Team Lead, Software Development

Quarterhill Inc.; Saskatoon; On-site; CAD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Vacation days

Health plan

Dental plan

Retirement plan

EFAP (Employee Assistance Program)

Employee referral program

Job summary

Quarterhill Inc. is seeking an experienced Software Development Lead to guide multiple projects through design, implementation, testing, and delivery. You will balance hands‑on technical leadership with delivery coordination to meet product requirements and timelines.

You will mentor developers, drive code quality, and collaborate with QA, DevOps, and management to ensure reliable releases. A strong background in Agile, system design, and risk management is essential for success in this role.

Qualifications

• A degree or diploma in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5–8 years of professional software development experience, with demonstrated experience leading developers or coordinating delivery.
• Strong experience performing code reviews and improving software quality.
• Understanding of software design principles, debugging, integration, testing, release practices, and production support.
• Experience breaking down complex requirements into clear tasks, estimates, and implementation plans.
• Experience in Agile environments with sprint planning, backlog refinement, standups, and delivery tracking.
• Ability to identify technical risks, blockers, dependencies, and quality concerns early.
• Strong communication skills to explain technical topics to diverse stakeholders.
• Strong organizational skills to manage competing priorities and timelines.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day software development activities for assigned projects or product areas.
• Provide technical guidance during design, implementation, debugging, integration, testing, and release activities.
• Perform regular code reviews to ensure quality, readability, and security.
• Break down requirements and designs into development tasks, plans, estimates, and milestones.
• Step in as an individual contributor when needed to cover capacity gaps.
• Support sprint planning, backlog refinement, and delivery tracking.
• Monitor progress, identify blockers, manage dependencies, and elevate risks.
• Track metrics like velocity and cycle time to drive improvements.
• Collaborate with QA to ensure testable requirements and timely fixes.
• Support release readiness with proper tracking of tasks, reviews, testing evidence, and risks.
• Contribute to CI/CD, documentation, and team execution improvements.
• Mentor developers through 1:1s, pair programming, and feedback.

Skills

Communication

Code reviews

Agile

Requirements breakdown

Risk identification

Organization

Leadership/mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

CI/CD

AWS

GCP

Azure

Job description

Overview

The Software Development Lead is responsible for leading software development activities across assigned projects, products, or feature areas. This role combines hands‑on technical leadership with delivery coordination, ensuring that software is designed, implemented, reviewed, tested, and delivered according to product requirements, engineering standards, and project timelines. The Software Development Lead works closely with developers, QA, DevOps, Engineering Management, and other stakeholders to guide implementation, remove blockers, support code quality, and keep delivery moving.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day software development activities for assigned projects, features, or product areas.
• Provide technical guidance to developers during design, implementation, debugging, integration, testing, and release activities.
• Perform regular code reviews to ensure code quality, readability, maintainability, performance, security, and adherence to development standards.
• Break down requirements and designs into clear development tasks, implementation plans, estimates, and delivery milestones.
• Step in as an individual contributor when the team faces capacity gaps or technical blockers.
• Support sprint planning, backlog refinement, estimation, standups, retrospectives, and delivery tracking.
• Monitor development progress, identify blockers, manage dependencies, and elevate risks that impact timelines, scope, or quality.
• Track and act on key development metrics such as velocity, cycle time, defect rate, and deployment frequency to drive continuous improvement.
• Work closely with QA to ensure requirements are testable, defects are clearly understood, and fixes are delivered in a timely manner.
• Support release readiness by confirming that development tasks, code reviews, testing evidence, documentation, defects, and known risks are properly tracked.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of software development practices, code review processes, CI/CD workflows, documentation, and team execution.
• Mentor and coach developers at varying skill levels through regular 1:1s, pair programming, and constructive feedback.
• Foster a collaborative environment where developers take ownership, ask questions, and continue to grow.
• Support hiring by participating in technical interviews and defining role requirements.
• Collaborate with Product, Engineering, QA, DevOps, Support, and other stakeholders to communicate status, risks, technical concerns, and delivery progress.
• Translate business requirements into clear technical scope and realistic delivery timelines.
• Communicate trade‑offs and technical considerations effectively to both technical and non‑technical audiences.

This list of responsibilities might not cover everything you'll end up doing.

Qualifications

• Degree or diploma in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5–8 years of professional software development experience, with demonstrated experience leading developers, acting as a technical lead, or coordinating software delivery activities.
• Strong experience performing code reviews and improving software quality, maintainability, and consistency.
• Strong understanding of software design principles, debugging, integration, testing, release practices, and production support.
• Experience breaking down complex requirements into clear development tasks, estimates, and implementation plans.
• Experience working in Agile development environments, including sprint planning, backlog refinement, standups, retrospectives, and delivery tracking.
• Ability to identify technical risks, delivery blockers, dependencies, and quality concerns early.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain technical topics clearly to developers, QA, managers, and stakeholders.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities, timelines, risks, and dependencies.

Preferred Qualifications

• Embedded Systems / Firmware – low‑level software development in C for embedded or hardware‑integrated applications.
• Web Application Development – TypeScript/JavaScript, Node.js, Vue.js; full‑stack development covering both frontend and backend systems.
• Cloud Deployments – designing, deploying, and operating cloud‑based applications and services (AWS, GCP, or Azure).

Benefits

• Paid days off (vacation, sick days, bereavement leave)
• Health and Dental plans
• Retirement plans
• Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP)
• Employee referral program

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, or disability or any other protected characteristics in accordance with applicable federal, state/provincial, and local laws. We’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and respected.