Director, Software Development

Role overview

Neo Financial is hiring a Director of Software Development in Calgary, Alberta for a full-time, onsite leadership role. The company is building a modern alternative in financial software, aiming to improve how banking and financial decisions work for everyday people. Its engineering team supports a large-scale in-house platform with 150 services in production, hundreds of deployments each week, and more than one million customers.

This role sits at the intersection of business direction and engineering execution. You will guide multiple squads through their engineering managers, help define priorities, and make sure delivery stays aligned with business goals. The position is hands-on at the leadership level: you are expected to stay close enough to the technical work to earn trust, while also setting expectations, developing managers, and keeping the organization moving quickly.

The scope includes ownership of delivery, quality, technical debt, and team health across your area. You will manage a 1-2 quarter planning horizon, keep the roadmap prioritized, and be accountable for making sure the team knows what matters and why. You will also be involved in incidents, recruiting, performance management, and leadership development.

What you will do

• Guide a set of engineering managers and their squads, with accountability for delivery, quality, and growth of people in your area.
• Work closely with Product and Business partners to identify risks early and align the team on the purpose behind every piece of work.
• Maintain a clear, prioritized roadmap over a 1-2 quarter timeframe, raising scope or timeline concerns early and ensuring commitments are met.
• Set a strong pace and performance standard that pushes teams beyond what they would naturally achieve on their own.
• Coach squad leads into stronger managers by giving them real ownership, holding them responsible, and stepping in where support is needed.
• Ensure engineering and product partners have the right context before they need to request it.
• Escalate engineering concerns such as scope, deadlines, staffing, and long-term sustainability, bringing practical solutions along with the issue.
• Promote an in-office team culture and make sure your leaders understand why in-person collaboration matters.
• Drive hiring across your teams, including sourcing, interviewing, candidate experience, and closing strong candidates.
• Make automated testing, QA discipline, and technical debt management genuine priorities within the teams.
• Stay engaged during incidents and help ensure triage is effective and the right people are involved.

What they are looking for

• Someone who is motivated by building better banking experiences and cares deeply about the impact of their work.
• A leader who creates direction and clarity rather than waiting for it.
• Prior experience managing engineering managers, with a strong point of view on what effective leadership at that level requires.
• Practical experience with performance management, including difficult feedback, improvement plans, and offboarding decisions when necessary.
• Ability to balance a 1-2 quarter planning view with the realities of day-to-day delivery.
• Enough technical depth to contribute credibly in architecture discussions, code reviews, and production problem-solving.
• An understanding of team velocity and the human factors behind it, including engagement, clarity, and trust.
• Comfort translating business context to engineering and bringing technical concerns back to leadership.
• A direct communication style with a focus on high performance and strong engagement rather than popularity.
• Experience in faster-moving environments, with the ability to bring clarity when situations are uncertain.

Why Neo

Neo offers meaningful scope in a fast-growing company where decisions made now can shape the product in the next quarter. The engineering organization is large and scaling, which creates real opportunity for a strong director to influence the direction of multiple teams.

Compensation is positioned competitively against top tech employers in Calgary. The package includes STIP cash bonuses tied to company milestones, as well as stock options that are described as being in the money from day one. Over four to five years, total compensation is expected to exceed what you might earn by staying in a similar role elsewhere.

The company highlights several milestones, including three straight years as Canada’s fastest-growing company on the Deloitte Fast 50, more than $400M raised, and a platform serving over one million customers.

Additional benefits and conditions

• Relocation assistance is available for candidates moving to Calgary.
• Health coverage is comprehensive.
• Employees receive 21 days of paid time off.
• Parental top-up is included.
• Selected candidates must complete security screening, including a criminal record check and a credit check.
• Submitting the application means you agree to the Candidate Privacy Notice covering how personal information is handled during the hiring process.