food scene.