Best Technology Jobs Canada
Did you know that Toronto has become a tech hub? Take a look at these jobs that new tech start-ups need filled in the Toronto area.
Did you know that Toronto has become a tech hub? Take a look at these jobs that new tech start-ups need filled in the Toronto area (along with one in Montreal). Canada has a diverse economy with everything from agricultural workers to the latest tech jobs. And innovation is something most of us worry about keeping up with. Things change so quickly nowadays, and everyone keeps talking about how the jobs of the future haven’t even been invented yet. Well, here’s a few jobs that you may have never heard of but are already out there and need to be filled. Who knows? They may actually be what you’re looking for.
Community Manager/Social Media Manager
Do you know the difference?
A Social Media Manager basically helps develop a strategy to create and distribute a brand’s content across various social media. In other words, you create and manage the brand on social media. You do everything from managing daily interaction with brand users across social media to handling the daily reporting and analysis of those interactions (web traffic metrics for example) with your colleagues at work. Do you get a lot of sleep? Maybe not always 8 hours, let’s just say.
A Community Manager, on the other hand, engages with new prospective users/clients of the brand in order to grow the brand community. In other words, you advocate a brand on social networks by creating a persona and skilfully interacting with online prospects and others who may not even know anything about the brand. And all the while maintaining the personality or voice of the brand you’re promoting. Your communication and networking skills have to be great.
Drop, a new Toronto Tech start-up that runs a redeemable benefit rewards program for online shoppers at brands like Starbucks, Wholefoods, and Nike is hiring a Community Manager as well as looking for a few other positions to be filled.
These first two occupations are examples of jobs that not too long ago didn’t even exist. It also very clearly takes a very specific skill set to do them and, especially, to do them well. But as with everything, they also involve skills that can be taught and acquired.
The reason this really matters isn’t just because it might be cool to tell your friends that you’re Second Cup’s Community Manager. It’s because Toronto is turning into a tech start-up hub with all sorts of innovative new companies springing to life and needing a whole range of skill sets in order to fill their job openings. So, no matter where you’re reading this, you just might be someone who they’re looking for.
Why don’t we find out?
MaRS is a tech hub that has a list of start-ups almost all of which are located in Toronto (as is MaRS itself). Here are some jobs you may not have heard of that these start-ups need filled.
Solutions Architect
This is the software engineer who’s the bridge between Enterprise Architects who handle the overall tech environment of a company and Software Architects who solve the actual technical problems by specifying the behavior and structure of the software system. The Solutions Architect basically translates to the Software Architect what the Enterprise Architect wants. Not the kind of job you get if you’ve done an introductory certificate in Java. But if you have the experience, this is a key job and a much-needed skill for any company that uses tech. Which is most companies nowadays.
Wysdom.AI is hiring one. The company creates conversational artificial intelligence systems for businesses to interact with their customers. They also need an AI Data Analyst and guess what? Among the other jobs they’re looking to fill is an Intermediate Java Developer. So get another certificate in Java and who knows?
Information Security Officer
This is the person who takes care that a company’s systems and data are secure but does so by making security a key part of everything. They make sure that security is baked into the strategy itself of the company. And they have to be very good at communicating what they do to other people who may not have even heard of their job.
Tulip is a mobile application start-up that helps improve how payments are made in retail stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Kate Spade, or Coach. They also work on improving front-line customer experience. If you’re involved in retail payment systems through mobile apps then you better darn well have a secure system or you’ll never gain customers. That means they’re looking for an Information Security Officer. They also need a Project Manager, a Sales Director and various other positions filled.
UX Designer
UX means User Experience. So, a UX Designer’s job is all about how a product functions and how easy it is to use. That means they focus on how the product works and how users interact with the product. That’s not the same as a UI Designer (User Interface) who is more about the online experience and how to communicate visually the steps a user needs to take. A UX Designer is someone good at analyzing data and doing research into how products work and how to improve the user experience. A UI Designer is more about digital design: composition, graphic design, typography and things like that.
Myant is another Toronto start-up that makes smart clothes or what used to be called wearable tech. Right away, it’s easy to see how important a UX Designer is. You have to make the stuff look good, be easy to wear, and efficient at recording things like your heart-rate without being invasive and making the user feel like a robot. Get the user experience wrong and no one will want to wear your smart clothes. Myant is also looking for a Hardware Product Manager, a Mobile Developer and a Knitting Technician. Yes, an expert in knitting. That’s the post-industrial economy. Knitting and UX Design working side by side in the same company.
Data Scientist
If you’re a data scientist you probably have a degree in math and/or statistics with a whole lot of programming skills, or you might instead have a computer science degree with some training in the former. You collect, analyze, and interpret huge amounts of data and help companies solve difficult problems. You might help your employer see which courses of action would produce the best results by testing them statistically and analyzing the results. You’re good at mining data and analyzing the results.
Flinks is a Montreal-based company that provides financial insights for businesses on how to give their consumers a better financial product or service. They use credit risk information and bank account information to achieve this. A Data Scientist is the person who sets up the models, algorithms and analytical methods so that Flinks can turn that information into value-added services. They’re also looking for a Financial Comptroller not surprisingly along with a few other geeky and cool jobs to be filled.
CMMS Implementation Consultant
Wow. First of all, CMMS means Computerized Maintenance Management System and what that means is the software that makes sure your company’s equipment is being maintained on schedule so that when it needs to be taken off your production line, your company has a plan in place to work around that. It’s basically a database for an organization’s maintenance operations. A CMMS Implementation Consultant helps you set up the system and makes sure it does what you need it to do.
Fiix is a software solution for auto maintenance. It organizes, tracks and schedules auto maintenance. Now that’s a much-needed solution to a worldwide problem: when do I get my car check-up? They’re growing their Toronto operations and of course they’d need a CMMS Implementation Consultant to make sure their software performs up to scratch. They also need a Customer Success Representative and an IT Manager, among other jobs.
As you can see, there’s a wide range of jobs available in Canada. One thing they have in common is that they require people who can communicate well and solve problems for their employer. We’ve already talked about the importance of soft skills in our automated age in an earlier article you can find here. We’ve talked about some of Canada’s universities here and here.
So, if you feel these jobs might be for you and you’re living outside Canada, then the next step you need to take is to find out about study permits and maybe work permits as well. Now might be the time to start looking into that.
