Founding Engineer (Platform)

SearchLabs; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A technology firm is seeking a Senior Platform Engineer to build and scale a data platform for processing massive IoT data in real time. This role involves designing distributed systems, enhancing performance with technologies like Kafka and Spark, and tackling engineering challenges. Candidates should have strong experience in data platforms, with significant proficiency in scalable systems. The position offers a competitive salary, equity options, and a hybrid work environment with numerous perks including comprehensive benefits and a generous PTO policy.

Benefits

Competitive salary with strong equity incentives

Comprehensive dental and drug benefits from day one

$3,000 lifestyle account for conferences and wellness

$3,000 healthcare spending account for approved expenses

4 weeks of PTO plus two company offsites per year

Collaborative in-office culture with team lunches

Qualifications

• Experience working on data platforms, handling ingestion, processing, and storage.
• Strong understanding of scalable distributed systems.
• Proficiency with Kafka, Spark, Flink, and Lakehouse architectures.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement scalable distributed systems for ingesting and processing large IoT data streams.
• Work with technologies like Kafka, Spark, Flink, and Lakehouse architectures.
• Develop foundational infrastructure to support future product expansion.
• Improve real-time data validation, enrichment, and analytics capabilities.
• Shadow customer calls in the first three months.
• Be part of an on-call rotation to handle critical system issues.

Skills

Data platforms experience

Scalable distributed systems understanding

Proficiency with Kafka

Proficiency with Spark

Proficiency with Flink

Proficiency with Lakehouse architectures

Job description

Location: Hybrid – Toronto (4 days in-office)

Compensation: $150,000–$200,000 + Equity (0.5–1.5%)

About the Role

We are seeking a Senior Platform Engineer for our client to help build and scale a data platform that processes massive volumes of IoT data in real time. This role is critical in shaping the company’s technical direction, designing distributed systems, and ensuring high-performance data processing.

As part of a small, high-impact team, you will work on core infrastructure, integrating diverse data sources into a unified system. You’ll tackle complex engineering challenges related to scalability, latency, and distributed computing while collaborating closely with leadership.

What You’ll Do

• Design and implement scalable distributed systems for ingesting and processing large IoT data streams.
• Work with technologies like Kafka, Spark, Flink, and Lakehouse architectures to enhance system performance.
• Develop foundational infrastructure to support future product expansion.
• Improve real-time data validation, enrichment, and analytics capabilities.
• Shadow customer calls in the first three months to gain a deep understanding of user needs.
• Be part of an on-call rotation to handle critical system issues.

What We’re Looking For

Must-Have Skills

• Experience working on data platforms, handling ingestion, processing, and storage.
• Strong understanding of scalable distributed systems.
• Proficiency with Kafka, Spark, Flink, and Lakehouse architectures.

Nice-to-Have Skills

• Experience with Java.
• Familiarity with TypeScript and Node.js for occasional re-coding.

Why Join?

• Competitive salary with strong equity incentives.
• Comprehensive dental and drug benefits from day one.
• $3,000 lifestyle account for conferences, coaching, and wellness.
• $3,000 healthcare spending account for vision, massage, and other approved expenses.
• 4 weeks of PTO, plus two company offsites per year.
• Collaborative in-office culture with weekly team lunches and milestone celebrations.

This is a unique opportunity to play a key role in scaling a high-impact platform from the ground up. If you’re excited about solving complex data challenges in a fast-moving environment, we’d love to hear from you.