Technical Lead, AI Infrastructure Systems at Wafr Technologies Inc. — NeverHard

Job DescriptionJob Description About Wafr Wafr Technologies is building the next generation of AI-ready data centre infrastructure in Canada. Powered by our proprietary FRDGE phase-change thermal battery, Thermint AI dispatch system, and TerraQuant MRV stack, our facilities are engineered to deliver approximately 80% less cooling power and approximately 90% less water consumption than conventional designs. The Role We are seeking a hands-on Technical Lead to help architect, build, deploy, and scale a next-generation platform operating at the intersection of AI infrastructure, optimization systems, thermal engineering, power systems, and real-time controls. This role is not a traditional software management position. We are looking for someone who is equally comfortable making high-level technical decisions and rolling up their sleeves to implement production systems across cloud infrastructure, DevOps, backend services, optimization workflows, and real-time orchestration. The ideal candidate has deep technical fluency across multiple engineering domains and thrives in fast-moving startup environments where ownership, adaptability, and execution matter. You will take ownership of evolving an existing prototype and architecture into a secure, scalable, production-grade platform while helping establish the technical foundation for future engineering growth. Key Responsibilities Take technical ownership of the platform architecture and make critical engineering decisions across infrastructure, deployment, scalability, and system reliability. Lead the transition of the platform from prototype to production-ready deployment. Design, implement, and maintain cloud infrastructure and hosting environments. Build and manage CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure automation, and DevOps workflows to support reliable deployment and operations. Develop and maintain backend systems, APIs, orchestration services, and operational tooling. Collaborate across software, infrastructure, thermal, and systems engineering domains to support real-time optimization and control workflows. Support implementation and operationalization of optimization and machine-learning systems involving multi-objective decision-making. Contribute to systems involving thermal management, liquid cooling infrastructure, power systems, battery orchestration, and closed-loop control processes. Establish engineering best practices for security, uptime, observability, monitoring, and incident response. Help define technical standards, development workflows, and long-term platform scalability strategies. Operate effectively in a startup environment by wearing multiple hats and driving execution across both strategic and hands-on technical work. Support future team growth through technical mentorship, hiring input, and engineering leadership. Required Qualifications 8+ years of experience in software engineering, infrastructure engineering, DevOps, platform engineering, or related technical leadership roles. Proven experience taking complex technical products or platforms from prototype/MVP stage to production deployment. Strong hands-on experience with cloud infrastructure platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP. Deep experience with DevOps tooling, CI/CD pipeline implementation, infrastructure automation, and production operations. Experience with containerization and orchestration technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes. Strong backend engineering and API development experience. Experience designing and operating highly available, high-uptime production systems. Strong understanding of security best practices, infrastructure hardening, and compliance-oriented engineering environments. Startup or high-growth company experience with demonstrated ability to operate independently and manage ambiguity. Demonstrated ability to lead technically while remaining hands-on in implementation and execution. Strong cross-disciplinary technical fluency and systems-thinking mindset. Candidates should possess meaningful technical understanding in several of the following areas: Optimization systems and machine learning infrastructure Multi-objective optimization and operational decision systems Thermal or mechanical systems related to cooling infrastructure Power systems, battery systems, or energy orchestration Real-time controls and closed-loop operational systems Infrastructure telemetry, monitoring, and operational analytics Preferred Qualifications Experience working within AI infrastructure, data centers, energy systems, industrial automation, or mission-critical infrastructure environments. Experience with real-time orchestration systems, distributed infrastructure, or edge computing environments. Familiarity with optimization frameworks, MILP solvers, or operational AI systems. Experience supporting liquid cooling systems, thermal optimization, or power-aware infrastructure operations. Experience with battery management systems, power electronics, or energy dispatch systems. Experience building platforms requiring high reliability, resilience, and operational safety. Prior experience as a founding engineer, technical lead, or early-stage engineering leader. Experience helping scale engineering organizations and technical processes. Familiarity with security and compliance frameworks such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, or similar operational standards. Strong communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts across multidisciplinary teams. What We Offer Base salary: commensurate with experience. Performance bonus tied to project milestones. Extended health and dental benefits. Stock options.