Staff Software Engineer

American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD); Ottawa; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Versaterm, a long‑time player in public safety software, seeks a Staff Software Engineer focused on Android to guide the team from concept through release. You’ll mentor engineers, shape architecture, and own mobile app quality across diverse devices, including offline-first capabilities and backend REST integrations.

Expertise in Kotlin, Android Jetpack, and CI/CD, plus experience with AI tooling and hardware peripherals, are highly valued.

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field, or equivalent industry experience.
• Minimum of 8 years of Android development experience with technical leadership.
• Proven collaboration and problem-decomposition skills.
• Passion for reducing friction and pursuing simplicity.
• Proficiency in Kotlin with Jetpack libraries (CameraX, Compose).
• Familiarity with asynchronous/reactive programming (Flows, RxJava).
• Experience with Firebase (Cloud Messaging, Crashlytics).
• Experience with GitHub or GitLab for CI/CD workflows.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic guidance and mentorship to Android engineers, fostering innovation and code quality.
• Lead design and architecture of complex Android apps ensuring scalability and performance.
• Implement and utilize robotics to assist the public safety mission, from drones to body-worn cameras.
• Collaborate with internal/external partners to align technical solutions with business goals.
• Integrate with backend REST services while maintaining offline-first capabilities.
• Adapt to diverse hardware configurations from phones to headless SBCs.
• Stay current with Android platform changes and dependency upgrades.
• Oversee CI/CD pipelines and release processes to drive automation improvements.
• Document app architecture and engineering decisions clearly.

Skills

Android development

Team leadership

Kotlin

Jetpack Compose

Offline-first architecture

REST integration

CI/CD

Android performance tuning

Communication with stakeholders

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS or related field

Tools

GitHub

GitLab

Firebase

Job description

The Company Versaterm is a PE-backed, high-growth SaaS company building a fully integrated platform across the entire public safety ecosystem — dispatch, law enforcement, forensics, courts, and beyond . We've grown through strategic acquisitions and deep product investment. What connects all of it is a single purpose: give public safety agencies the tools and insights to make better decisions in high-stakes moments. When a 911 call is answered, a detective investigates a case, or a forensic lab processes evidence, there's a good chance our software is working behind the scenes. That's been true for over four decades. AI is central to where we're going. Not as a feature but as core infrastructure. We're embedding intelligence directly into the workflows our customers rely on every day, and we're doing it alongside them. Our customers tell us what the mission demands. We build what answers it. This work attracts a specific kind of person — someone who wants to be pushed by great people, build things that outlast a sprint cycle, and go home knowing the work connected back to something real.

The Role

The Staff Software Engineer specializes in mobile app development and is responsible for driving the team’s technical direction, fostering innovation, and ensuring the highest quality in our development lifecycle. They bring a blend of deep Android expertise, strategic architectural vision, and strong leadership abilities to guide our engineering team toward excellence, from concept through release.

What You Do

• Provide strategic guidance and mentorship to Android engineers, fostering a culture of innovation, code quality, and technical excellence.
• Lead the design and architecture of complex Android apps, ensuring scalability, reliability, and overall performance.
• Implement and utilize robotics to assist the public safety mission, from airborne drones to body-worn cameras.
• Work closely with internal and external partners to align technical solutions with business objectives.
• Integrate with backend services provided through REST, WebRTC, and others while maintaining offline-first capabilities.
• Accommodate a variety of different hardware configurations, from ordinary smartphones to headless single-board computers.
• Stay current with Android platform changes, dependency upgrades, and emerging app technologies.
• Oversee CI/CD pipelines and release processes, driving continuous iteration of automation, tools and practices.
• Ensure comprehensive documentation of app architecture, engineering decisions, and development standards.

What You Bring

Required Qualifications:

• Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent industry experience and training.
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in Android development, including experience leading or acting as a technical lead for a team.
• Proven track record of collaboration amongst team members with a focus problem decomposition.
• Passion for reducing customer and engineering friction and eagerness to chase simplicity.
• Proficiency in Kotlin with experience in Jetpack libraries such as CameraX and Compose.
• Solid understanding of asynchronous and reactive programming such as Flows or RxJava.
• Familiarity with the Firebase platform such as Cloud Messaging and Crashlytics.
• Exposure to integrated project management and CI/CD tools such as GitHub or GitLab.
• Ability to articulate technical concepts to a variety of technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Additional Qualifications:

• Experience with connected hardware or peripherals such as IoT devices or retail terminals.
• Understanding of online mapping technologies such as ArcGIS or Mapbox.
• Familiarity with networking technologies such as MQTT and WebRTC.
• Experience leading or working on a geographically dispersed engineering team.
• Knowledge of adjacent platform capabilities and limitations such as Fire OS and iOS.
• FAA or Transport Canada remote pilot certification with flight experience.
• Hands-on time leveraging AI tooling in development workflows.

Note: T his position requires a security clearance from the Government of Canada. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in Canada and must successfully obtain and maintain a Reliability security clearance. Please note that specific customer contracts may impose additional security verification requirements. Obtaining and maintaining all required security clearances is a condition of employment. For more information on the Government of Canada's security screening process, please visit Public Services and Procurement Canada .

Versaterm is committed to fair and equitable compensation that is competitive, consistent, and aligned with the value each role contributes to our organization. The starting salary for this position will be dependent upon many factors, such as the successful candidate’s skills, experience, education, training as well as internal equity, market data, and business needs. In addition to base salary and our comprehensive benefits offering, some roles may also be eligible for variable compensation such as incentive plans or discretionary performance bonuses.

AI is central to how Versaterm builds and delivers solutions for our customers. Within Talent Acquisition, we use AI-enabled tools to support certain aspects of the recruitment process, helping our team work more efficiently and spend more time connecting with great talent. AI supports our work, but all hiring and employment decisions are made by people.

Versaterm is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to equity, diversity, inclusion, and a barrier-free workplace. Accommodations are available upon request throughout all stages of the recruitment process and apply to the terms and conditions of employment. For more information, please contact [e-mail] .