Director of Research & Development

Director of Research & Development

About Ziiware

For more than 30 years, Ziiware has built software that helps wholesale distributors run their operations with less friction. Our flagship platform, ZiiZii, delivers mobile ordering, delivery check in, shelf labeling, and vendor ordering for distributors across grocery, convenience store, hardware, and pharmaceutical channels. Ziiware is part of Libra Software Group, a portfolio of vertical market software companies operating under Constellation Software's Vela Software Group.

The Role

Ziiware is hiring a Director of Research & Development to lead product engineering and set technical direction for ZiiZii. This is a hands on leadership role responsible for the people, the roadmap, and the engineering practices that keep Ziiware's platform ahead of the needs of wholesale distributors. The Director will also lead the adoption of AI across the R&D organization, from developer tooling to customer facing product capability, making this a central proving ground for how Libra Software Group scales AI across its portfolio.

What You Will Do

• Own the R&D roadmap for ZiiZii, balancing customer commitments, platform health, and new capability
• Lead and grow a team of engineers, setting standards for code quality, delivery cadence, and technical decision making
• Drive AI adoption across the R&D function, embedding AI assisted development practices and identifying where AI can become a genuine product capability rather than a bolt on feature
• Partner with the Business Unit Manager and go to market leaders to ensure new features are built against validated customer demand
• Modernize and maintain integrations between ZiiZii and customers' ERP, WMS, and POS systems
• Report on R&D velocity, quality, and AI adoption metrics as part of Libra Software Group's quarterly performance review process
• Manage vendor and technology decisions for the R&D function, including tooling, infrastructure, and security posture in coordination with the portfolio CISO function

What You Bring

• Seven or more years in software engineering with at least three years leading an engineering or R&D team
• A track record of shipping product in a B2B or vertical market software environment; wholesale distribution, retail, or supply chain experience is a strong plus
• Direct experience using AI tools in engineering workflows, and a point of view on where AI genuinely improves a product versus where it adds noise
• Comfort operating in a small, owner operated business environment where you carry both technical and people leadership
• Experience with mobile applications, ERP or WMS integrations, and cloud infrastructure
• Strong written and verbal communication; you can explain technical tradeoffs to non technical stakeholders

Why Ziiware

Ziiware is a profitable, established business with a loyal customer base and room to build. As part of Libra Software Group and Constellation Software, you get the stability and long term ownership horizon of a permanent capital structure, paired with the autonomy of running your own product organization. AI adoption is a stated priority at the portfolio level, and this role is positioned to lead that work rather than follow it.

Location
This role is based in Toronto, ON.