Director of Development

Location: Vancouver, Canada

Department: Bitkernel

About the Role

As the Director of Development, you will be responsible for the overall engineering strategy, architecture, and manage our North American Development Teams. This role combines technical leadership, organizational oversight, and hands-on guidance, with full ownership of front-end, back-end, and QA functions. You will lead multiple engineering disciplines, scale high-performing teams, and ensure the delivery of secure, scalable, and high-quality video platform solutions that support Bitkernel’s global growth.

You will work cross-functionally with Product, Design, DevOps, and executive leadership to define technical direction, streamline development processes, and deliver seamless video experiences to customers worldwide.

What You'll Own/Do:

Engineering Leadership & Strategy

• Own the end-to-end development function, including Front-End, Back-End, and QA teams.
• Work with the VP of Engineering, Sales & Product Teams, to define and execute the engineering roadmap aligned with product and business objectives.
• Build, mentor, and scale high-performing, cross-functional development teams.
• Establish a culture of accountability, technical excellence, and continuous improvement.

Architecture & Technical Direction

• Provide architectural oversight across frontend applications, backend services, and testing infrastructure.
• Drive best practices in system design, security, performance, and reliability.

Full Lifecycle Delivery Ownership

• Oversee the full software development lifecycle (SDLC), from planning and design to testing, deployment, and maintenance.
• Ensure strong collaboration between frontend, backend, QA, and DevOps to deliver high-quality releases.
• Implement scalable development processes, CI/CD pipelines, and release management standards.

Backend & Platform Oversight

• Guide development of robust APIs, backend services, and distributed systems using Java, Kotlin, and Spring-based frameworks.
• Ensure high availability, scalability, and performance of core platform infrastructure.

Frontend & Product Experience Alignment

• Oversee frontend architecture and integration with backend systems to ensure seamless user experiences.
• Partner with Product and Design to deliver intuitive, high-performance applications.

Quality Assurance & Testing Excellence

• Establish and lead QA strategy, including automated testing, performance testing, and quality metrics.
• Ensure comprehensive test coverage and platform reliability across all releases.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Product, DevOps, and executive stakeholders to align technical execution with business priorities.
• Communicate technical vision, risks, and progress to leadership and global teams.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Stay current with industry trends in OTT, SaaS, cloud architecture, and video streaming technologies.
• Drive innovation in platform scalability, security, and multimedia delivery.

What We Require for this Role:

• 10+ years of software development experience, with significant leadership experience in SaaS and/or OTT platforms, including at least 5 years in a leadership role managing engineering teams.
• Proven experience managing multi-disciplinary teams (Frontend, Backend, and QA)
• Strong background in Java and Kotlin with deep expertise in distributed systems and microservices architecture.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP) and containerized environments (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Strong understanding of CI/CD, automated testing strategies, and quality engineering practices.
• Technology: Knowledge of Mobile Application Development, Kotlin, C++, and ReactJS technologies.
• Expertise with relational and in-memory databases (e.g., MySQL, Redis, Ignite).
• Experience with Spring Cloud, scalable APIs, and enterprise-grade system design.
• Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to scale teams, processes, and architecture in a high-growth environment.

Bonus Points for Candidates Who Have:

• Video Streaming: Experience with live or VOD video streaming platforms.
• Multimedia: Familiarity with multimedia codecs (AVC, HEVC, VP9) and DRM systems (PlayReady, Widevine).
• Top-Tier Education: You hold a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field from a 4-yr accredited institution globally ranked in the top 500 universities.

Perks & Benefits:

• Career Development Opportunities: Access to learning resources, mentorship, and professional growth.
• Collaborative Team Environment: Engage in team-building activities and thrive in a creative, supportive workplace.
• Great Work Environment: Work from our modern office, with flexibility to work from home on Fridays.
• Comprehensive Benefits: Extensive health & benefits plan, LTD & Life Insurance.
• Global Opportunities: Join a company with international reach and potential for future travel and team-building abroad.
• Pay Equity: We base pay on your experience, location, and internal equity to make sure everyone is compensated fairly and consistently.

The Pay Range For This Role Is:

$170,000 - $210,000 CAD per year (Vancouver)

About the Company

About Bitkernel

Bitkernel Technology Inc. is redefining how the world experiences digital video. With a proven track record of innovation, we’re on a mission to revolutionize streaming technology and build complete content ecosystems. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with a growing office in Vancouver, B.C., we’re building our future in North America.

Powered by our groundbreaking platform, Goose, we’re creating a next-generation self-serve SaaS solution that enables content creators, broadcasters, and media companies to launch and scale OTT streaming services across Android, iOS, Web, and SmartTV platforms.

Why Join Bitkernel?

At Bitkernel, you’ll experience the energy of a startup with the stability of an established product—and the opportunity to make a global impact. You’ll help shape major technical innovations, collaborate with visionary leaders, and solve complex, global-scale challenges backed by long-term R&D investment.

We thrive on empathy, innovation, and continuous learning. Our team is made up of curious, strategic thinkers who combine deep technical expertise with emotional intelligence and a collaborative spirit across cultures and disciplines.

Join us to build, innovate, and grow as we redefine how the world experiences digital video.

Bitkernel DNA (is it in you?)

Startup Hustle: You thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments with a hands-on, problem-solving attitude.

Boundary-Breaking Vision: You challenge conventions to pioneer innovative, world-class user interfaces.

AI-Enhanced Innovation: You harness AI to supercharge development workflows and push the boundaries of what’s possible.