Staff Engineer

Join us

Join The Ontario Digital Service (ODS) to design and deliver the future of government services.

People are at the heart of our mission to ensure that government works for everyone. Be a part of a world-leading public service, and help improve the lives of over 14 million people of Ontario, through our work using modern design, data and technology tools and practices.

Help us scale impact across the public sector, tackling some of the most important issues of our time. We work in multidisciplinary, inclusive, collaborative teams.

OPS commitment to diversity, inclusion, accessibility and anti-racism

We are committed to build a workforce that reflects the communities we serve and to promote a diverse, anti-racist, inclusive, accessible, merit-based, respectful and equitable workplace. We invite all interested individuals to apply and encourage applications from people with disabilities, Indigenous, Black, and racialized individuals, as well as people from a diversity of ethnic and cultural origins, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions.

Visit the OPS Anti-Racism Policy and the OPS Diversity and Inclusion Blueprint to learn more about the OPS commitment to advancing racial equity, diversity and inclusion in the public service.

We offer employment accommodation across the recruitment process and all aspects of employment consistent with the requirements of Ontario's Human Rights Code. Refer to the application instructions below if you require a disability-related accommodation.

The opportunity

As a Staff Engineer in the Ontario Digital Service you will be presented with the opportunity to support digital transformation of top government priorities. You will be part of a multi-disciplinary, high-impact team that drives digital transformation within government while using user-centric design strategies, experience design methods and new technology trends. We are looking for people with a proven background and hands-on experience in implementing complex IT solutions.

The ideal candidate should have exceptional hands-on experience in all aspects of leading software development life cycle, architecting, coding and delivering digital products..

What can I expect to do in this role?

As a Staff Engineer, you will:

• Deliver user-centric solution design, development, and implementation of cost-effective, high-performing, reliable and simple to use IT solutions.
• Work with product teams to ensure that their systems are meeting accessibility standards and provide accessibility-related consulting and guidance to them.
• Assist in educating and promoting accessibility culture and practice.
• Be an accessibility technical subject matter expert for user interface experiences.
• Have a unique opportunity to contribute in delivery of the top digital government priorities that have a high impact on lives of the people of Ontario.
• Be part of an agile team that includes a Product Manager, Software Developers, User Experience Researchers, Experience designers, DevOps and Content Advisors.
• Research new technology trends and develop proof of concept.
• Be a pioneer for the development and implementation of forward-thinking standards and technologies to support transforming the digital experience for Ontarians interacting with the government.
• Provide guidance in problem-solving that involves people, tech, and processes using logic and common sense.

What you bring to the team

• You’re passionate about Inclusive Design and Accessibility.
• You have built complex applications utilizing effective UI design, accessibility, web standards, and design systems.
• You possess proven technical skills and expertise and are not afraid to communicate new ideas and guide the product strategy.
• You are proactive, take initiative and thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative, empowered work environment.
• You possess exceptional analytical thinking needed for fast problem resolution of technical nature.
• You have experience negotiating and influencing others by persuasion rather than authority.
• You work cooperatively and collaboratively with a variety of teams.
• You have expertise in strengthening connections by building trust in relationships with colleagues, partners and different stakeholders and by understanding their perspectives and needs.
• You are committed to sustaining the culture of equality, diversity and inclusion where teams are supported to achieve the best results for everyone to advance and thrive.

How do I qualify?

Architecture and design

• You have human-centered design experience and expertise in developing and executing strategies that improve overall user interactions with digital products and services, resulting in measurable enhancements and positive user feedback.
• You have the ability to incorporate user feedback, web analytics, performance metrics and other data to make informed design decisions.
• You have demonstrated practical knowledge of guidelines and techniques so that accessibility principles can translate to technical decisions.
• You have experience in summarizing accessibility findings and provide recommendations for remediation, including code-level recommendations and solutions.
• You have solid understanding of modern architectural standards for cloud-based solutions.
• You have proven experience applying software engineering best practices and architectural practices to agile product delivery using emerging delivery methodologies that include but are not limited to agile.
• You have demonstrated experience designing modern architectural patterns to support delivery of complex IT solutions that are stable, secure, responsive, and scalable.

Technical knowledge

• You have advanced knowledge and understanding of best practices for developing web-based applications that meet the AODA compliance standards.
• You have experience developing and testing for accessibility using a combination of developer tools and assistive technologies such as screen readers, text scaler and dictation software to test the usability of our internal applications.
• You have knowledge about conducting an accessibility audit for WCAG compliance.
• You have knowledge, and hands-on experience implementing IT solutions and working with a variety of modern JavaScript-based technologies (React, Node.js, etc.), MERN stack and semantic accessible languages (HTML5, CSS)/SCSS).
• You have proven experience in analyzing systems requirements, architecting, designing and implementing IT solutions that conform to IT standards and best practices.
• You have built complex, API-based solutions and transactional systems.
• You have written automated test scripts for unit, integration, end-to-end, cross-browser, device, and accessibility testing.
• You have knowledge of common authentication technologies, browser-based security controls and standard web application security tools.
• You have experience with code version control systems (e.g., Git), DevOps practices, cloud delivery / deployment models, virtualization, and container solutions (e.g., docker, Kubernetes).

Leadership and organizational skills

• Strong facilitation skills to lead the technical side of the user design discussions and negotiations, present recommendations, and advice to stakeholders on web/content design and strategy
• Ability to collaborate and provide authoritative advice on digital product development
• Self-driven, with ability to take ownership and accountability; must be adept at working in a self-guided manner to drive inclusive design principles
• You have led by example via taking ownership, writing code, being proactive and advocating for a collaborative environment
• You have experience providing mentorship, and guiding the work of team members/colleagues.
• You foster a culture of ownership and technical excellence.
• You are able to articulate methods for build/buy choices on project components, identify common IT risks and address them with contingency plans and back-out options.
• You energize and motivate the team by recognizing successes and learning from failures.

Project and digital experience

• You have proven judgment and prioritization skills to supervise developers and perform code reviews/quality assurance activities.
• You can define technical approaches to understand the domain specific user stories, breakdown the tasks and guide others in doing so.
• You have demonstrated the ability to get buy-in from a team to implement new and improved ways of doing things.
• You have championed technology expertise around product development, shared best practices and tools with your peers across the organization, collaborated and shared insights and opinions with other developers, and shared lessons learned from your work with peers and leaders to help guide your approach to digital transformation.
• You thrive on feedback and are comfortable transforming ideas generated through user research and data to create a better user experience.
• You can provide advice and recommendations regarding most effective implementation strategies.

Communications

• Demonstrated experience using communication skills to discuss issues, seek common ground between parties, lead development of solutions and user experience development requirements
• Ability to communicate visually as well as in verbal and written formats
• Expand web accessibility knowledge and practices within other teams.
• You can work in a multi-disciplinary team environment to sell your ideas to colleagues, both technical and non-technical.
• You are adept at navigating complex issues, handling partners and stakeholder interactions.
• You have worked with partners to establish relationships with their security, operations, and IT teams.
• You have guided successful technical, business and people-related initiatives that improved productivity, performance and quality.
• You have developed processes to improve the efficiency of teams and taken steps to help others resolve the conflict and maintain trusting relationships.

Why join the team

The team at the ODS is an enthusiastic, supportive and collaborative group of individuals making government work better for people by delivering simple, effective and straightforward digital services and products and having fun while doing it.

We offer

• work that makes an impact
• learning and development opportunities
• open and inclusive work environment
• flexible work arrangements

Additional information

At the ODS, we recognize official qualifications and education are not necessarily the only way to gain experience. Your lived experience is valuable to our team.

For more information about the ODS, please check out the links below:

• About Us
• Jobs at the ODS
• Digital Service Standard
• ODS blog
• COVID-19: Digital Rapid Response
• Sign Up For Job Posting Alerts

Job details

• Job title: Staff Engineer
• Job ID: 185124
• Organization: Ministry of Finance
• Area of government: Ontario Digital Service
• Location: 595 Bay Street, Toronto.
  The ODS is a remote-friendly organization and has the tools to support remote work.
• Salary: $1,704.17 - $2,128.95 Per Week*
  *Indicates the salary listed as per the OPSEU Collective Agreement.
• Job term: 1 Temporary (12-month assignment with possible extension)
• Hours of work: 36.25/week (Schedule 6)
• Compensation group: Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)
• Job code: 17162 - Systems Officer 6

Apply online   View job description

How to apply

• You must apply online
• Your cover letter and resume combined should not exceed five (5) pages. For tips and tools on how to write a concise cover letter and resume, review the writing a cover letter and resume: tips, tools and resources
• Customize your cover letter and resume to the qualifications listed on the job ad. Using concrete examples, you must show how you demonstrated the requirements for this job. We rely on the information you provide to us.
• Read the job description to make sure you understand this job.
• Please do not include shortened URLs, because your application may not reach us (e.g. https://goo.gl/8lvNl6)
• Ontario Public Service employees are required to quote their WIN employee ID number when applying
• If you require a disability related accommodation in order to participate in the recruitment process, please Contact Us to provide your contact information. Recruitment Services staff will contact you within 48 hours.

We’re accepting submissions until Tuesday, August 16, 2022 11:59 pm EDT.
Late applications will not be accepted.

Please be advised that the results of this competition may be used to form an eligibility list of qualified candidates to potentially fill future vacancies represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU). In accordance with the Collective Agreement, eligibility lists are shared with OPSEU representatives. By applying to this competition, you are providing consent that your name may be shared with OPSEU representatives.

All external applicants (including former employees of the Ontario Public Service) applying to a competition in a ministry or Commission public body must disclose (either in the cover letter or resume) previous employment with the Ontario Public Service. Disclosure must include positions held, dates of employment and any active restrictions as applicable from being rehired by the Ontario Public Service. Active restrictions can include time and/or ministry-specific restrictions currently in force, and may preclude a former employee from being offered a position with the Ontario Public Service for a specific time period (e.g. one year), or from being offered a position with a specific ministry (either for a pre-determined time period or indefinitely). The circumstances around an employee's exit will be considered prior to an offer of employment.

We thank you for your interest. Only those selected for further screening or an interview will be contacted.

Job advertisements for positions that have been designated bilingual will be provided in both English and French. Positions that are not designated bilingual are not translated and are displayed in English only.