Director of Software Engineering

As Director of Software Development, you’ll be responsible for leading and scaling a high-performing development team while empowering our technical leaders to focus on product innovation and delivery. This role is 80% people and organizational leadership, and 20% technical contribution — reviewing code, mentoring, and maintaining technical depth, with the ability to jump in and be hands-on when needed.

Reporting directly to our VP of Software Development, you’ll manage team leads across our emerging products and core systems, ensuring that our developers are productive, our products are high quality, and our organization continues to scale effectively. This is a highly visible leadership role where you’ll collaborate closely with product, design, and other cross-functional teams, while also serving as a mentor to emerging leaders within the company.

Key Responsibilities ✨

• Lead, coach, and develop software development team leads, ensuring strong people management and technical mentorship across the software development organization

• Ensure delivery of high-quality products that meet user and business needs

• Partner closely with product and design leaders to align roadmaps and execution

• Balance hands-on technical involvement (e.g., code reviews, architectural input) with organizational leadership

• Foster a culture of urgency, ownership, and results while maintaining Spare’s values of collaboration and inclusion

• Navigate and shape Spare’s evolving structure, establishing scalable processes while remaining adaptable in a high-growth environment

• Actively contribute to recruiting and retention, ensuring a strong and diverse pipeline of talent

• Travel quarterly to connect with distributed teams and participate in leadership events and customer visits

About you ✨

• A proven software development leader with experience managing managers and scaling software development teams in fast-moving environments

• Skilled in people management, coaching, and building high-performing teams

• Product-oriented, able to translate user needs and business goals into technical execution

• Comfortable operating in ambiguity, creating clarity and alignment where structure is still developing

• Driven by urgency and results, while fostering an inclusive and collaborative culture

• Technically fluent with modern web development practices, able to review code and provide meaningful technical guidance

• Excited by the opportunity to be one of the first leaders at this level within Spare, helping define how our software development organization grows

• Open to hybrid work with three days of the week in-person in our Vancouver office

Requirements

• 10+ years of software development experience, with 3+ years in a director-level (or equivalent) role managing managers

• Proven experience in people management within software development organizations

• Background in web development and awareness of modern web stacks, code pipelines, and devops paradigms

• Strong organizational leadership skills, with a track record of scaling teams and driving measurable results

• Excellent collaboration and communication skills, with experience working cross-functionally with product and design

It Will Be Considered a Plus:

• Experience in the transit, mobility, or logistics industries

• Leadership experience through high-growth startup stages

• Previous work in companies at a similar funding stage

• Commitment to building diverse teams and inclusive organizations

Why Join Us?

• Opportunity to shape and scale Spare’s development organization at a pivotal growth stage

• Mentorship under exceptional executive leadership, with exposure to strategic decision-making at the highest levels

• Be one of the first leaders at this tier, building the foundation for how Spare’s software development org scales

• Collaborate with a passionate, mission-driven team making a real-world impact