Engineering Manager
I’m reaching out because your background in leading technical teams while staying close to the code and exposure to ML systems caught my eye. I’m working with Soma Energy ( https://www.soma.energy/ ), an AI company tackling some genuinely meaty, real-world problems — using modern ML and optimization to make the power grid smarter, cleaner, and more resilient.
The founding team brings deep energy-market experience and serious AI chops (including building large-scale energy optimization systems at major cloud platforms). One of their key priorities right now is hiring an Engineering Manager who’s comfortable wearing both hats: guiding a small team (around 5–6 engineers) while remaining relatively hands-on with tech leadership and code in a production ML environment.
This is very much a player-coach role — leading by example, helping shape technical direction, and building systems that actually hold up in the wild: ML platforms, data and real-time pipelines, backend infrastructure, and distributed systems that sit at the heart of an AI-first product.
While Soma is Vancouver-based today, they’re intentionally building a core engineering presence in Montreal which already includes 3 other Montrealers, and an MLOPS Engineer who was just recruited as well. This role would help establish and grow that team, working out of MILA’s office in Little Italy (the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute), where Soma will have a dedicated presence through their partnership. The setup is flexible hybrid — remote-friendly, but designed to let the Montreal team connect, collaborate, and build momentum together.
On compensation, they’ve been refreshingly clear: money isn’t the constraint — finding the right person is.
If this sounds aligned with the kind of team-building and technical problems you enjoy tackling, I’d be happy to share more context and explore further. Don’t hesitate if you have any questions, I’m working closely with one of the founders, Athanasios, and can get you clear, direct answers quickly.