Director Technical Solutions in Toronto

Our Digital Strategy and Design team is looking for a Director, Technical Solutions to lead the delivery of high-quality digital solutions in partnership with business and technology teams. This hands‑on technology leader will guide solutions from design through production, set engineering direction and work with architecture, cybersecurity and enterprise platform teams to deliver secure, reliable outcomes.

What you will do:

• Co‑lead a cross‑functional team with the Product Owner, translating product outcomes into an executable technical plan and remaining close enough to the work to guide design, code, integration, testing, release and production support.
• Establish reusable engineering foundations, automated quality and security controls, and operational practices that increase delivery speed, improve reliability and reduce duplication across teams.
• Own end-to-end technical delivery across experience, application, API, integration, data and cloud layers, making pragmatic design decisions within enterprise architecture guardrails.
• Remain hands‑on through architecture spikes, code and design reviews, troubleshooting automation and critical-path delivery while enabling engineers to own implementation.
• Apply AI-based technologies where they create measurable value, including generative AI, intelligent automation and AI-assisted software delivery, with appropriate data, privacy, security, model-risk and human-oversight controls.
• Establish full-stack engineering standards for user experience, accessibility, performance, API design, data handling, observability, testing and maintainability.

What you will bring:

• Degree/diploma in computer science or related discipline, or equivalent combination of training and experience.
• A minimum of 10+ years’ related experience delivering digital products and technology platforms, including accountability for solution design, engineering execution, release and production health.
• Deep technologist with recent hands‑on software delivery experience in roles such as Engineering Lead, Technical Lead or Solutions Architect.
• Demonstrated full-stack expertise across modern web or mobile experiences, backend services, APIs, integrations, data stores and cloud infrastructure.
• Strong understanding of distributed-system design, including event-driven architecture, microservices, consistency, scalability, resiliency, observability and failure recovery.
• Experience applying AI-based technologies—including generative AI or machine learning capabilities—to production use cases, with knowledge of responsible AI, privacy, security, data quality, evaluation and monitoring.
• Demonstrated ability to make and communicate technical trade-offs across scope, time, cost, risk, quality and long-term maintainability.
• Experience working in a complex, regulated and rapidly evolving environment with high expectations for security, reliability and execution.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical decisions, options and risks to technical and non-technical audiences.

Assets:

• Experience in financial services, preferably insurance.
• Experience modernizing applications, decomposing and rationalizing systems, and integrating with core or legacy platforms.
• Experience delivering omnichannel experiences using cloud-native architecture.
• Knowledge of business and continuous architecture practices, architecture modelling tools and frameworks such as UML, ArchiMate and TOGAF; TOGAF certification is an asset.

The base salary for this position is between $149,000 - $199,000 annually. This represents base salary only and does not represent other variable compensation components of our total compensation (i.e. annual bonus, commission etc). If you are selected to move forward in our recruitment process, your recruiter will be able to discuss additional details of our total rewards program with you.

Career opportunities will be open a minimum of 5 business days from the date of posting, closing dates will vary depending on the search activity. All applications received will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Grow with Canada Life We’re united by a shared purpose: to improve the financial, physical and mental well‑being of Canadians. Our company is trusted by 1 in 3 Canadians and contributes to the strength of communities across the country. We’re looking for people who live our values every day: we step up, we do the right thing, and we deliver – for our customers, communities and each other. Are you someone who always strives to do the right thing, who steps up for themselves and others, and delivers with impact? Then we want to hear from you!

What we offer:

• Career Development: Opportunities for career advancement, access to industry-leading learning programs and up to $2,000 annually towards education reimbursement.
• Health & Wellness: Flexible health and dental benefits, plus a $5,000 mental health benefit to support your well‑being.
• Time Off: In addition to regular vacation and personal days, we support community involvement with a volunteer day.
• Financial Security: Company-matching pension plan, share ownership program and additional investment options.
• Rewards and Recognition: Employee recognition programs, service milestone celebrations, employee discounts and more!
• Emphasis on Community: We provide a workplace where employees feel connected and supported through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), mentorship programs, social clubs and events.

We’re committed to removing barriers and ensuring equal access to employment. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation during the application process may contact talentacquisitioncanada@canadalife.com. All information provided will be handled in accordance with applicable laws and Canada Life policies. Canada Life would like to thank all applicants, however only those who qualify for an interview will be contacted.