Lead Technical Designer, Information Technology

uottawa; Ottawa; On-site; CAD 104,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Ottawa Information Technology seeks a senior software architect to lead application development across mission-critical systems. You will drive design guidance, develop production-ready PHP backends and React frontends, and ensure secure, scalable REST APIs and system integrations.

You will mentor teams, plan work with IT managers, and uphold CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and code quality practices.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of experience in a complex IT environment.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in application development and implementation.
• Strong hands-on experience with PHP backend development.
• Solid experience with modern front-end technologies, including React, and UI architectures.
• Proven expertise in designing and developing REST APIs and system integrations using PHP, with experience in service-oriented and microservices architectures.
• Experience providing technical leadership and architectural guidance across PHP, frontend, and integration technologies.
• Experience designing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines.
• Strong understanding of automated testing, code quality gates, versioning strategies, secure coding practices, and deployment automation.
• Experience using AI technologies (LLMs, chatbots, agentic AI, copilots) to enhance applications, automate workflows, and im...

Responsibilities

• Directs the development team with respect to application design guidance based on a thorough understanding of mission-critical systems.
• Designs and develops solutions and production enhancements using the appropriate tools and technology.
• Works with IT Manager to plan, estimate, prioritize and assign work to technical resources.
• Performs in-depth review of options and existing functionality before customization.
• Analyzes complex business requirements and validates proposed solutions.
• Ensures development standards and design frameworks are adhered to by the team.
• Leads documentation of best practices for development activities.

Skills

PHP

React

REST APIs

CI/CD pipelines

Automated testing

Microservices

Technical leadership

AI technologies

System integrations

Education

University degree in Computer Science or Information Technology

Job description

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Job Type: Employee

Anticipated Duration in Months (for contracts and temporary assignments): 12

Job Family: Application Development

# of Open Positions: 1

Faculty/Service - Department: Application Development, Information Technology

Campus: Main Campus

Union Affiliation: UOITP

Date Posted (YYYY/MM/DD): 2026/08/27

Applications must be received BEFORE (YYYY/MM/DD): 2026/09/07

Hours per week: 35

Salary Grade: UOITP Grade 12

Salary Range: $104,333.00 - $129,723.00

About Information Technology:

Information Technology is a dynamic and collaborative environment. We are focused on prioritizing and optimizing technological investments that facilitate the best student experience, as well as the activities of faculty, researchers and staff. Our greatest strength are the people working with us. People like you, professionals eager to flex their intellectual muscle and achieve new heights in their career. Working here gives you access to a great IT environment, rich with a diverse range of platforms, products, and services. This is a place where innovative ideas are welcome.

In a nutshell: working here is challenging and rewarding. It'll bring out the best of you. We want people that have the drive to advance IT in higher education. We have the technologies to keep your inner fires burning, and benefits that can help you sustain a better lifestyle. And all this minutes away from gyms, the Byward Market, downtown, and the Rideau Canal at lunch time for runners and skaters.

Position Purpose

Reporting to the Senior Manager, Information Technology, the incumbent designs and implements solutions to support the University's business objectives. Is involved in all phases of systems analysis, the planning of system development and the technical design University wide. The systems impacted include large-scale mission critical systems. Provides leadership and guidelines in the implementation of application solutions, ensuring the use of best practices and adhering to the architectural roadmap. Works with IT managers and Application Managers to plan, estimate, prioritize and assign work to technical resources. Supports and maintains operational applications and works on the design, testing and improvement of the applications that support various endeavours. Works with minimum supervision and acts as a specialist with a deep knowledge of complex technologies to enable and support critical University-wide systems and the supporting technologies.

In this role, your responsibilities will include:

• Planning, Design and Deployment: Directs the development team with respect to application design guidance based on a thorough understanding of the appropriate mission-critical systems and their underlying technology.
• Designs and develops solutions and production enhancements using the appropriate tools and technology.
• Team Lead: Works with the IT Manager to plan, estimate, prioritize and assign work to technical resources. Provides advice to staff regarding system development methods, design alternatives and technical options.
• Support and Consulting: Works closely with the Tech team to perform an in depth review of suitable options and of the existence of delivered functionality before customizing. Provides supporting documentation to request and justify any customization.
• Development Life Cycle: Analyzes complex business requirements, assist in fit/gap analysis, evaluates system impacts, architecture design and validate proposed solutions and write supporting technical design document, work on implementation, QA testing and migration as appropriate.
• Methods, tools, techniques and standards: Ensures development standards and design frameworks are adhered to by the development team.
• Leads the efforts to document best practices for development activities related to a particular system.

What you will bring:

• A University degree in Computer Science or Information Technology or a related field or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in a complex and diverse IT environment.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in application development and implementation.
• Strong hands-on experience with PHP for backend development and enterprise applications.
• Solid experience with modern front-end technologies, including React, and UI architectures.
• Proven expertise in designing and developing REST APIs and system integrations using PHP, with experience in service-oriented and microservices architectures.
• Experience providing technical leadership and architectural guidance across PHP, frontend, and integration technologies.
• Experience designing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines.
• Strong understanding of automated testing, code quality gates, versioning strategies, secure coding practices, and deployment automation.
• Experience using AI technologies (LLMs, chatbots, agentic AI, copilots) to enhance applications, automate workflows, and im