The role / impact

You will step into a foundational leadership position designed to spearhead a cultural renewal and drive a pivotal technological transition for a distributed engineering team. As the founding leader for our new Vancouver hub, you will guide a talented group of engineers, moving away from isolated work streams towards a predictable, well-planned delivery cadence. Your focus will be on improving team planning, estimation, and communication, ensuring the technical roadmap is executed smoothly while maintaining high quality.

Your technical impact will center on supporting a company-wide transition from legacy Microsoft SQL Server environment to modern, open-source solutions. You will take ownership of building internal compliance and observability tools that empower product teams across the business to independently manage and operate their databases. By shielding your team from external pressures and resolving critical dependencies, you will create an environment where engineering excellence can thrive at scale.

The team / how they connect

The team consists of nine engineers, including one lead, five senior engineers, and three regular developers who collaborate across different disciplines. While some team members focus on database administration and consulting, others drive the design and development of our core tooling platforms. Operating across the United States and Canada, the team maintains a West Coast time zone alignment to collaborate smoothly without working unusual hours.

The team is currently working on / Initially, you will focus on

• Supporting the Migrating core services away from legacy Microsoft SQL Server technologies over to Aurora Postgres and DynamoDB.
• Constructing and scaling internal compliance and observability tools to enable decentralized database ownership for product teams.
• Utilising AI technologies to gather and surface intelligent insights to product teams to allow them to confidently own and evolve their databases"
• Establishing fresh team processes, refining sprint estimation, and establishing a unified, collaborative culture following recent turnover.

Where and how you can work

This position is based out of our brand-new Vancouver hub, offering a flexible hybrid working environment. You will spend dedicated boost days in the office collaborating face-to-face with local team members, while enjoying the flexibility to work from home on remaining days. Our core working hours align with West Coast time zones to ensure healthy collaboration with our North American and New Zealand counterparts without compromising on work-life balance.

Here are some of the things we are looking for

• You bring a strong background in systems design and scaling, ideally gained within high-scale cloud, platform, or monitoring organizations.
• An aptitude for AI tooling and a passion for staying ahead of modern technological trends comes naturally to you.
• Your inclusive leadership style allows you to listen to, learn from, and build alongside a senior team before introducing major changes.
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills help you clear roadblocks, manage external pressures, and communicate delivery timelines predictably.
• You possess proven technical depth, allowing you to confidently audit complex technical work and maintain system health without micromanaging.
• A proactive approach to delivery planning helps you bring structure, better estimation practices, and alignment to distributed engineering groups.

Apply even if your experience isn't a perfect match! At Xero, we hire based on your skills, passion, and the unique perspective you can bring to enhance our culture and team.

At Xero, we value the impact and skills you bring to the team. We believe in a Total Package philosophy - ensuring your value is recognized through a holistic lens that includes base salary, performance incentives, and world-class benefits.

The expected base salary range for this role is $188,000 - $236,000 CAD.

Individual pay is determined by various factors, including geography, level of experience, and the specific skills you bring to the role.

In addition to base pay, Xero's roles are eligible for the following forms of variable compensation:

• Variable Pay: Permanent employees are eligible to participate in our annual bonus and equity (RSU) programs. You may also be eligible for performance-based cash or equity (RSUs) incentives depending on your role level, and company performance.
• Comprehensive Benefits: World-class health, wellness, and retirement programs. Xero Perks including Wellbeing days, generous leave, and dedicated professional development budgets.

This is a posting for an existing vacancy.