Director - Application Development - Digital Solutions - Customers

AIR CANADA; Toronto; On-site; CAD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Air Canada invites a seasoned Director of Application Development to lead the design, delivery, and modernization of our customer-facing digital applications and cargo systems. You will shape strategy, drive architecture, and mentor high-performing teams across marketing, CIAM, and cargo platforms in a fast-paced, global airline environment.

The role emphasizes insourcing, AI-enabled innovation, and robust DevSecOps practices, with accountability for budgets, milestones, and collaboration with

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or related field.
• 10+ years of digital application development, with at least 5 in a leadership role.
• Proven success in leading digital transformations, including insourcing and modern development frameworks.
• Strong technical expertise in web and mobile development, microservices, cloud architecture, APIs.
• Experience integrating AI/ML or Generative AI into product development lifecycles is a strong asset.
• Strong understanding of Agile, DevOps, and CI/CD best practices.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience with enterprise-scale organizations, ideally in travel, transportation, or customer experience sectors.
• Demonstrate punctuality and reliability to support team success.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and hands-on leadership to digital product teams.
• Lead cargo delivery teams through the Cargo Management System implementation.
• Deliver innovative tech-based solutions to increase revenue or reduce costs.
• Drive insourcing and talent development to reduce vendor dependence.
• Collaborate with Product Owners, UX/UI Designers, and Architects to define vision and roadmap.
• Oversee delivery of robust, scalable, secure applications with focus on performance and UX.
• Ensure Agile, DevOps, and CI/CD practices; automate pipelines; promote DevSecOps and testing.
• Promote Generative AI tools to boost developer productivity and rapid iteration.
• Stay abreast of new technologies and assess relevance for digital products.
• Foster engineering excellence through code quality and continuous learning.
• Ensure end-to-end product delivery from development to production and support.
• Coordinate with PMs, Designers, Architects, and QA for timely launches.
• Monitor performance, manage risks, and maintain documentation.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Agile methodologies

DevOps

CI/CD

Communication

Enterprise-scale work

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Cloud platforms

Microservices

APIs

Job description

Belonging to Air Canada is about belonging to a Canadian symbol, Air Canada recently elected best airline in North America. Take your career to new heights by joining our innovative and diverse team at the forefront of passenger air transport.

The Director - Application Development will lead the design, development and delivery of some of our most critical customer-facing digital applications and all of our internal cargo-related applications. Its customer-facing application portfolio includes aircanada.com content applications (Content Management System [CMS] platform, home page), marketing digital assets (offer management, DNA) and Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM). Its cargo application portfolio includes the Air Canada Cargo website (informational and transactional), the cargo distribution API, the Air Canada Cargo digital back-end system and all Air Canada Cargo integrations; this portfolio continues to expand with the implementation of the new Cargo Management System, which will continue through the end of 2028.

The incumbent will also be responsible for the Delivery Center of Excellence and the Innovation Center of Excellence for all customer and cargo portfolios. The Delivery Center of Excellence aims to harmonize delivery practices, key performance indicators and continuous improvement within the portfolio. The Innovation Center of Excellence aims to improve our digital technology platforms through continuous improvements (progressive adoption of AI, improvement of continuous integration and deployment pipelines, etc.) and disruptive technology-based innovations through proofs of concept and partnership with Air Canada's key technology vendors (transition to a single repository, introduction of a new Model Context Protocol [MCP] stack, etc.). This position is critical to our digital transformation process and will play a decisive role in enabling the TDS organization to achieve its cost transformation and innovation objectives.

The successful candidate will also focus on people management, including talent acquisition, training, performance management and promoting a high-performing team culture.

Responsibilities

• Leadership and Strategy
  • Provide strategic and hands-on leadership to teams shaping the future of marketing and content technologies at Air Canada.
  • Lead cargo delivery teams toward the successful implementation of the new Cargo Management System.
  • Deliver disruptive technology-based innovations that significantly increase revenue or reduce costs.
  • Embrace the insourcing strategy by recruiting, developing, and retaining top engineering talent, reducing reliance on vendor-driven delivery models.
  • Collaborate with Product Owners, UX/UI Designers, and Architects to define product vision, architecture, and development roadmap.
• Technology and Innovation
  • Oversee the delivery of robust, scalable, and secure digital applications with a focus on performance, user experience, and maintainability.
  • Ensure modern engineering practices are followed, including Agile delivery, continuous integration and delivery pipeline automation, DevSecOps, test automation, and shift-left testing.
  • Promote the use and integration of generative AI tools and AI agents in the development lifecycle to increase developer productivity and enable rapid iteration.
  • Stay abreast of emerging technologies and evaluate their relevance and value for digital product development.
  • Foster a culture of engineering excellence through code quality, design standards, peer reviews, and continuous learning.
• Execution and Delivery
  • Ensure end-to-end product delivery, from development to production deployment and support.
  • Work closely with internal Product Managers, Designers, Architects, and Quality Assurance teams to ensure high-quality products are launched on time.
  • Monitor team performance, manage risks, remove delivery blockers, and ensure accountability for results.
  • Ensure proper technical documentation and knowledge sharing across teams.
• Collaboration and Communication
  • Partner with other IT and Digital Solutions leaders, including Architecture, Security, Data, and Infrastructure teams.
  • Engage with key business stakeholders across Digital Solutions, Marketing, Loyalty, and Human Resources to ensure alignment between product features and business priorities.
  • Present technical strategies and delivery progress to senior management, contributing to enterprise-wide technology planning.
• People and Budget Management
  • Manage operating and capital budgets, ensuring efficient resource allocation and financial target achievement.
  • Develop and maintain staffing plans, forecast resource needs, and align capabilities with strategic priorities.
  • Support training and professional development programs to build technical capabilities within the team.
  • Establish performance metrics and continuous improvement practices for team delivery and application performance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or a related field; equivalent experience may substitute for a degree.
• 10+ years of experience in digital application development, with at least 5 in a leadership role managing front-end and back-end development teams.
• Proven success in leading digital transformations, including insourcing and the adoption of modern development frameworks and practices.
• Strong technical expertise in web and mobile application development, microservices, cloud architecture, and API ecosystems.
• Experience integrating AI/ML or Generative AI technologies into product development lifecycles is a strong asset.
• Strong understanding of Agile, DevOps, and CI/CD best practices.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence business and technology teams.
• Experience working in or with enterprise-scale organizations, ideally in the travel, transportation, or customer experience sectors.
• Demonstrate punctuality and reliability to support the overall success of the team in a fast-paced environment.

Employment Conditions:

Candidates must be eligible to work in the country concerned at the time an offer of employment is made and are responsible for obtaining work permits, visas or other necessary authorizations. Proof of eligibility must be provided prior to the start date.

Language Requirements

All else being equal, preference will be given to bilingual candidates.

Diversity and Inclusion

Air Canada is strongly committed to diversity and inclusion and aims to create a healthy, accessible and rewarding work environment that showcases the unique contribution of our employees to the success of our business.

As an equal opportunity employer, we encourage diverse applications so that we can have a diverse workforce representative of our customers and the communities where we live and serve.

Air Canada thanks all applicants for their interest, but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.