Senior Software Engineer (Voyager)

Relay; Toronto; On-site; CAD 144,000 - 176,000; Full time

Job summary

Relay is seeking a Senior Software Engineer (Voyager) to advance AI infrastructure for small business banking products. You will design and deploy secure, reusable LLM systems, partnering with product teams to ship AI workflows while exploring emerging technologies.

You will join a fast‑moving team that emphasizes practical engineering, mentorship, and ownership, helping Relay stay at the forefront of applied AI in fintech.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of full‑stack software engineering experience, with ownership of major components.
• Experience shipping AI/LLM‑driven features and platforms is preferred.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to technical direction.

Responsibilities

• AI Infrastructure: Build and deploy secure, reusable LLM systems across the lifecycle.
• R&D and PoCs: Lead exploratory initiatives evaluating emerging AI tech.
• Developer Enablement: Provide tooling and guidance for rapid, safe AI workflows.
• Consultative Partnership: Advise product teams on technical decisions.
• Innovation & Improvement: Identify areas for engineering/process improvements and set direction.

Skills

Full-stack software engineering

AI experience

Mentoring

End-to-end ownership

Tools

AWS

Jira

GitHub

GitHub Actions

Datadog

Metabase

Job description

Relay is a digital banking platform that gives self-made business owners the tools and know-how to be great with money—bringing clarity, confidence, and control to every dollar earned, so they can turn hard work into lasting success. We do this by replacing financial guesswork with real visibility, transforming cash flow from a constant source of stress into a clear signal owners can use to run stronger, more resilient businesses.

Our Engineering team is at the heart of building banking products that help millions of small businesses succeed. We’re on a journey to reinvent banking, and we’re looking for a curious, impact-driven Senior Software Engineer (Voyager) to join our growing team – someone who thrives on taking smart risks, experimenting boldly, and learning from every challenge.

Voyager works a step ahead, exploring what’s next for Relay. We build the technology foundations that make AI and insights possible across the product, and we partner with product teams so they can build quickly on top of them. We also act as Relay's innovation center: running fast, exploratory spikes on emerging technologies to establish what's viable before the company commits to it. That means the work spans both ends of the maturity curve, from hardening infrastructure that other teams depend on to prototyping things that may not exist yet.

If you’re excited to tackle new problems and care as much about building strong foundations as delivering an impressive end product, you’ll feel at home on Voyager. If you believe the most interesting part of applied AI is the engineering behind it, this is the role for you.

What You’ll Be Doing

• AI Infrastructure: Build and deploy secure, reusable LLM systems that enable differentiated product experiences, and own them across the full lifecycle, from design through deployment and monitoring


• R&D and Proof-of-Concepts: Lead exploratory initiatives that evaluate and validate emerging technologies, producing a clear recommendation on whether and how Relay should adopt them


• Developer Enablement: Give teams across Relay the tooling, patterns, and guidance they need to ship AI workflows quickly and safely


• Consultative Partnership: Work alongside product teams as the AI expert in the room, helping them make good technical decisions rather than building everything for them


• Innovation & Continuous Improvement: Proactively identify areas for technical, process, and product improvement, helping the team raise the bar and influencing technical direction and long‑term strategy

Who You Are

• You have 3+ years of full-stack software engineering experience; agentic AI experience is a plus


• You have led the development of significant components or features, delivering them successfully with minimal oversight


• You can move between exploration and production, knowing when a rough spike is the right answer and when something needs to be built to last


• You have strong judgment about emerging technology, and can evaluate what’s genuinely useful versus what’s currently loud


• You mentor junior engineers, sharing expertise and fostering the growth and skill development of the entire team


• You proactively drive enhancements and lead initiatives to enhance code quality, optimize performance, and streamline development processes


• You’re a lifelong learner, curious about new frameworks, best practices, and emerging technologies


• You thrive in fast-paced, dynamic environments and are comfortable navigating ambiguity and change


• You’re a collaborative team player, eager to pitch in, ask questions, and provide and receive feedback


• You take ownership end‑to‑end, solving problems creatively and proactively, while keeping the customer and business impact front‑of‑mind

It’s a bonus (but not required) if you

• Have worked in startups or high‑growth tech companies


• Have hands‑on experience building with LLMs, including self‑hosting or serving open models, retrieval systems, evaluation, or agentic workflows


• Have built platform or shared services used by other engineering teams


• Have experience with JavaScript – we primarily use TypeScript, React, and Node.js


• Have working knowledge of AWS services (ECS, S3, RDS, Dynamo, Lambda) and continuous deployment pipelines

Our Tech Stack

• Front‑end: React, Typescript, React Native


• Back‑end: Node.js, Typescript, Terraform, AWS (DynamoDB, RDS Postgres, Lambda, S3, SQS, SNS, SES, ElasticSearch, ECS)


• Tools: Cursor, Claude, GitHub, GitHub Actions, Datadog, Jira, Metabase

The Interview Process

• Stage 1: A 30‑minute Google Meet video call with a member of the Talent team


• Stage 2: A 60‑minute Google Meet video call with two Engineering Managers


• Stage 3: A 60‑minute live coding exercise with two members of the Engineering team


• Stage 4: A take‑home system design challenge, followed by a 60‑minute Google Meet video call review with two members of the Engineering team


• Stage 5: A 45‑minute in‑person interview with a member of the Leadership team

Our Compensation Approach

We believe Relayers should feel rewarded for the impact they have on our mission and growth. Compensation follows impact. As impact increases, compensation grows, and we do not limit compensation changes to a once‑a‑year review cycle.

The annual salary range for this role is $144,000 CAD to $176,000 CAD. For candidates who demonstrate full readiness for the defined scope of the role, the typical starting salary is $160,000 CAD. Offers below this point reflect candidates we believe can grow into the full scope of the role with support and development. Offers above this point reflect impact that meaningfully exceeds the role’s defined expectations or an expanded scope from day one. We encourage you to have a conversation with your recruiter and ask questions about compensation throughout the hiring process. For more information on our compensation philosophy and perks and benefits, visit our Candidate Hub.

Why Relay Might Be the Perfect Fit For You

You push relentlessly for reinvention: You're always asking \"how can this be better?\" -- in your work, in your craft, in yourself. Comfort is a signal to push harder, not coast. You’d rather build something better than defend something familiar.

You crave autonomy: We trust our team with big challenges and the freedom to solve them. If you’re someone who takes initiative, is comfortable taking risks, and seeks input when needed, you’ll find the freedom here empowering.

You own your work: You take pride in your work, follow through on commitments, and feel a deep sense of responsibility for outcomes, not just tasks.

You build with AI, not just use it: You're actively embedding AI into how you work, pushing what's possible, and bringing your team along with you.

You care about impact, not noise: You care deeply about the substance of your work. You measure success by results, not recognition, and you let your work speak for itself. You’re energized by complexity and ambiguity: You enjoy tackling problems that don’t come with a playbook. You’re comfortable building from scratch, iterating as you go, and collaborating to shape the best path forward.

You seek out feedback: You see directness as respect, not criticism. You actively seek input, sit with hard truths, and use feedback as fuel for improvement.

Small businesses are why we're here: Relay exists to help them thrive -- and that mission has to resonate with you.

Join Us

We’re looking for people who are relentless, curious, and care deeply about the work. You're encouraged to apply even if your experience doesn't perfectly match the job description -- your perspective and drive matter more. We welcome diverse backgrounds and people who think critically, challenge the status‑quo, and want to help small businesses thrive. If you require accommodations at any stage of the hiring process, please reach out to your Talent Partner.

Disclaimer: For compliance reasons, all offers of employment at Relay are conditional upon a successful background check and employment verification through Certn.