AI Solutions & Development Director

About us

Appnovation is a global, full-service digital partner that combines Strategy, Experience & Design, Engineering and Managed Services. We build digital solutions that deliver real impact today and serve as foundations for future growth.  Bold ambition. Practical action. Endless possibilities.

Appnovation Technologies is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Technical Director - AI Solutions & Development to join our forward-thinking team, based in Toronto or Montreal, Canada. This role is crucial in delivering technical excellence and innovation across a range of AI-powered client solutions within our global clientbase and  operations.

ROLE OVERVIEW

As the Technical Director - AI Solutions & Development, you will lead the architecture and delivery of cutting-edge AI solutions, oversee multi-cloud AI implementations, and help guide our continued evolution in AI-driven development practices. This hands-on role combines deep technical expertise with the ability to translate complex AI concepts into business value for our diverse client base.

RESPONSIBILITIES 

• AI Solution Architecture: Design multi-cloud reference architectures leveraging GCP, AWS, and potentially China-mainland clouds when solution sovereignty demands it
• Agentic AI & Integration: Apply agentic-LLM patterns, RAG pipelines, and architect solutions with embeddings, vector databases, MCP servers, and AI coding tools
• Security & Compliance: Embed OWASP GenAI risk mitigations and security best practices across SDLC with AI observability and strong monitoring
• Client Leadership: Lead discovery workshops, craft solution architecture, and run executive readouts for stakeholders
• Delivery: Estimate, scope and price projects; uphold delivery KPIs (security, cost, performance)
• Team Development: Build and mentor engineering teams around AI solutions and orchestrated development practices
• Coordinate across internal teams and client stakeholders across timezones

EXPERIENCE 

The ideal candidate will have:

• 10+ years full-stack or platform engineering experience with 3+ years directing delivery teams
• ≥2 years hands-on GenAI: building production LLM applications, prompt engineering, integrating AI coding assistants and autonomous agent frameworks
• Multi-cloud expertise: GCP (Vertex AI) or AWS (Bedrock, Guardrails)
• Security-first approach: GenAI-specific threat modeling and guardrails implementation
• Client communication: Workshop facilitation and storytelling through documents, slides, architectural diagrams
• Technical breadth: Polyglot coding (TypeScript/Node.js, Python, Java), AI ecosystem knowledge (LangChain, LangGraph), MLOps practices
• Advanced AI experience: Fine-tuning/RLHF, modern frameworks (Vercel AI SDK, Mastra.ai)

TECHNOLOGIES 

• An understanding of the following, or comparative, technologies:
• AI Platforms: LangChain, AutoGen, CrewAI, LangGraph, PyTorch, TensorFlow, Vertex AI, AWS Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, multi-modal AI
• Data & Vector Systems: Milvus, Pinecone, Qdrant, RAG pipelines, embeddings
• Development: AI coding assistants (Cline, Roocode, Claude Code), Next.js, Nuxt.js, React Native, Flutter
• CMS & Infrastructure: Contentful, Sanity, Builder.io, Adobe AEM, Terraform, microservices
• Security: OWASP GenAI guidelines, enterprise AI security frameworks

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Cloud certifications (GCP ML Engineer, AWS ML Specialty)
• Google Professional Cloud Architect or Google Professional Cloud Developer
• Enterprise AI governance and regulatory compliance knowledge

WHAT DOES APPNOVATION HAVE TO OFFER?

Appnovation’s development teams are collaborative, friendly and open, and with varied work. We encourage development both professionally and personally! Aside from work, we offer a people and culture-orientated, fun and dynamic environment.

Here are a few more reasons why you should apply: 

• Work-life Balance
• Lots of opportunities for personal and professional growth
• Health Benefits Package
• Mental Health Support
• Personal Days Off
• Fertility and Menopause Leave
• Fitness Allowance
• D,E&I Initiatives
• And much more...

 

Thank you for your interest in a career with Appnovation Technologies! Please note that only those selected for an interview will be contacted.   At Appnovation, we recognize that diverse teams are the strongest teams. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is not only something that we embrace - we celebrate it! We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and we encourage applicants from all backgrounds, lived experiences and industries to apply. Come join us at Appnovation, and learn more about how we stay true to our company values as we build better lives through better digital.

Accommodations are available upon request throughout the recruitment process.