Lead Software Developer (Chromium)

Redbrick and Shift are headquartered on the traditional Coast Salish territory, and we respectfully acknowledge the Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ People of this region. With gratitude, we live, work, and care for this beautiful land.

One thing that our team members say they value most is our fun and truly ‘people-first’ culture. Ours is a place where you’re given the autonomy to do your best work and provided with all the tools and support you need to do so. Here are some of the things our team loves most about working at Redbrick: 

• Highly competitive salary
• Attractive vacation, healthcare & benefits, including generous RRSP matching (Canada) and 401k (US) 
• ‘People-first’ culture that prioritizes fun
• Autonomy and freedom to do your best work on your own terms (you won’t find any micromanagers here!)
• Flexibility to work remotely
• State-of-the-art and centrally located offices (Victoria & Minneapolis)
• Remote work fund to create a successful home working setup 
• Opportunities to work on interesting products 
• High-end hardware and equipment — in the office and at home
• Opportunities to learn and grow through professional development support, funding, and mentorship 
• Internal mobility; opportunity to work with various products and teams across the Redbrick portfolio of companies 
• Monthly fitness reimbursements to support a healthy and active lifestyle

Redbrick is the parent organization of a portfolio of disruptive digital companies. Headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia, we’ve scaled from local start-up to global name in a few short years, conceptualizing new business ideas, acquiring established companies, and growing them to super-scaled profitability — all thanks to the people we hire.

 

     5 portfolio companies and growing

     1 amazing shared service team

     200+ employees

One of our 5 portfolio companies, Shift, is a general-purpose browser—the only browser that can integrate your web apps. By customizing Chromium’s open-source technology, we’re redefining the way you browse and creating a more efficient online experience. Our Shift team is 51 people strong and works closely with Redbrick’s shared People Operations, Finance, and Creative/Marketing teams.

We are shaking things up in the browser space, and building an exceptional team is our top priority. We cheerlead your goals and accomplishments and are invested in your future. We provide our team with the freedom and flexibility to work where they work best. Most of our team enjoys a blend of remote and in-office work. In-office time brings many perks and we put effort into planning events and fun that all can enjoy. 

“Shift embodies a challenging yet supportive atmosphere that encourages personal growth and teamwork. We take pride in our work and hold each other accountable for delivering high-quality results, creating a culture where success is not just a goal but a shared accomplishment.”
     —Carl, Shift

What does a day look like in my role?

We get it: You want to know what you’re signing up for before you apply, right? This is what you need to know: As a Lead Software Developer for Shift, you’ll be responsible for:

• Manage and coach a team of Software Developers, fostering talent growth, skill development, and career advancement.
• Collaborate with the tech leadership to devise and communicate the technical roadmap to the tech team members effectively.
• Cultivate a collaborative technical work environment, fostering mentorship opportunities and encouraging knowledge sharing.
• Engage in day-to-day software development activities.
• Advocate for and implement best practices in software development, delivery, and security.
• Develop and maintain comprehensive documentation for software and systems.
• Contribute to systems design and deployment strategies to ensure reliability and scalability.
• Troubleshoot issues, including those occurring in production, potentially outside regular working hours.
• Stay abreast of industry trends and explore new technologies to identify areas for improvement.
• Evaluate new initiatives for technological uncertainties and assess eligibility for Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SRED) claims.
• Aid in data and information collection, including issue tracking, to support SRED claims.

• After 1 week
  • You’ve been introduced to all of the Shift development teams.
  • You have an understanding of the software we build and are starting to familiarize yourself with the development process.
  • You will have onboarded with your dev team and have a sense what the team currently works on.
• After 1 month
  • You will know our Product and major initiatives.
  • You will understand our product roadmap and begin to make an impact .
  • You will find a rhythm with your direct reports and understanding the team’s needs.
• After 6 months
  • You will feel confident in your role and will be a major contributor.
  • You have built a strong rapport with your team and are helping them learn and grow in their roles.
  • You (along with your team) will have completed one major technical initiative into our browser.

 

What we would like to see in you.

Every Shift employee has three things in common: We’re curious, hungry, and good-humoured. We try our best to balance hard work with good, old-fashioned fun. As a Lead Software Developer with Shift, there are extra specialties we’re on the lookout for:

 

• BS in Computer Science, Engineering or equivalent experience.
• 3+ years of experience managing software development teams of at least 3 individual contributors.
• 7+ years of professional experience developing software with C++ / Objective-C / C.
• Strong understanding of object-oriented programming principles and design patterns.
• Attention to detail and ability to produce tested, production-ready software.
• Success at participating in cross-functional engineering teams; naturally collaborative but decisive when needed.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, teams and schedules in a rapid-growth environment, to coordinate successful/timely releases and achieve quality objectives.
• Provide demonstrated leadership and stellar people-management and conflict-resolution skills. Strong communication skills, analytical skills, a thorough understanding of software engineering.
• Experience in leading delivery teams in agile software engineering practices.
• Ability to convincingly articulate complex analytical ideas in a simple way to a variety of key stakeholders from different functions.
• Experience working with people across different geographies, including remote management of people and deliverables.
• Experience coaching / mentoring other technical team members.
• Experience with version control systems (preferably git).

Bonus

• Previous or current involvement in contributing to a Chromium-based project.
• Solid knowledge of Chromium internals and experience working with the Chromium codebase.

• Experience with scripting languages (python, bash, powershell, etc).

• Familiarity with web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, /TypeScript.

 

What next?

If you’re picking up what we’re putting down, applying is easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. Apply with your cover letter, resume and links to your GitHub or public repos and take this opportunity to tell us your story and why you’d be a good fit on our team.
2. Download Shift (tryshift.com) -- we want to hear what you think!
3. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, and Instagram for all that is happening at Shift, and Redbrick!

Redbrick and Shift are committed to creating a diverse environment where everyone can be their true authentic selves. We value all differences as they are essential for a thriving, happy, and productive workplace. Join us and help build a disruptive company where we are all proud to belong.