Lead AI Engineer (Full-Stack)

Company: CanadaVisa
Location: Toronto (Hybrid)
Salary: $150,000 to $180,000

Who Are We?

CanadaVisa is an industry leader in providing web tools and professional services to those seeking to come to Canada. We reach millions of people worldwide every month through our web properties, including CanadaVisa.com, CanadaVisaPlus.com, and CICNews.com.

As we look toward 2026, we have set ambitious goals to modernize how newcomers navigate their journey. We are launching a product with the aim of 10x our current client base. To achieve this, we are leveraging AI to build the next generation of immigration infrastructure.

The Role

We are looking for a Lead AI Engineer who is, at their core, a deeply experienced Full-Stack Developer. You will not just be researching models. You will be architecting and shipping the application layer that powers our future.

Reporting directly to the CTO, you will bridge the gap between complex requirements and cutting-edge Generative AI. You will also be expected to come up with AI product ideas and features. You will write code daily, utilizing a modern stack (TypeScript, Node.js, Next.js) to integrate LLMs into our workflows. You will be the technical anchor for our AI initiatives, ensuring they are scalable, reliable, and practically useful.

You will own the architecture for our AI products and features, from system design through production deployment, ensuring reliability, scalability, and maintainability.

What You’ll Do (Key Responsibilities)

• Architect & Build AI Applications: You will own the architecture and design and code end-to-end features using Next.js, Node.js, and TypeScript. You will integrate LLM APIs (OpenAI, Anthropic) into our product suite to automate document processing and client communication.

• Engineering Standards & Enablement: You will set the standard for code quality and AI integration patterns. You will create reusable primitives and guidelines for tool calling, streaming UX, structured outputs, and safe fallback behaviours, so the whole team can ship AI features confidently.

• RAG & Context Management: You will implement Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines to ensure our AI models are grounded in accurate, up-to-date internal data.

• Instruction Design & Agent Behaviour: You will design system instructions, tool schemas, and structured outputs to improve reliability and reduce hallucinations. You will iterate using version control, evaluation sets, and release gates.

• Performance & Cost Monitoring: You will track token usage, latency, and API costs, optimizing our infrastructure to ensure the economic viability of our AI features.

What We’re Looking For

• 5+ years of Software Engineering experience, with a focus on Full-Stack web development.

• Deep expertise in the modern JS stack: You are an expert in TypeScript, Node.js, React, and Next.js. You know how to build production-grade applications that scale.

• Proven AI implementation experience: You have built and deployed apps using LLMs in a production environment. You are familiar with LangChain, or similar orchestration frameworks.

• Database proficiency: Strong experience with SQL (PostgreSQL) and experience with vector databases (Pinecone, etc.) for semantic search.

• Pragmatism over hype: You understand the limitations of current AI models. You know when to use an LLM and when to use a simple regex or rule-based system.

Nice to Have

• Familiarity with cloud infrastructure (Google Cloud, AWS, Azure workflows).

• Experience dealing with sensitive and PII data.

Benefits

We offer competitive compensation packages and a collaborative, growth-oriented workplace culture that includes:

• Competitive salary and bonus structure

• Comprehensive health: Group benefits including extended health care, dental care, vision care, and telehealth

• Time off: Paid time off and statutory holidays

• Culture: Company events and team-building activities

• Hybrid flexibility: Options for remote work and office access