Senior Java Tech Lead Jobs in Kitchener, ON (NOW HIRING)

We are seeking an Engineering Manager who is passionate about delivering meaningful outcomes and enabling teams to build high-quality, scalable solutions. This role combines people leadership with technical guidance and is ideal for someone who enjoys supporting engineers while contributing to delivery and design decisions. The successful candidate will lead with empathy, foster collaboration, and provide technical direction across the software development lifecycle. You will help create an environment where individuals can grow, contribute, and deliver impactful results.

Position Responsibilities:

People Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, and support a team of full-stack engineers, fostering an inclusive, collaborative, and respectful team environment.

• Support employee growth through regular feedback, development planning, and career progression opportunities.

• Contribute to building diverse, high-performing teams through inclusive hiring and talent development practices.

• Create a team culture that encourages innovation, learning, and accountability.

Technical Leadership & Delivery

• Provide technical leadership across the software development lifecycle, including design, development, testing, deployment, and support.

• Contribute to architectural decisions, technical design reviews, and solution quality.

• Guide the team in building scalable, resilient, and maintainable applications using modern full-stack and cloud-enabled approaches.

• Support informed decision-making by evaluating trade-offs, risks, and technical options.

• Ensure solutions align with organizational architecture, security, and compliance standards.

Delivery & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Lead delivery of complex initiatives, ensuring alignment with customer, business, and technology objectives.

• Collaborate with cross-functional partners including Product, Architecture, Cybersecurity, and Operations teams.

• Support Agile practices to improve planning, predictability, and delivery outcomes.

• Use delivery and engineering metrics to continuously improve team effectiveness, quality, and throughput.

• Maintain oversight of application health, lifecycle management, and production support activities.

• Promote operational excellence, including reliability, monitoring, and issue resolution practices.

Required Qualifications:

• 7+ years of experience in software engineering, including experience designing and delivering enterprise applications.

• Demonstrated experience leading or mentoring engineering teams.

• Hands-on experience with modern application development using one or more of the following:

• Java or Kotlin (Spring Boot),Python, C# / .NET, TypeScript, React, Node.js

• Experience with software development lifecycle (SDLC) tools such as GitHub, Jira, Confluence, Jenkins, Maven, Snyk, SonarQube, or similar platforms.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in a combined people leadership and hands-on technical role (e.g., Engineering Manager, Tech Lead Manager).

• Experience working in regulated or enterprise environments (e.g., financial services, banking).

• Experience with cloud-based development, automation, CI/CD, and platform modernization.

• Familiarity with AI-enabled tools or practices that support engineering productivity or quality.

• Demonstrated commitment to mentoring and developing engineering talent

When you join our team:

• We'll empower you to learn and grow the career you want.

• We'll recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well-being and inclusion are more than just words.

• As part of our global team, we'll support you in shaping the future you want to see.

The role being advertised is an existing vacancy.

About Manulife and John Hancock

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. To learn more about us, visit https://www.manulife.com/en/about/our-story.html.

Manulife is an Equal Opportunity Employer

At Manulife/John Hancock, we embrace our diversity. We strive to attract, develop and retain a workforce that is as diverse as the customers we serve and to foster an inclusive work environment that embraces the strength of cultures and individuals. We are committed to fair recruitment, retention, advancement and compensation, and we administer all of our practices and programs without discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion or religious beliefs, creed, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions), sexual orientation, genetic characteristics, veteran status, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability, or any other ground protected by applicable law.

It is our priority to remove barriers to provide equal access to employment. A Human Resources representative will work with applicants who request a reasonable accommodation during the application process. All information shared during the accommodation request process will be stored and used in a manner that is consistent with applicable laws and Manulife/John Hancock policies. To request a reasonable accommodation in the application process, contact hr@manulife.com.

Referenced Salary Location

Salary range is expected to be between

Employees also have the opportunity to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance. The actual salary will vary depending on local market conditions, geography and relevant job-related factors such as knowledge, skills, qualifications, experience, and education/training. If you are applying for this role outside of the primary location, please contact hr@manulife.com for the salary range for your location.

Manulife offers eligible employees a wide array of customizable benefits, including health, dental, mental health, vision, short- and long-term disability, life and AD&D insurance coverage, adoption/surrogacy and wellness benefits, and employee/family assistance plans. We also offer eligible employees various retirement savings plans (including pension and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions) and financial education and counseling resources. Our generous paid time off program in Canada includes holidays, vacation, personal, and sick days, and we offer the full range of statutory leaves of absence. If you are applying for this role in the U.S., please contact hr@manulife.com for more information about U.S.-specific paid time off provisions.

We use data and analytics technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and automated processing tools, to analyze and process the information you provide to us or third parties in the application process. For more information, please refer to our personal information collection statement.