Technical Lead

About usAquanow is a trading and technology company powering the next generation of financial services. We're at the forefront of the rapidly evolving digital asset space, empowering businesses to navigate the complexities of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. As a leading provider of infrastructure solutions, we offer innovative services in cryptocurrency trading, liquidity management, and secure digital asset storage. Our platform is built to deliver seamless, scalable, and reliable solutions that cater to the needs of institutional clients and businesses seeking to unlock the potential of digital finance. Aquanow is committed to driving growth and shaping the future of the digital economy by offering unparalleled opportunities for innovation and advancement in the world of digital assets.With rapid global expansion, we have established offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Dubai, Malaysia, Turkey, and beyond. Our international customer base includes some of the world's fastest-growing fintech companies and leading financial institutions.Your Contribution to Our GrowthWe're looking for a Technical Lead (JavaScript) for our Back Office department to take ownership of one of Aquanow's most critical technology domains. This role is an opportunity to shape the architecture, scalability, and performance of systems that power Aquanow's day-to-day operations across settlements, compliance, and treasury functions.You'll lead 3 cross-functional teams, guiding them through both project and BAU (business-as-usual) workstreams. You'll set technical direction, review and design system architectures, and ensure your teams are building robust, scalable solutions that enable Aquanow's growth.This is a hands-on technical leadership role - roughly 40% hands-on coding, 30% architectural design, and 30% leadership and strategy. You'll be a key influencer in how Aquanow builds, scales, and maintains its financial infrastructure.Working closely with our Architectural Development Services (ADS) group, you'll contribute to architectural decisions and modernization initiatives, ensuring alignment with company-wide standards.Your scope includes leading ongoing initiatives such as phase 2 revamps of Compliance and AssetBridge, transforming these core services into self-serve, data-driven platforms that support business expansion. You'll also oversee production readiness, operational support playbooks, and technical delivery standards that help keep Aquanow's systems resilient and audit-ready.This is a pivotal position for a technically strong leader who thrives in fast-paced, high-growth environments - someone who's passionate about building teams, mentoring developers, and architecting systems that sit at the intersection of fintech and digital assets.We're open to full-time, permanent hires working hybrid from our Downtown Vancouver or Downtown Toronto office, or a 1-year contract (hybrid) with the possibility of extension.What You'll DoLead and own the development of Aquanow's Back Office platform, supporting systems related to compliance, settlements, treasury operations, and external banking connectivity.Oversee multiple subdomains: Compliance, AssetBridge, Settlements & Reference Data.Compliance: centralized services for KYC/KYT screening, transaction monitoring, and regulatory workflows.AssetBridge: external integrations with banks, custodians, and platforms, supporting fund movement and withdrawal workflows.Settlements & Reference Data: workflows for trade settlements, cash and crypto reconciliation, and internal reporting.Manage and mentor a distributed engineering team, ensuring delivery of both project and BAU commitments.Collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate business workflows into scalable system designs.Partner with our ADS group on architecture, infrastructure changes, and system modernization initiatives.Maintain on-call ownership for escalations (pager-duty rotation)Contribute to ongoing platform evolution - current focus includes Phase 2 revamps of Compliance and AssetBridge, building out more generic, data-driven, self-serve capabilities for operational users.Ensure all solutions meet Aquanow's compliance, security, and reliability standards.We'd Love to SeeBachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.7+ years of backend development experience, with at least 4 years in financial services, fintech, or capital markets.Proven experience as a Technical Lead or Senior Engineer managing small teams and driving delivery across multiple streams.Expert proficiency in JavaScript and TypeScript (Node.js preferred).Experience with event-driven architectures, message queues (Kafka, Solace), and API-driven integrations with external systems (banks, custodians, or payment platforms).Strong understanding of financial back office workflows and systems: settlements, reconciliations, compliance, fund administration, position keeping, reconciliations, reporting systems, etc.Knowledge of AML, KYC, and KYT processes - familiarity with compliance systems or data workflows is a strong asset.Exposure to treasury systems or cash/crypto settlement flows is a plus.Demonstrated ability to balance technical depth, architectural insight, and team leadership.Excellent communication and leadership skills, capable of engaging with technical and non-technical audiences.Experience supporting live systems and production operations (tiered on-call support environments).Experience with high-frequency, low-latency trading systems is a plus.These are not strict requirements to thrive in this role. We believe that people can learn and understand technologies if they are willing. We encourage you to still apply if some of the requirements are missing or lacking.At our offices you will find a group of people that embrace diversity and value performance over pedigree. Every day we draw value from the diverse experiences of our team whose backgrounds include top financial institutions, tech companies and untraditional backgrounds. Our success comes from identifying exceptional people and providing them with the platform to reach their true potential.Aquanow is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all qualified persons without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, age, national origin, citizenship status, disability, qualified veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other unlawful criterion or circumstance.