Location: REMOTE / Winnipeg, Manitoba

This job allows you to work remotely.

Founding Engineer / Head of Engineering

Location: Canada (remote possible, preference for candidates open to occasional in-person collaboration)

About the Company

This is a stealth-stage healthtech startup turning peer-reviewed clinical research into a SaaS platform classified as a Software as a Medical Device (SaMD). The core product uses clinically validated AI to transform routine lab data into predictive risk scores for chronic disease. The company was founded by a globally recognized physician-researcher and is backed by strategic partnerships with major diagnostic labs and pharmaceutical companies.

In the past year the company has secured European regulatory approval for its lead algorithm, entered a strategic collaboration to embed predictive analytics directly into clinical workflows, and closed a successful fundraise to accelerate hiring. This is a rare opportunity to join at the ground floor and shape the technical foundation of a company operating at the intersection of AI, regulatory science, and patient care.

About the Role

The company is hiring its Founding Engineer / Head of Engineering: equal parts technical architect and hands-on builder. In the near term, you will productionize state-of-the-art medical algorithmic pipelines into a reliable, auditable, and scalable platform. Over time, you will architect the systems, processes, and team needed to operate at the pace and rigor that regulated healthcare environments demand.

This role reports directly to the CEO. You will write production code, make architectural decisions, lay the foundations for the future engineering team, and personally own delivery from day one. The Founding Engineer will play a defining role in shaping the platform, engineering culture, and delivery practices for years to come.

The right person has done this before in some form: taken a research-heavy or analytically complex product and made it production-grade, in an environment where quality and compliance were non-negotiable. They are as comfortable reviewing a pull request as they are in a product strategy conversation.

Responsibilities

Design and build the initial production version of the platform

Productionize analytical and research workflows into robust, reproducible systems

Make pragmatic architectural decisions balancing speed, quality, and regulatory risk

Design and operate integrations with external systems (labs, vendor APIs)

Design and maintain production infrastructure using Infrastructure as Code

Build secure, multi-tenant systems with appropriate access controls and data segregation

Serve as the primary technical leader and decision-maker

Collaborate closely with the data science team to ensure accuracy and reliability of results

Communicate timelines, risks, and tradeoffs clearly to non-technical peers and stakeholders

Establish engineering standards, documentation practices, and delivery processes

Hire, onboard, and mentor engineers as the team grows

Define the early engineering culture and working practices, including regulatory readiness

Must Have Skills:

Requirements

10+ years of professional software engineering experience

Experience as a senior or lead engineer owning production systems

Demonstrated experience productionizing analytical or research-driven workflows

Experience designing systems in regulated or risk-sensitive environments

Strong understanding of cloud infrastructure and modern deployment practices

Hands-on experience with Infrastructure as Code

Proven ability to operate independently and own outcomes end-to-end

Preferred Qualifications

Experience working with or supporting data science teams, translating research outputs into production-grade systems

Direct experience in healthcare, life sciences, or other regulated domains (IEC 62304 / SaMD experience is a strong asset)

Experience building multi-tenant or role-based SaaS platforms

Prior experience as a first or early engineering hire

Experience hiring and building engineering teams

Competencies

Strong technical judgment under ambiguity and time pressure

Ability to balance urgency with long-term sustainability

Delivers production-ready systems under aggressive timelines

Maintains quality without over-engineering

Demonstrates ownership, accountability, and follow-through

Communicates clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders

Builds trust through transparency and consistency

Willingness to design and follow appropriate, compliant processes

Leads by example and invests in long-term team health

Nice to Have Skills:

Previous production grade AI software development experience.