Intermediate Software Developer

We’re building a tech ecosystem that’s proudly local, globally ambitious and powered by community.

Since 1997, Communitech has brought community and tech together to build Canada’s most vibrant innovation ecosystem. We connect local startups and scale-ups to the support they need to grow, compete and lead.

Today, that means helping trusted AI solutions reach the market, turning bold ideas into valuable IP, expanding peer and advisory networks for founders, and uniting voices through the Waterloo Tech Coalition to take on the issues that matter most.

Our goal is to keep Waterloo Region the most connected, collaborative, and resilient tech hub in the country.

We’re looking to grow our team with passionate people – people who believe in our mission and who are willing to do what it takes to help our founders succeed. If you like to work collaboratively, get s#!t done and be a champion for Canadian tech, we want to hear from you. Wonder what it’s like to work at Communitech? Learn more at https://www.communitech.ca/corporate-stuff/careers/.

Communitech is based in downtown Kitchener, Ontario. We work in-office five days a week because great things happen when we're together — creating space for deeper collaboration and stronger relationships with each other and the ecosystem we support.

About The Role:

You will own the ElevateIP platform end-to-end: the application that startups, innovators, IP experts, service providers, and regional partners rely on. As the primary technical owner of a mature production system, you'll be responsible for everything from architecture and feature development to keeping the platform running in production.

This is a high-ceiling role, and we're open to high-growth talent over years on a résumé. That's possible because this role runs on AI-augmented, agentic development: orchestrating AI coding agents lets one engineer cover a scope that traditionally required a team. We care more about fundamentals, growth capacity, and fluency with agentic development than about a specific length of experience.

The codebase is already structured for agentic work; agent-readable context files (architecture conventions, state-management discipline, anti-pattern guards) live in the repo, so you inherit an AI-ready environment, not a black box.

What You'll Own:

Architecture & Application Development

• Technical ownership of the ElevateIP platform: system design, major decisions, and their rationale
• Full-stack feature development (React / TypeScript frontend, NestJS backend)
• Extending a mature codebase with established patterns
• UI/UX iteration through to backend performance

AI-Augmented / Agentic Development

• Drive day-to-day delivery through agentic coding tools (Claude Code, Codex CLI, or equivalent): multi-step implementation, refactors, and bug resolution
• Maintain and extend the repo's agent-context layer so AI tools produce reliable, convention-compliant output
• Own the correctness, security, and architectural fit of all work, regardless of how the code was produced
• Supply the operational and organizational context agents can't access

Platform & Infrastructure

• Cloud infrastructure ownership: AWS (Fargate, CDK, ECR, Route53), deployment configuration, scaling, cost management
• CI/CD pipeline (GitHub Actions); secrets management, monitoring, alerting, incident response
• Runtime operations: you keep the platform running

Quality, Security & Integrations

• Test suite and testing discipline
• Authentication and security posture
• Integration maintenance (automation triggers, email systems)

Stakeholder & Partner-Facing Work

• Work directly with partner organizations' technical teams, representing Communitech in technical discussions
• Lead technical readiness for the reopening of the application window on the portal to kick off the new renewed program, ensuring platform stability and performance during peak intake.
• Partner with regional and internal stakeholders on platform needs

What We're Looking For:

Engineering Fundamentals

• Strong fundamentals: data structures, system thinking, debugging instinct, clean code sense
• Working proficiency in React + TypeScript and a backend framework (Node.js / NestJS or readily transferable)
• Cloud and infrastructure exposure with the appetite to own it: expert-level isn't required on day one, but fast ramp and willingness to own production are
• Solid testing and documentation habits

AI-Augmented Development

• Demonstrated ability to ship real work with agentic coding tools (Claude Code, Codex CLI, or equivalent): scoping, driving, and reviewing multi-step agent work, not just autocomplete
• Context engineering: structuring repos and writing agent-context files for reliable AI output
• Sound judgment on AI output: knowing when it's right, where it breaks, and what context it's missing; velocity with review discipline

Growth Capacity

• Exceptional learning velocity: you close knowledge gaps fast and turn new domains into working competence quickly
• Hungry for ownership and a high ceiling: this role grows into full platform stewardship for the right person

Nice To Have

• Prior experience as a sole or lead technical owner of a platform
• Authentication / security hardening experience
• Experience supporting high-load periodic events (application rounds, seasonal traffic)
• Familiarity with the startup / innovation-ecosystem domain (founders, accelerators, regional partners)
• Experience establishing AI-augmented workflow conventions on a team (agent-context files, review norms for AI-generated code)

Is This You?

• You'd rather own a whole platform than be one engineer on a large team. Autonomy energizes you.
• You already work AI-augmented and wouldn't go back — agents are how you move fast, and you have the judgment to keep them honest.
• You may be early in your career by years but not by capability, and you're looking for the role that lets you prove it.
• You can sit across from a partner's senior engineers and hold your own — credible, clear, and accountable.

Compensation

The annual base salary range is $85,000-$100,000. The actual compensation will be based on various factors, including the candidate’s level of skills, experience and education as well as the needs of the role, budget and market.

This is a contract, full-time position to March 31, 2027, with the possibility of extension until March 31, 2030.

To Apply

Please apply online along with your resume and cover letter.

We thank all applicants in advance; however only individuals selected for an interview will be contacted. All applications will be kept confidential. Communitech is a diverse and inclusive environment and encourages applications from all qualified candidates, including aboriginal persons, francophones, members of sexual minority groups, persons with disabilities, visible minorities, and women. We will provide any requested accommodation to candidates with disabilities throughout the recruitment process.

In compliance with Ontario’s Bill 190, we confirm that this posting represents a current, existing vacancy within our organization.

Please note that ADP’s platform uses artificial intelligence (AI) to generate an applicant’s Candidate or Profile Relevance score. This is one of many factors that will be reviewed in making interview decisions, and all applications will be reviewed by a human. Scores do not affect the visibility of an application and applicants may opt-out when applying.