Lead Technical Designer — IT & Architecture

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

Job summary

The University of Ottawa is seeking an experienced IT professional to lead development for mission-critical systems within Information Technology. This role focuses on PHP backend and React frontend work, REST APIs, and architectural guidance across integrations.

You will drive design, development and deployment, while mentoring a team and ensuring best practices, security, and automated testing. This position is a temporary replacement at the Main Campus in Ottawa, Canada.

Qualifications

• University degree in Computer Science or Information Technology or related field.
• Minimum 10 years in a complex IT environment.
• Minimum 5 years in application development and implementation.
• Strong hands-on experience with PHP for backend development.
• Solid experience with modern front-end technologies, including React.
• Proven expertise in designing REST APIs and system integrations using PHP.
• Experience providing technical leadership and architectural guidance.
• Experience designing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines.
• Knowledge of automated testing, versioning strategies, secure coding, and deployment automation.
• Experience using AI technologies to enhance applications and productivity.

Responsibilities

• Directs the development team with respect to application design guidance for mission-critical systems.
• Designs and develops solutions and production enhancements.
• Leads planning, estimation, prioritization and assignment of work.
• Works with Tech team to review options and document customizations.
• Analyzes complex requirements, performs fit/gap analysis, and supports QA/testing.
• Ensures development standards and design frameworks are followed and documented.

Skills

PHP backend

React frontend

REST APIs

AI integration

CI/CD pipelines

Security practices

Architectural guidance

Team leadership

Education

University degree in Computer Science / Information Technology

Tools

PHP

React

CI/CD tooling

Job description

The University of Ottawa is seeking an experienced IT professional to lead development for mission-critical systems within Information Technology. This role focuses on PHP backend and React frontend work, REST APIs, and architectural guidance across integrations.

You will drive design, development and deployment, while mentoring a team and ensuring best practices, security, and automated testing. This position is a temporary replacement at the Main Campus in Ottawa, Canada.