VP Engineering

The Opportunity:
Reporting into the Chief Technology Officer, Oliver Fisher, the Vice President, Engineering will be responsible for the development and delivery of all of Freshbooks’ accounting solutions for small businesses.

Specific responsibilities include:

1. Lead a growing, global, multi-functional team of 100 product development engineers to ensure on-time delivery of core technologies at the right yield and cost.
2. Lead and develop high-performing, collaborative teams that consistently execute on deliverables.
3. Partner and engage with the business unit leadership teams, product management, product development, upstream technology R&D, quality, operations, finance, marketing, and sales teams to ensure product development timelines are aligned and met.
4. Work with the Product Management team to implement and prioritize across product lines. Use good judgment in trade-offs to meet schedules.
5. Responsible for setting realistic development schedules, closely monitoring progress, and balancing resources across location and engineering teams as appropriate.
6. Promptly resolve issues faced during operationalization by working with different stakeholders.
7. Provide thought leadership and recommendations to stakeholders based on best practices and experience working in a diverse environment.
8. Work with the R&D teams on the development of next-generation technologies.
9. Evolve technology products to meet advanced R&D roadmap.

FreshBooks has engineering offices in Toronto, Amsterdam, and Croatia while expanding to new locations over time. The FreshBooks R&D and Engineering organizations are also embracing “work from almost anywhere” including at the leadership level. Oliver Fisher, FreshBooks CTO, has a 20-year history working remotely. So this position and much of the team can be based almost anywhere in North America or Europe. The role is ideally located in Toronto, Canada or Amsterdam, the Netherlands. However, Freshbooks and our client are open to remote work from any major hub on the North American East Coast or in Western Europe.

Candidate Profile:
The successful candidate will be a world-class engineering leader with at least 10 years of progressive engineering leadership experience. They must be a collaborative executive with the ability to work across various businesses and functions effectively. This leader will be a strong people manager and team builder capable of growing, leading, and inspiring a large globally distributed engineering team across continents, including Canada, the Netherlands, and Croatia. They will enhance an already diverse set of perspectives on the engineering leadership team by bringing their unique life experience to bear when leading our team and serving our customers.

In terms of the performance and personal competencies required for the position, we would highlight the following while understanding that strong candidates may present these attributes in many diverse ways:

1. Advanced degree in Computer Science and/or Engineering or equivalent technical discipline.
2. Although not currently directly involved in development, a solid history of hands-on engineering skills, with deep technical credibility and creative/innovative spark, gained through experience in a senior software architect or engineering principal role.
3. Dynamic range to shift effortlessly between big-picture strategies and “in the weeds” technical details.
4. Understanding of the larger business context (mission critical) and proven ability to partner closely with a product management organization to make smart prioritization and ultimately enable the business units to bring the right products to market at the right time for the right cost.
5. Highly refined organizational leadership skills gained in progressive engineering organizations that span multiple sites, product lines, and technology areas (with exposure to at least one key SMC technology space).
6. Track record of attracting, developing, and inspiring high-performance engineering teams.
7. A leader known for their ability to generate trust and promote collaboration.
8. Outstanding manager known for challenging one’s teams in a constructive manner in order to identify and mitigate technical risks; takes personal ownership in solving difficult problems that could impact customer or company success.
9. Strong track record of results in driving aggressive schedules.
10. Demonstrated ability to implement, manage, and execute scalable design processes that result in improved time-to-market and overall performance against schedules and deliverables.
11. Bold and decisive; willing to take calculated risks to achieve break-out solutions.
12. Objective and data-driven by nature; a straight communicator with unquestionable integrity, and a strong customer focus and a proven track record of predictable engineering delivery.

In terms of general leadership competencies, the successful candidate should come with:

1. Setting Strategy: The ability to create and articulate an inspiring vision for the engineering organization, and also to contribute to that of the enterprise as a whole.
2. The inclination to seek and analyze data from a variety of sources to support decisions and to align others with the organization’s overall strategy.
3. An entrepreneurial and creative approach to developing new, innovative ideas that will stretch the organization and push the boundaries within the industry.
4. Executing for Results: The ability to set clear and challenging goals while committing the organization to improved performance; tenacious and accountable in driving results.
5. Comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty; the ability to adapt nimbly and lead others through complex situations.
6. A risk-taker who seeks data and input from others to foresee possible threats or unintended circumstances from decisions; someone who takes smart risks.
7. A leader who is viewed by others as having a high degree of integrity and forethought in their approach to making decisions; the ability to act in a transparent and consistent manner while always taking into account what is best for the organization.
8. Building and Leading Teams and Culture: The ability to attract and recruit top talent, motivate the team, delegate effectively, celebrate diversity within the team, and manage performance; widely viewed as a strong developer of others.
9. The ability to persevere in the face of challenges and exhibit a steadfast resolve and relentless commitment to higher standards, which commands trust and respect from followers.
10. A leader who is self-reflective and aware of their own limitations; leads by example and drives the organization’s performance with an attitude of continuous improvement by being open to feedback and self-improvement.
11. Relationships and Influence: Naturally connects and builds strong relationships and collaborates with others, demonstrating strong emotional intelligence and an ability to communicate clearly and persuasively.
12. An ability to inspire trust and followership in others through compelling influence, powerful charisma, passion in their beliefs, and active drive.
13. Encourages others to share the spotlight and visibly celebrates and supports the success of the team.
14. Creates a sense of purpose/meaning for the team that generates followership beyond their own personality and engages others to the greater purpose for the organization as a whole.

What we offer:
Competitive salary, health benefits from day 1, and extra days off (office is closed between Christmas and New Years)
RRSP matching program and generous parental leave policy
Weekly catered lunches, beer, and snacks
Team and company offsites, hack-offs, and paid community volunteer days and religious observance days
Professional development opportunities and flexible work schedules
Office gym with showers and complimentary towel service
Secure, indoor bike parking with well-stocked repair bay
Ping Pong, Foosball, Massage Chairs, Nintendo Stations, and more.
Dog-friendly office
TTC Accessible
Sure, there are perks: but the real reason people are proud to work at FreshBooks is that each person knows their opinion is respected, and they can see the difference they make in the lives of over 10 million small business owners around the world. If you want to accelerate your career, work on projects you're passionate about, and have just as much of a life outside the office as inside—you're exactly what we're looking for.

We value our people...
We recognize and reward ingenious work. We all have real lives, and respect work-life balance. We all have a voice that is heard throughout the company. We always make time for fun and have one of the most unique, employee-led cultures out there. Join the FreshBooks choir or a class in the gym, organize a gaming night, teach a dev lunch and learn, or use a paid volunteer day to share your skills with the community. Salaries are competitive and compensation packages include stake in the company. Interested? Let’s get started!

FreshBooks provides employment accommodation during the recruitment process. Should you require any accommodation, please indicate this on your application and we will work with you to meet your accessibility needs. For any questions, suggestions, or required documents regarding accessibility in a different format, please contact us.