Head of Engineering, New Venture: Agriculture Lending SaaS - Montréal, QC, Canada - Collage HR

Description

CTO / Head of Engineering, New Venture: Agriculture Lending SaaS

We are launching a tech company developing a SaaS product that helps agricultural lenders close more loans faster and at a lower cost.

We are seeking a technical co-founder to head the engineering team in charge of infrastructure, architecture, and design, and use their technical knowledge to drive the product build.

Please note: This is not an employee opportunity at Diagram Ventures, but in a new company created through our venture studio model. The company has venture funding and a first customer / design partner.

The Opportunity

Ag financial services is a giant market – $18 billion in the US, and boasts higher margins than other lending sectors due to their specialized nature. Agriculture needs robust financial services more than ever, amid rising interest rates, farm debt at all-time highs, and dwindling rural community banks, especially as 40% of U.S. farmland is expected to change hands in the next two decades. Despite its size, ag finance is largely ignored by fintech, with existing tech products struggling to penetrate the farming sector. This leaves a gap filled by a fragmented group of century-old financial institutions that cannot develop modern agriculture lending technology on their own, resulting in slow and complex processes for farmers.

Our vision is to bring the same level of fintech innovation to agriculture as seen in consumer and business lending. Instead of competing with long-established ag financial services providers, we plan to partner with entities deeply embedded in the farming community, like ag lenders themselves, insurers, equipment dealers, ag supplies/crop retailers, co-ops, agtech platforms, and more.

Who we are looking for

We are assembling a team of entrepreneurs, technologists, and financial services professionals. We are now looking for an accomplished technical co-founder to lead the engineering build of a modern lending automation platform: you will grow your engineering team over time and build a high-quality product.

As one of the co-founders, you will build and scale a venture with a meaningful mission from the ground up. If you are up for it, you will:

• Work closely with the founding CEO to define the product vision and technical strategy, and ultimately drive the execution of this vision
• Set up the technology infrastructure, processes, and standards from the ground up - selecting stack, defining the architecture, etc.
• Be hands-on in delivering the MVP of the product, working alongside early pilot partners
• Build and manage the development roadmap, build vs buy strategy, define and track important metrics, progress, and budget
• Build and lead a passionate engineering team to continually develop the product in alignment with the broader strategy and vision
• Manage technical partners and vendor relationships

Background and experience

• A proven track record as CTO or Head of Engineering: hiring, leading and growing a team, ideally in a start-up or scale-up environment
• Experience building and scaling a fintech product, ideally in lending
• Experience putting together an MVP with a lean team, while laying the groundwork for stable long-term architecture

What you'll get

• Cash compensation and equity in the new company
• Opportunity to run the engineering team of a venture-backed business that has been significantly de-risked by an experienced fintech venture studio

Diagram is a venture builder that conceives and launches technology companies in the financial, crypto, and climate industries. We've designed a unique platform for entrepreneurs who have a proven track record or domain expertise to start their next business by combining access to venture capital investment, hands-on support, and a vast network of partners and incumbents. Since 2016, Diagram has raised $380M and launched over 20 new companies across North America. Our ecosystem is home to 200+ angel investors, including 60+ entrepreneurs with >$15B in exits and an extended global network of corporate partners, investors, and builders. Notable Diagram portfolio companies include Nesto (Series C), Synctera (Series A), Breathe Life (Acquired) and Dialogue (IPO).

Applying for this position

Diagram and its portfolio companies are equal-opportunity employers. We appreciate your interest in working with us; however, only those applicants selected for interviews will be contacted. Diagram may contact you about other possible opportunities you may be a fit for. We launch five new ventures each year and are continually excited to talk to founders and top talent who want to join us.