Title: Senior Software Developer
Waterloo, ON, N2V 1C6
Descartes Unites the People and Technology that Move the World
The need for efficient, secure, and agile supply chains and logistics operations has become ever more critical and complex. By combining innovative technology, powerful trade intelligence and the reach of our network, Descartes helps get goods, information, transportation assets, and people where they’re needed, when they’re needed.
We’re one of the most broadly deployed logistics and supply chain technology companies in the world. More than 26,000 customers around the globe use our cloud-based solutions to transform the way they move inventory and information to enhance productivity, better serve customers, thrive competitively, keep pace with evolving regulations, and respond to rapidly changing market conditions. Descartes is publicly traded (Nasdaq:DSGX, TSX:DSG) with headquarters in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and offices and partners around the world. With record financial performance for more than 16 years, we lead the industry in innovation investment. Every day, logistics service providers, manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and other logistics-intensive businesses of all sizes rely on our scale, stability, and comprehensive solution footprint to move what’s most important to them. Learn more at www.descartes.com.
We’re growing fast and invite you to join our amazing team.
POSITION: Senior Software Developer – Machine Learning & AI Systems
Location: Remote – Open to applicants authorized to work in Canada
Reports To: Senior Director, Machine Learning
Salary Range: $100,000 CAD to $120,000 CAD. Compensation information provided is a good faith estimate for this position only. Factors that may be used to determine your actual salary may include your specific skills as well as the years of experience you have. Similar positions located in different geographic regions will not necessarily receive the same compensation or same currency.
POSITION SUMMARY
We are seeking a Python-focused Senior Software Developer to join our Machine Learning team. This is a replacement hire for the role previously held by David. The successful candidate will contribute to expanding the use of Machine Learning and Large Language Models (LLMs) across the organization. This role offers the opportunity to make a real impact by delivering cutting-edge, high-impact ML systems that interface with a wide array of teams and technologies.
What Makes This Role Unique:
You’ll play a pivotal role in operationalizing ML initiatives across a global organization, collaborating with teams in Europe and South America, and delivering next-generation solutions that scale. If you're passionate about machine learning and want to drive real-world AI adoption, this is the role for you.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
• Design and implement scalable, robust, and secure Python-based applications and ML pipelines.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams—including engineering, data science, product, and DevOps—across multiple geographies.
• Translate complex product and ML requirements into technical designs and deliverables.
• Contribute to code reviews and help ensure software quality and maintainability.
• Support 12,000+ drivers across 12 countries with production-ready, high-availability systems.
• Maintain a strong culture of testing, observability, and performance monitoring.
• Participate in a weekly on-call rotation to ensure system reliability.
REQUIREMENTS
• 4+ years of software development experience, ideally in Python-heavy environments.
• Strong knowledge of Python, Flask, SQLAlchemy ORM, and PostgreSQL.
• Exposure to Machine Learning tools and frameworks, and eagerness to grow in LLMs and AI infrastructure.
• Familiarity with other technologies (e.g., .NET) and willingness to adapt and learn.
• Experience with cloud environments such as AWS.
• Additional experience with MongoDB, Cassandra, or other NoSQL databases is a plus.
• Experience working with global teams is an asset.
• Comfortable wearing many hats — we still operate as a startup within a larger ecosystem.
APTITUDES WE VALUE AT DESCARTES
To thrive at Descartes, we look for candidates who demonstrate the following aptitudes:
• Customer Focus: Understands and anticipates the needs of both internal and external customers.
• Teamwork & Collaboration: Works effectively with others across teams and geographies.
• Innovation & Problem Solving: Brings curiosity, creativity, and a solution-focused mindset.
• Accountability & Ownership: Takes initiative and drives work to completion with a high standard of quality.
• Adaptability & Learning Agility: Learns quickly and applies new knowledge to evolving challenges.
• Business Acumen: Understands the bigger picture and aligns technical work to organizational impact.
Join Us
As we scale, we’re looking for new doers, collaborators and innovators to join Descartes in uniting the people and technology that move the world as the Global Leader in Logistics and Supply Chain Technology. We’re entrepreneurial, hardworking, geeky-in-a-good way problem solvers. Guided by our values, we nurture a TEAM focused culture that invests in people and creates opportunities for advancement across a broad spectrum of career paths. We prioritize work-life balance and foster an environment with the space to take ownership, to be heard, and to carve a path for your individual accomplishments to help drive our success. At Descartes, everyone has a voice and the best idea wins, regardless of who makes it. We offer competitive compensation, great benefits, remote and flexible work hours, and the opportunity to join a company on an awesome mission with a great existing team and trajectory.
Descartes also has a deep sense of environmental responsibility. Learn more about how we helped our customers save over 552,000 metric tons of CO2 in 2020 by reducing fuel and paper consumption: https://www.descartes.com/who-we-are/social-responsibility-sustainability/environmental-impact. Join a team that’s committed to working with customers to conserve resources and enhance sustainability.
If you feel you have 70% of the qualifications we are looking for, and Descartes sounds like the team and the mission you want to be part of, apply now. We can't promise it will be a fit, but we do promise to consider your experience.
Through COVID-19, we implemented a virtual hiring process and continue to interview and onboard candidates by video using Microsoft TEAMS. We record interviews and use them strictly for quality assurance, training and general record keeping purposes. Should you have any questions about this process, please connect with our hiring team in advance of scheduled interviews. We value the safety of each member of our community because we know we're all in this together.
We are an Equal Employment employer. We do not discriminate in hiring on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religious creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, provincial, or local law. For more information about our commitment to equal employment opportunity, please review our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics at Descartes.com. Descartes is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. Applicants in North America with a disability who require a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process can email us at hrna@descartes.com. Provide your name and contact information along with the accommodation needed to assist you with the application process. Your request will be responded to as soon as possible. Reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
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