Lead, Systems Design

About the position

Porter Airlines is undergoing a technology transformation to modernize its IT landscape over the next 2–3 years. Core pillars include modernization, architectural alignment, and driving quality delivery across the organization. A critical enabler of this transformation is the Lead, Systems Design. In this role, you will be accountable to translate high-level architectural blueprints into detailed technical specifications and actionable design artifacts. As a senior individual contributor, you will bridge the gap between abstract strategy and engineering execution, ensuring that our airline and corporate systems are integrated, high-performing, and AI-enhanced. You will be responsible for the delicate balance of keeping the airline flying today while designing the engines of tomorrow. Whether you are coordinating a critical system upgrade, designing a booking database, or managing a major ERP transition, your work ensures our technology is as agile as our fleet.

Responsibilities

  • Take ownership of complex changes from initial design through to build, configuration, data updates, and final deployment.
  • Act as a critical thinker of change, evaluating how new requirements (including the transition to a new system) impact the stability of the current environment.
  • Translate high level architectures into detailed design artifacts and interface specifications while serving as the technical SME for system and data.
  • Design and refine Digital APIs that allow external and internal applications to interact seamlessly with core functions.
  • Identify repeatable patterns and opportunities to standardize solutions across teams, reducing technical debt and fragmented workflows.
  • Lead the coordination of system upgrades to new versions, acting as the bridge between vendor releases and internal operations.
  • Deeply understand new features within upgrade cycles, evaluating their functional impact and technical compatibility with existing airline and corporate systems.
  • Manage the technical complexities of coexistence, ensuring legacy applications remain fully operational and synchronized while new systems are phased in.
  • Anticipate potential design \"collisions\" between old and new logic, proposing mitigation strategies to minimize operational downtime.
  • Proactively reduce dependency on 3rd-party vendors by building internal capabilities, reusable scripts, and proprietary solutions.
  • Maintain a hands-on development approach, taking ownership of specific coding assignments to implement critical design components.
  • Resolve complex, multi system technical issues and vendor platform bottlenecks through troubleshooting and cross functional coordination.
  • Build small ad-hoc applications or utility tools to solve immediate business problems or bridge gaps between larger enterprise systems.
  • Develop \"Proof of Concept\" (PoC) integrations to validate designs before handing them off for full-scale production.
  • Engineer the integration points and data structures required to embed AI capabilities within existing workflows.
  • Utilize AI-assisted tools to accelerate documentation, prototyping, and the standardization of internal design patterns.
  • Specify Cloud Infrastructure needs (compute, messaging, database) required to host and scale your system designs.
  • Actively participate in Porter's Safety Management System (SMS) by identifying and reporting workplace hazards and promoting a safe work environment.

Requirements

  • Degree or diploma in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
  • 8+ years of experience in system design or software engineering or systems integration, including 2+ years in a technical leadership or senior system designer role
  • Proven track record as a Lead Individual Contributor, demonstrating the ability to drive technical excellence and mentor peers without formal people management authority.
  • Extensive experience managing complex system upgrades and large-scale transitions (e.g., migrating to a new ERP or airline reservation system).
  • Experience designing and integrating APIs, microservices, or event-driven architectures
  • Solid understanding of cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure) and associated architectural patterns
  • Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical audiences
  • Experience facilitating knowledge sharing, mentoring peers, and contributing to communities of practice

Nice-to-haves

  • Occasional on-call availability and/or the need to work outside of regular office hours may be required to support business needs and ensure continuity of operations

Benefits

  • 4 Star Airline®
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