About Simple Ventures We founded Simple Ventures (SV) with the mission of building great Canadian companies. Our thesis is simple: Canada is overlooked and under-appreciated. Most companies around the world ignore Canada because of perceived market size, regulation, language, and powerful oligopolies. As a result, Canadians miss out.
But we know better. Canada is a top 10 global economy with many of the same consumer and business pain points as other markets. This creates an opportunity to bring the best product ideas to Canada - to see what’s working around the world and be first to execute for Canadians.
We’re funded and supported by Canada’s top leaders including the founders and leaders of Wealthsimple, Shopify, Ada, MindBeacon, TD and many more.
Our Approach We are experts in sourcing, vetting and launching new companies. Once we have conviction in a specific concept, we find the best fit CEO for the company and partner with them to accelerate and scale the venture.
For CEOs, we significantly de-risk the prospect of starting a company. In particular, we help by: (a) validating the idea, (b) funding the concept, (c) unlocking a distribution advantage, and (d) bringing an extensive support network across product, engineering, marketing, and growth.
For LPs, we seek to drive returns through disciplined validation and capital efficiency. Our approach is industry agnostic, with a focus on: (a) market validation, (b) speed to insight, (c) attractive unit economics, and (d) defensibility in the Canadian market.
The Opportunity This is a founding technical role focused on embedding AI at the center of how new companies get built.
You will act as the technical and AI backbone of the studio - building systems, tools, and products that dramatically increase the speed and quality of everything we do. Your work will directly increase the rate at which new companies are created.
This is not a traditional CTO role. You are a builder first. You will be expected to move quickly, operate with high ownership, and push ideas from concept to working product in days, not weeks.
You will work across the studio, portfolio companies, and new ventures - identifying opportunities for AI, building solutions, and creating leverage across a small team.
This role is high ownership,



high intensity, and fast-paced. You will be expected to operate with urgency, challenge how we work, and rebuild systems from first principles.
There are three main aspects to the role:
1. Studio AI Infrastructure & Leverage Build AI-first systems, tools, and workflows that improve how the studio operates
Identify bottlenecks across the team and eliminate them through automation or redesign
Create leverage - your work should make the entire team faster and more effective
Establish best practices and reusable infrastructure for how AI is applied across the studio
2. Venture Building & Prototyping Rapidly prototype MVPs, features, and products for new venture concepts
Turn ideas into functional products that can be tested with real users
Use AI-native development workflows to compress build cycles from weeks into days
Work closely with the venture team to validate ideas through real product and user interaction
3. Portfolio Support & Applied AI Partner with CEOs and founders to identify high-leverage opportunities for AI
Build or support the development of AI features, tools, and workflows within portfolio companies
Distinguish signal from hype - focus on practical, high-impact applications of AI
Help portfolio companies move faster by embedding AI into their core operations and products
About You We’re looking for a high-agency technical builder with strong product instincts and a relentless drive to ship.
You are AI-native, move quickly from idea to execution, and care deeply about building things that actually work and get used. You are motivated by speed, ownership, and creating leverage - not just writing code.
You should have:
1. Relevant Experience Experience building products, systems, or tools from scratch (startup, side project, or personal builds)
Robust technical ability as an engineer, technical product builder, or exceptional generalist




Experience working in fast-moving, early-stage environments (0→1 or 1→10)
2. AI-Native Builder Actively use AI tools to build, prototype, and accelerate your work
Experience with modern AI workflows (LLM APIs, agents, copilots, automation, etc.)
Strong point of view on how AI changes how software and companies are built
3. High-Velocity Execution Operates with urgency and intensity - you move quickly and don’t get stuck in analysis
Bias for action - you ship fast and learn through real-world feedback
Ability to run multiple workstreams in parallel without losing quality
4. Product & Systems Thinking Strong product judgment - you know what is useful vs. noise
Ability to move between problem framing and execution
Thinks in systems - you look for ways to create leverage, not just complete tasks
5. Ownership & Drive Relentless drive to build and win - you push until something works
Extreme ownership - you take responsibility for outcomes, not tasks
High standards - you care deeply about the quality and usefulness of what you build
You are not a 9–5 operator - you are intrinsically motivated and think about problems beyond assigned work
6. Communication & Collaboration Able to work closely with non-technical teammates and founders
Clear communicator who can explain technical decisions and tradeoffs
Comfortable challenging ideas and proposing better approaches
This Role is Not for You If You prefer structured environments with clearly defined scope
You need long planning cycles before building
You are primarily focused on process over outcomes
You are not deeply interested in AI or how it changes how software is built
You optimize for stability or work-life balance over building
Benefits & Perks Impact - Help build the next generation of Canadian companies
Learning - Work closely with top founders and operators
Ownership - Build across multiple ventures, not just one
Benefits - Health & dental coverage
Application Process As part of the process, you will be asked to build or prototype a small AI-driven product, workflow, or tool. This is the best way for us to understand how you think, build, and operate.

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📌 Founding AI Engineer (Ontario)
🏢 Simple Ventures
📍 Ontario