Principal Engineer
Wave HQ
Software Engineering
Toronto, ON, Canada
Posted on Feb 3, 2026
At Wave, we help small businesses to thrive so the heart of our communities beats stronger. We work in an environment buzzing with creative energy and inspiration. No matter where you are or how you get the job done, you have what you need to be successful and connected. The mark of true success at Wave is the ability to be bold, learn quickly and share your knowledge generously.
As a member of the technology leadership team and reporting into the CTO, the Principal Engineer is responsible for leading our architectural strategy and ensuring the alignment of technology solutions with business goals. The role involves collaborating with stakeholders to define technology roadmaps, developing innovative architectural solutions, and ensuring alignment with industry standards and best practices. You will work to deliver exciting products and provide architectural leadership and vision for projects, and investigate new ideas as we help small businesses find their thrive.
Here's How You Make an Impact:
- Define and lead architectural strategy across the technology organization: Develop and maintain the architectural vision across multiple technology teams, ensuring security, scalability/reliability, and performance. Help to shape a technology strategy that will enable Wave to achieve our objectives as a business.
- Enable Wave’s business strategy and company objectives; engage with stakeholders to create scalable, robust and secure technical designs, balancing objectives with optimal performance of applications. Accelerate customer, business, and technology outcomes by identifying and driving key opportunities across Wave.
- Foster cross-team collaboration and drive strategic technology direction: Work closely with cross-functional teams, including Engineering, Product Management, Security, and Data and AI, to ensure seamless integration of architectural solutions.
- Innovate and future-proof our business: Drive the technical strategy and build multi-year (3+) roadmaps with hands-on leadership in architecture and implementation. Stay current with industry trends and emerging technologies, evaluating their potential impact on Wave’s architectural landscape.
- Hands-on engineering leadership; Create and review architectural designs, specifications, and documentation for various projects, ensuring high quality and adherence to industry best practices. Solve technical problems of the highest scope, complexity, and ambiguity for the business. Teach, mentor, grow, and provide advice to other domain experts and individual contributors across several teams within Technology.
You Thrive Here By Possessing the Following:
- Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field.
- 10+ years of experience in software architecture and system design helping scale systems and processes efficiently.
- Passionate and knowledgeable about engineering excellence and have the ability to educate others through documentation, design decisions and mentorship.
- Experience leading through influence; partnering across multiple teams in a matrixed organization.
- Proven experience in a senior architectural role, with a strong background in software development and systems integration.
- Deep knowledge of cloud computing, microservices architecture, and modern development practices.
- Strong leadership, communication, and collaboration skills.
- Experience with agile methodologies and project management.
At Wave, we value diversity of perspective. Your unique experience enriches our organization. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Let’s talk about how you can thrive here!
Wave is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible candidate experience. If you require accommodations during the recruitment process, please let us know by emailing careers@waveapps.com. We will work with you to meet your needs.
Please note that we use AI-assisted note-taking in interviews for transcription purposes only. This helps ensure interviewers can remain fully present and engaged throughout the discussion.
This advertised posting is a current vacancy.
190000 - 214500 CAD a year
Final compensation is determined based on experience, expertise, and role alignment. Most candidates are hired within the middle of the range, with the upper end reserved for those bringing exceptional depth, impact, and immediate autonomy.
We also offer:
- Bonus Structure
- Employer-paid Benefits Plan
- Health & Wellness Flex Account
- Professional Development Account
- Wellness Days
- Holiday Shutdown
- Wave Days (extra vacation days in the summer)
- Get A-Wave Program (work from anywhere in the world up to 90 days)
Visit our site to find out more about life at Wave!
