Software Developer

Job Overview

• Function: IT
• Office Location: Toronto
• Business: 9 Story (9 Story Media / Brown Bag Films)
• Type of Position: Full-time Contract

Company Description

9 Story Media / Brown Bag Films is a leading creator, producer and distributor of award-winning animated and live action content for audiences around the world. From development right through to consumer products, 9 Story Media Group is one of the world's leading kids and family content companies.

Job Description

The responsibilities of the Software Developer at Brown Bag Films will vary depending on the requirements of each project. The role will primarily focus on the design, development, testing, and ongoing support of software applications, production tools, and pipeline technologies. Although the position is primarily technical, the Software Developer will work closely with the Innovation, Pipeline, and production teams, as well as other business stakeholders. The role will help translate production and business requirements into effective technical solutions and provide a software development perspective on project requirements and workflows. The successful candidate will be a creative problem-solver with strong software development skills and a good understanding of technology within the animation industry.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, debug, deploy, and maintain software applications and production tools.
• Participate in software development projects from initial requirements through to implementation and support.
• Participate in the research and development of new features, technologies, and tools that improve production workflows.
• Develop software solutions to support current and future productions at Brown Bag Films.
• Contribute to the evaluation and development of AI-assisted tools where appropriate.
• Integrate REST APIs, third-party software, applications, and services with existing systems.
• Work with the Innovation team, and Pipeline teams to develop technical plans and deliver project requirements.
• Collaborate with Pipeline, and production teams across Brown Bag Films’ global studio locations.
• Translate production and business requirements into appropriate technical solutions.
• Investigate, troubleshoot, and resolve software and pipeline issues affecting production teams.
• Evaluate existing tools and workflows and contribute to improvements in performance, usability, reliability, and automation.
• Develop and maintain web-based and standalone applications.
• Build and maintain resilient and effective back-end services.
• Perform software performance tuning, optimisation, and usability improvements.
• Write clean, maintainable, testable, and well-documented code.
• Participate in code reviews and follow established software development standards and best practices.
• Create and maintain technical documentation, including API documentation, user guides, and internal procedures.
• Provide technical support and advice to production teams and other internal stakeholders.
• Carry out any other relevant duties deemed appropriate by the employee’s manager or the directors of the company.

Key Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Two or more years of relevant software development experience.
• Strong software development experience using Python and JavaScript.
• Experience with Angular or another modern front-end framework.
• Full-stack software development experience.
• Experience designing and developing web-based or standalone applications.
• Experience developing and integrating REST APIs and third-party services.
• Experience working on Linux and Microsoft Windows operating systems.
• Experience using Git or another source-control system and participating in code reviews.
• Experience using unit tests and automated testing as part of the development process.
• Good understanding of data models and relational databases.
• Good understanding of software development and computer science principles.
• Experience building reliable and effective back-end services.
• Understanding of computer graphics technologies, animation pipelines, or digital production practices.
• Good understanding of user interface and user experience principles.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Ability to learn, adapt, manage competing priorities, and deliver work within agreed deadlines.
• Experience working with internal or external clients and stakeholders.
• Strong written, verbal, interpersonal, and collaborative working skills.
• Good planning, estimation, and project-scoping abilities.

Bonus Skills

• Experience using C++ or C#.
• Experience with game-engine technologies, particularly Unreal Engine.
• Experience developing tools or workflows for Autodesk Maya.
• Experience with Flask or similar Python web frameworks.
• Experience with Autodesk Flow, formerly Shotgun, or another production and asset-management platform.
• Experience with containerisation, cloud platforms, or modern deployment technologies.
• Experience developing AI-assisted tools, machine-learning integrations, or generative AI workflows.
• Previous experience working within animation, visual effects, games, or another media-production environment.

Compensation and Benefits

• Salary Range: $96,000 – $109,000 per year.
• Perks: Competitive perks including comprehensive benefits, paid vacation, and health & wellness days.

Additional Information

• Eligibility: Applicants need to be legally eligible to work in Canada and have Ontario residency.
• Diversity and Inclusion: 9 Story Media is committed to equity in the recruitment process and encourages applications from diverse backgrounds, including but not limited to Indigenous peoples, Racialized and LGBT2SQ+ communities, candidates from a range of ages and religious beliefs, and people with disabilities.
• Accommodation: The company provides reasonable accommodation to support individuals with disabilities during the application and interview process.