As Director of Software Development, you’ll be responsible for leading and scaling a high-performing development team while empowering our technical leaders to focus on product innovation and delivery. This role is 80% people and organizational leadership, and 20% technical contribution — reviewing code, mentoring, and maintaining technical depth, with the ability to jump in and be hands-on when needed.
Reporting directly to our VP of Software Development, you’ll manage team leads across our emerging products and core systems, ensuring that our developers are productive, our products are high quality, and our organization continues to scale effectively. This is a highly visible leadership role where you’ll collaborate closely with product, design, and other cross-functional teams, while also serving as a mentor to emerging leaders within the company.
Key Responsibilities ✨Lead, coach, and develop software development team leads, ensuring strong people management and technical mentorship across the software development organization
Ensure delivery of high-quality products that meet user and business needs
Partner closely with product and design leaders to align roadmaps and execution
Balance hands-on technical involvement (e.g., code reviews, architectural input) with organizational leadership
Foster a culture of urgency, ownership, and results while maintaining Spare’s values of collaboration and inclusion
Navigate and shape Spare’s evolving structure, establishing scalable processes while remaining adaptable in a high-growth environment
Actively contribute to recruiting and retention, ensuring a strong and diverse pipeline of talent
Travel quarterly to connect with distributed teams and participate in leadership events and customer visits
A proven software development leader with experience managing managers and scaling software development teams in fast-moving environments
Skilled in people management, coaching, and building high-performing teams
Product-oriented, able to translate user needs and business goals into technical execution
Comfortable operating in ambiguity, creating clarity and alignment where structure is still developing
Driven by urgency and results, while fostering an inclusive and collaborative culture
Technically fluent with modern web development practices, able to review code and provide meaningful technical guidance
Excited by the opportunity to be one of the first leaders at this level within Spare, helping define how our software development organization grows
Open to hybrid work with three days of the week in-person in our Vancouver office
Requirements
10+ years of software development experience, with 3+ years in a director-level (or equivalent) role managing managers
Proven experience in people management within software development organizations
Background in web development and awareness of modern web stacks, code pipelines, and devops paradigms
Strong organizational leadership skills, with a track record of scaling teams and driving measurable results
Excellent collaboration and communication skills, with experience working cross-functionally with product and design
It Will Be Considered a Plus:
Experience in the transit, mobility, or logistics industries
Leadership experience through high-growth startup stages
Previous work in companies at a similar funding stage
Commitment to building diverse teams and inclusive organizations
Why Join Us?
Opportunity to shape and scale Spare’s development organization at a pivotal growth stage
Mentorship under exceptional executive leadership, with exposure to strategic decision-making at the highest levels
Be one of the first leaders at this tier, building the foundation for how Spare’s software development org scales
Collaborate with a passionate, mission-driven team making a real-world impact
Top Skills
What We Do
At Spare, our mission is to make every ride possible, regardless of who you are or where you're headed. We believe in the power of on-demand transit to transform lives by connecting people to opportunities, communities, and essential services. By enabling agencies to provide exceptional microtransit and paratransit services with our cloud-based software, we're reimagining the transportation landscape. We understand that resources are finite and that transit agencies need to optimize their existing assets. That's why we developed Spare Open Fleets, a solution that integrates bookable service providers like Lyft into an agency's operations, enabling them to expand their service offerings without compromising quality or incurring additional costs. By empowering agencies to deliver reliable microtransit and paratransit services, we are reshaping the future of transportation, one ride at a time.
