Senior R&D Software Developer Jobs in Ottawa, ON

Location: Ottawa, ON | Hybrid
Department: R&D
Reports To: Xiaokun Xu, Application Team Lead (Linkedin)
Type: Permanent | Full-Time

At Solink, our mission is to safeguard what matters most. We provide businesses with the tools to know sooner and act faster by transforming video security into real-time operational insights.

Our cloud-based platform integrates seamlessly with your existing cameras and systems, turning them into intelligent sensors that detect and interpret key moments. This empowers teams to make data-driven decisions, enhance security, and improve operational efficiency.

Trusted by over 30,000 locations across 32+ countries - including brands like McDonald’s and JYSK - Solink delivers clarity when it counts. Our solutions help businesses reduce shrink, optimize performance, and respond proactively to potential threats.

We're growing rapidly, earning industry recognition, and scaling with purpose. We’ve been recognized by Deloitte’s Fast 50™ and Fast 500™, Business Intelligence Group, and as one of Ottawa’s Best Places to Work. And we’re just getting started!

The Core Applications team owns what our customers interact with every day — the web app and the mobile app. Our web application has been running in production for over a decade, trusted by thousands of operators across countries. This isn't a greenfield role; it's a stewardship role. We're looking for a Senior Software Developer who takes genuine pride in the quality, reliability, and feel of software that people actually depend on. You'll work across a React/TypeScript web app and a React Native mobile app owning features end-to-end from design through delivery. You build APIs, ship UI, write tests, monitor production, and come back the next day looking for what to improve next. You care about the craft: clean code, thoughtful API design, smooth UI, and a codebase future teammates will thank you for. You're also AI-native. You use AI tools as a force multiplier — writing code faster, debugging smarter, reviewing more thoroughly — and you bring that mindset into everything you do.

• Build and improve features across the web (React/TypeScript) and mobile (React Native/Expo) applications — constantly raising the bar on what "good" looks like for our customers

• Own features end-to-end — collaborate with product and design, design and implement APIs, write the code, write the tests, ship it, monitor it

• Drive meaningful improvements to stability, performance, and UX — identifying and eliminating pain points proactively, not just reactively

• Design and build APIs in NestJS/TypeScript that power rich, responsive experiences across web and mobile

• Leverage AI tools to move faster and write better code — you treat AI assistants as a core part of your workflow for coding, debugging, code review, and research

• Raise the bar on code quality through thoughtful code reviews, targeted refactoring, and knowledge sharing

• Triage and resolve bugs with urgency and care, minimizing customer impact

• Contribute to technical decisions on architecture, tooling, and patterns within the applications team

• Mentor and support teammates — share what you know and lift the team

Must-Have:

• Strong production TypeScript and React experience — ideally with long tenure on a single mature product, not just a series of greenfields

• Hands-on React Native experience — you understand the differences between web and native rendering

• Full-stack ownership: comfortable designing REST APIs (NestJS is a bonus), working with PostgreSQL and Redis, and tracing issues across the stack

• Track record on a mature, customer-facing product — you know how to improve something trusted by thousands of customers without breaking it

• You take pride in the work — clean code, good tests, thoughtful naming, and UX that feels right matter to you

• You treat improvement as a continuous obligation: refactoring with purpose, reducing tech debt, and leaving things better than you found them

• You understand that a decade-old production codebase is a feature, not a burden — complexity has history, and you have the patience and curiosity to understand it before changing it

• You actively use AI tools — Copilot, Claude, or equivalent — to accelerate your work, and you're constantly looking for more leverage from them

• Solid understanding of REST APIs and how frontend and backend systems interact — you're comfortable owning both sides

• Awareness of performance trade-offs in web and mobile contexts — you know when something will feel slow before it ships

• Ability to trace bugs across layers (UI → API → DB) and communicate clearly about root causes

• Strong opinions, held loosely — you bring perspective to technical discussions and remain open to better ideas

• Product instinct: you ask 'is this the right thing to build?' before diving into implementation, and you engage with product and design as a true partner

• Clear communicator — your PR descriptions, Jira comments, and Slack messages make sense to both engineers and non-engineers

• Comfortable with ambiguity and large surface area — you can self-direct, prioritize, and ask the right clarifying questions without hand-holding

• You move with urgency when it matters and with care when it counts

Nice-to-Have:

• Experience with video streaming, security camera systems, or POS/retail tech

• Familiarity with automated testing in React and React Native (Jest, Detox, Playwright, or similar)

• Exposure to mobile CI/CD and App Store / Play Store release pipelines

• Experience building or integrating AI-powered features and LLM capabilities into user-facing products

• NestJS or other Node.js backend framework experience

• Candidates must undergo a criminal records check upon hire;

• Be a Canadian Citizen (dual citizens included), or eligible to work in Canada;

• Be willing to comply with Solink’s own security policies and standards.

We do things the Solink way:

• Act with URGENCY – Our customers move fast, so we do too.

• Deliver with QUALITY – We sweat the details and hold a high bar.

• Win with TEAM – No egos. Just outcomes, built together.

• Lead with TRUST – We earn it through clarity, consistency, and care.
  

These aren’t just words—they shape how we hire, lead, and grow.

We’re not just building tech - we’re building a place where great people do great work.

• Clarity and trust: Where the role allows, we support flexibility in how and where work gets done - and we’re upfront about what’s required.

• Meaningful equity: Every full-time, permanent employee has a stake in our growth.

• Comprehensive benefits: Fully paid health & dental (no waiting period) + $500 health spending account.

• Wellness support: Monthly reimbursement for fitness, wellness, or mental health programs.

• Growth through merit: Advancement is based on contribution, initiative, and the ability to raise the bar - together.

• Candid culture: Clear expectations, honest feedback, and no politics.

• Social connection: From So-learns to Solink-o and So-lunches, we stay connected in ways that actually feel fun.

We respect your time and value transparency. Here’s a general idea of what to expect:

1. Intro call with our Talent Team

2. Interview with the Hiring Manager

3. Technical Panel Interview

4. Final Interview with our CTO

5. Reference Checks

6. Offer & onboarding 🎉

Submit your resume and a short cover letter via our [Careers Page]. Let us know what excites you about this role, and how you’d help move Solink forward.

Compensation Range: CA$115K - CA$155K