Director, Systems Engineering

ArcTern Ventures; Toronto; On-site; CAD 150,000 - 195,000; Full time

Job summary

Hydrostor, a leading energy storage company in Toronto, is seeking a Director, Systems Engineering to establish and lead our Systems Engineering function. You will bring structure, technical rigor, and scalability to the development and delivery of our projects and technology platform.

Reporting to the CTO, you will define requirements, interfaces, verification, and risk management across the organization while partnering with Engineering, Project Delivery, Operations, and Supply Chain to ensure

Qualifications

• 12+ years of engineering experience including systems engineering and complex project delivery.
• Proven leadership of systems engineering activities for complex engineered systems.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Systems Engineering, Applied Science, or related field.
• Strong knowledge of requirements management, interface management, verification & validation, configuration management, and risk management.
• Experience building or scaling systems engineering processes and governance.
• Ability to translate objectives into engineering requirements and execution plans.
• Experience with interfaces across multidisciplinary teams and external partners.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management.

Responsibilities

• Build and evolve Hydrostor's Systems Engineering function with scalable processes.
• Develop frameworks for requirements management, interface management, and verification.
• Partner with Engineering, Project Delivery, Operations, and Supply Chain to embed SE principles.
• Provide technical leadership across multidisciplinary projects.
• Lead interface management with internal teams, partners, EPC/EPCM contractors, OEMs, and suppliers.
• Lead technical reviews and governance activities.
• Drive verification and validation strategies.
• Promote reuse of knowledge and standards to standardize products.
• Champion configuration and change management.
• Mentor and develop a high-performing SE team.
• Advise CTO and senior leadership on strategy and risk.
• Balance rigor with agility to deliver Hydrostor's energy storage projects.

Skills

Systems Engineering

Technical leadership

Stakeholder management

Mentoring engineers

Communication

Project delivery

Cost awareness

Education

Bachelor's in Engineering

Tools

MBSE

PLM

Configuration management

Job description

Title: Director, Systems Engineering

Location: Toronto, ON

Job Type: Full-Time - Hybrid (3+ days/week in office)

Travel Requirement: Approximately 10%

Position Type: Net New

Join the Future of Reliable Energy!

Are you ready to shape the future grid? Hydrostor, a leading energy storage, technology and infrastructure company dedicated to developing utility-scale, long-duration energy storage solutions, is seeking a Director, Systems Engineering to join our team in Toronto. We’re supporting the development of a more resilient electricity grid and invite you to be at the forefront of this work!

Why Hydrostor?

Our cutting-edge A-CAES technology is uniquely poised to revolutionize the energy landscape. Join us as we lead the way in shaping a reliable and secure energy future.

Your Mission

At Hydrostor, we're accelerating the transition to a clean energy future through our Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage (A-CAES) technology. We're looking for a Director, Systems Engineering to establish and lead our Systems Engineering function, bringing structure, technical rigour, and scalability to the development and delivery of our projects and technology platform.

Reporting to the Chief Technology Officer, you will define how requirements, interfaces, technical risks, configuration management, verification, and design decisions are managed across our organization. You'll work closely with engineering, project delivery, operations, supply chain, and external partners to ensure we're building the right solutions and creating a repeatable foundation for future growth.

This role is ideal for an experienced systems engineering leader who has built or matured systems engineering practices within complex technical environments. While energy industry experience is welcome, we are equally interested in candidates from industries such as aerospace, defence, rail, automotive, industrial automation, advanced manufacturing, nuclear, or other highly integrated engineering sectors.

Your Day-to-Day Adventures

• Build, lead, and continuously evolve Hydrostor's Systems Engineering function, establishing scalable processes, standards, and best practices that support both technology development and project execution.
• Develop and maintain frameworks for requirements management, technical integration, interface management, verification and validation, configuration management, and technical risk management.
• Partner closely with Engineering, Project Delivery, Operations, Asset Management, and Supply Chain teams to ensure systems engineering principles are embedded throughout the project lifecycle.
• Provide technical leadership across complex, multidisciplinary projects, ensuring alignment between stakeholder needs, technical requirements, design decisions, and operational objectives.
• Establish and oversee interface management practices across internal teams, external engineering partners, EPC/EPCM contractors, OEMs, and suppliers to support seamless project execution.
• Lead technical reviews and governance activities, helping teams evaluate design maturity, manage risk, and make informed engineering decisions throughout project and product development.
• Drive the development of verification and validation strategies to ensure systems perform as intended and meet business, operational, regulatory, and customer requirements.
• Support the transition from project-specific execution to a more standardized and repeatable product platform by promoting the reuse of requirements, technical knowledge, design standards, and lessons learned.
• Champion effective configuration and change management practices to maintain technical integrity across project, product, and operational environments.
• Build, mentor, and develop a high-performing Systems Engineering team, fostering a collaborative culture focused on technical excellence, continuous improvement, and innovation.
• Act as a trusted advisor to the CTO and senior leadership team, providing guidance on technical strategy, risk, systems integration, and organizational capability development.
• Promote a practical, value-driven approach to systems engineering that balances rigor with agility and enables successful delivery of Hydrostor's advanced energy storage projects.

Who You Are

You are a strategic and hands-on engineering leader who thrives in complex environments where technology, projects, and people intersect. You understand how to connect technical disciplines, manage competing priorities, and create systems that enable successful project execution at scale.

You bring a practical approach to systems engineering, knowing when structure and rigor are needed and when flexibility is required. You enjoy building capabilities, influencing stakeholders, developing talent, and solving challenging technical problems that have a meaningful impact.

Most importantly, you're energized by the opportunity to help shape the future of long-duration energy storage and contribute to the growth of a company delivering innovative clean energy infrastructure around the world.

What You Bring

• 12+ years of engineering experience, including significant experience in systems engineering, technical integration, product development, lifecycle engineering, or complex project delivery.
• Demonstrated success leading systems engineering activities for complex engineered systems, infrastructure projects, or highly integrated technologies.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Systems Engineering, Applied Science, or a related technical discipline.
• Strong understanding of systems engineering principles, including requirements management, interface management, verification and validation, configuration management, technical risk management, and design governance.
• Experience building, implementing, scaling, or improving systems engineering processes, tools, standards, governance frameworks, and organizational capabilities.
• Proven ability to translate business, operational, regulatory, and technical objectives into structured engineering requirements and execution plans.
• Experience managing technical interfaces across multidisciplinary teams, suppliers, contractors, engineering partners, and other external stakeholders.
• Strong leadership and influencing skills, with the ability to drive alignment and decision-making across a matrixed organization.
• Experience leading technical reviews, design reviews, stage-gate processes, or other evidence-based decision forums.
• Demonstrated success mentoring and developing engineers, technical leads, and systems engineering practitioners.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to engage technical experts, project teams, executive leaders, and external partners.
• Practical understanding of how technical decisions impact cost, schedule, risk, performance, safety, operability, maintainability, and long-term asset value.
• Experience in industries such as aerospace, defence, automotive, rail, industrial automation, advanced manufacturing, nuclear, energy, mining, or other complex engineering environments is considered an asset.
• Experience supporting major capital projects, EPC/EPCM delivery models, or large-scale infrastructure programs is preferred.
• Familiarity with requirements management, model-based systems engineering (MBSE), product lifecycle management (PLM), configuration management, or similar engineering tools is an asset.
• INCOSE certification, formal systems engineering training, or equivalent practical experience is considered an asset.
• Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) designation, or eligibility to obtain one, is an asset.
• Experience in clean energy, energy storage, power generation, or industrial infrastructure is considered an asset.

Compensation Details

• $150,000 - $195,000 base salary
• Discretionary Bonus
• Paid Vacation Time
• Medical, Dental and Vision Benefits
• RRSP Program - with a match!
• Employee Share Option Plan

For more information on Hydrostor and the exciting journey we’re on visit our website at www.hydrostor.ca

Equal Opportunity Employer

At Hydrostor, we know that fostering an inclusive workplace, which values diversity, inclusion, and belonging is paramount to our success.

To fulfill our mission, our goal is to attract people who come from all backgrounds and walks of life, who bring diverse perspectives with wide-ranging experiences, and who share in our common passion to drive innovation and change the global energy landscape.

Hydrostor proudly embraces the principles of equal opportunity and inclusion. We are committed to providing opportunities for all employees and candidates. We ensure that all qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, creed, colour, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, parental, pregnancy, citizenship status, veteran status, disability, or any other protected status protected by applicable law.

Hydrostor is committed to making our application and interview process accessible to everyone, and we encourage applications from people with disabilities. If you require reasonable accommodation at any stage, please contact us at [e-mail]. In your application, we welcome you to specify your preferred pronouns (e.g. she/her/hers, he/him/his, they/them/theirs, etc.).

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Hydrostor does not use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to screen, assess, or select candidates during the recruitment or interview process.