Open North is a Canadian non-profit that makes web and mobile apps to increase government transparency and connect citizens with their representatives. If you’re passionate about government transparency and civic engagement and want a job where you’re making a difference, work with our team to build tools to inform and empower citizens to exercise their political influence and participate actively in decision-making processes.

What’s it like to work at Open North? On any given day, you’ll discuss with our team creative new ways to get governments and citizens to engage with one another, learn cutting edge tools to build innovative web apps, follow trends in democracy and citizenship, and make a name for yourself in the open government, open source community.

Web Developer Intern
Open North is looking for a talented Web Developer to join our team. This offer is for a 16-week summer job, starting May 7, 2012 and ending August 24, 2012. Open North is a bilingual team that works comfortably in both official languages.

You will be working on MaMairie.ca, an online tool that helps citizens track and interact with their elected officials in the City of Montreal and gives them the tools they need to engage with government on local issues. You’ll design and build interactive features to encourage participation and engagement with municipal government, integrate new local information sources, and help us translate and launch Ma Mairie in cities across Canada.

Requirements

Minimum skills:
- Pursuing (or possessing) a university or college degree in web development, software engineering, computer science or a related field
- At least three years experience with programming languages, preferably Ruby or Python

Preferred skills:
- Over five years experience with programming languages, preferably Ruby or Python
- Multiple years experience in Linux, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Git, Rails and/or Django
- Autonomously conceived, designed and built a sophisticated, polished, interactive website
- Experience with automated testing environments
- Maintained or contributed to open-source tools

Experience:
- At least one self-built website that you can show us, preferably more complex dynamic web applications

To apply: Send a resume and cover letter to James McKinney, Executive Director at james@opennorth.ca or 1200 St-Alexandre, Suite 408, Montreal, QC, H3B 3H5.

Getting students to join your startup is not easy. In the case of an internship, you have to spend time writing about the position (see this guide), and then, you have to find relevant universities, and get in touch with all the departments and universities where you would like to promote the internship. Why? Because the internship needs to be approved by the professors in charge of the program.

That’s why most tech companies choose to only work with one university, most likely the university they are coming from. It’s easy, they know the teaching staff in charge, and they know more or less the quality of students going out of the school. With that mindset though, there are many lost opportunities, as there are many other excellent schools in Montréal.

That’s what new recruiting site Recruit.ee hopes to solve. With partnerships with different universities (McGill, HEC Montreal, Udem etc.), you post just once the internship position, and recruit.ee will spread the opportunity in local job boards. The service saves a lot of time, and what’s more there’s no cost for startups: it only asks for $300, in the case of a successful referral. It’s a great business model, with no risk for the startup.

Recruit.ee has been designed and developed by Karel Ledru-Mathé, a web entrepreneur and developer also known for his involvement in different community initiatives such as Notman House and startupfier, an organization specialized in promoting startups in universities. Recruit.ee is in itself a project aligned with Startupifier, and also made for the montreal technology community, to help startups get new talent. You can already browse opportunities, as there’s a good selection of internship opportunities, both in marketing and development. I encourage all startups to post opportunities there, as it’s the only student-focus service in Montreal, and it will also allow the startup community to demonstrate the relevancy of the industry to universities and technical schools.

As an aside, Karel will present the service at the upcoming MTLStartupTalent, since it’s an ideal online complement of MTLStartupTalent.

The event is not your regular “job fair” : we want to feature on stage all the great talent out there who have passion and are looking for more than just a “9-to-5″ job, and are considering startups a great option for their career path. Too often, we focus on companies, projects and startups, and we do not focus enough on individual talent and people that makes the community what it is.

Celebrating talent

As such, we want to reach out the Montreal tech community: tell us why you are a talent. In front of a large crowd, we want programmers/designers/entrepreneurs to be proud and highlight their achievements. Did you win at a recent Startup Weekend? Is your github project forked by many others? Did you win a design award? Are you a star on Twitter? Do you want to present a weekend project you’re proud of? We want to celebrate all those small and big achievements that makes Montréal a great city for innovation and creativity.

Win the respect and admiration of peers

Since we can’t get hundreds of people on stage, we’ve decided to feature only a selection. This is how it works:

1. Write about a recent project or achievement you are proud of. Don’t forget the hashtag #MTLStartupTalent so we and everyone can view it. You can also link to a website, to a video, an event, or a photo showcasing your achievement.
2. Everyone can view the #MTLStartupTalent hashtag. We will select the best according to the “RT” the tweet gets, or according to pure awesomeness of your achievements
3. We will feature 3 talents per category on stage during MTLStartupTalet: programming, design, marketing/business. Each will present himself/herself and their achievements, and win the respect and admiration of your peers.

Startup co-founders, the best hackers, investors, media are going to be at #MTLStartupTalent so it’s your chance to get the admiration of your peers. Start rocking on Twitter!

This post was originally posted on Louis-Philippe Huberdeau’s blog, co-founder of new hiring startup hirevoice. It’s hot on the trails of an earlier MTW blog post

We learned a lot at CUSEC this year. However, for the first time, it was not from presentations. The first presentation I watched entirely was on Saturday, when we decided it was time to rest and enjoy.

The rest of the time, the HireVoice team (Étienne and I) were hard at work, running a survey among the attendees to figure out what motivates them to work for a company. We gathered data on an analog medium (paper), uncertain that the digital age would resist the amount of devices attempting to connect during a conference attended by 400 software engineering and computer science students. Bell’s network could not handle it. Analog was the right way to go. Compiling the data turned out to be a huge task, but we got a few interesting points out of it. We finished everything yesterday.

First off, everyone was really nice. We surveyed 109 students in two days. Almost everyone accepted. We don’t really hold grudge against the two who walked away.

Second, relocation is not really an issue. The competition for talent is global and talent is going global too. 65% of respondents are ready to relocate for a job. The good news for Montréal is that a lot of those born and raised in Montréal have a preference to stay here.

Going back to a normal life, I read a post on Montreal Tech Watch indicating that the next challenge was getting students into startups. I went back in our dataset. Here are some numbers:

• 55% of the students surveyed listed a start-up in their employers of choice (among the sponsors)
• For those indicating a desire to work in Montréal, the numbers are very close (within error range), and keep in mind that you can also get those from outside to relocate to Montréal too.

If you want to recruit top talents getting out of universities, make sure you have a killer work environment, plenty of challenge and a product or services they can be proud of.

HireVoice is a Montréal-founded start-up interested in employer and candidate perception.

That’s where the MTLStartupTalent initiative Feb 1st is interesting. With 4 local startups (Seevibes, Wajam, MatchFWD, Yelp Montreal), the group will be meeting directly students looking for opportunities (either first job or an internship), with around 40 students from the business school ESG and more students from AGEEI, a student association from Faculté des sciences (Computer Science).

The event is called “Démystifions les startups”, and as the name suggest, it’s an effort to dissect and promote the “startup way of life” to students who usually hear about jobs at Unilever, Desjardins, CGI who are lure them away in corporate ranks. The event is done for the community, probably organized through a couple of quick emails and done in lost hours, but the idea got nevertheless the interest of many career centers and also many students who liked the outreach. There will be probably more at ETS, Concordia, Polytechnique etc. to give a prime spotlight to Montréal startups.

For startups who missed the opportunity, there’s more: with the Centre De Gestion des Carrières, there’s an upcoming workshop on Feb 9th on teaching them how to hire an intern. It’s especially good for startups who are looking to get help for a product launch, or for the first commercialization phase. There has been questions on what’s the grants out there, and also what exactly should be in a internship offer, so here’s your chance.

RSVP http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2811185331

What does that mean? It’s a position where you’ll get to meet many passionate tech entrepreneurs, from the US and Canada, review their business plans, go through their product and team members, and basically establish if it’s a good investment or not. It’s an amazing opportunity for someone who wants to get into the startup world, or if you’re an entrepreneur, go to the other side of the table.

The whole job description is here. It’s a rather academic and bland job post though, so I asked iNovia’s own Chris Arsenault ( @chrisarsenault ) what one can expect from the job, and most importantly, why you should apply.

1 – What’s do you guys look first for this position? Is this about capacity to execute (=work), education, or drive?

Its always about the team. When looking at “out-performers”, a VC firm is no different than a tech startup, it’s always about the people, the chemistry, the drive. And as we further our own growth, we concluded that we absolutely needed a new addition to the team, a “self starter”, someone that can figure out how to keep their calendar full while adding value in the due diligence process of new deals as well as get heavily involved with our current portfolio companies.

And please, we are not seeking someone who can just check all the boxes. The #1 quality for this position is the capacity to execute.

2 – Banks are hiring, and also the startup scene in QC & Canada is growing. Why would an entrepreneur or an analyst join iNovia? What’s the opportunity?

iNovia invests in tech companies that have the potential of changing the landscape of the economy, creating jobs and wealth. That means that by joining iNovia you participate with a front row seat in very disruptive change that is taking place in the world.

Jumping into a VC firm out of school or early in your career after working in a startup is a great way to get a ton of exposure, build a network, learn a lot about markets, technology, people and trends so that you can be better equipped to one day run a startup yourself as CEO or in a C-level position.

This is not a job, but an awesome opportunity along the path for someone who wants to be a leader in the tech or startup world.

3 – Can you tell us about the people at iNovia? What should people expect from partners at iNovia?

Like Karam so well said on his recent blog post we believe in being 100% honest with each other, our partners, and prospective entrepreneurs. We believe that in order to be successful you must work harder and smarter than your competition. We believe you should buy into a vision that goes beyond a paycheque and serves to fuel a passion for entrepreneurism and technology. We believe in being generous with our time, but efficient in decision making; aggressive in our ambitions but conservative with costs; optimistic in our outlook, yet diligent – always diligent.

So that’s it folks. I know guys at associations like Pléiade Capital who’d kill for that kind of position. You’ll get invited to be mentor or judge to lots of technology events, and basically will be woo’d by every technology entrepreneur out there… although yes it’s hard work!

Read more:

#MTLStartupTalent aims to connect companies that are hiring with talent looking for employment. This event will bring together startups and early stage companies working with cutting edge technologies, all looking to hire the best in Web, Mobile Development, Design, Blogging,  Marketing, Sales, Advertising and Social Media. For individuals, this event will offer employment opportunities while increasing awareness of the growing opportunities within exciting local startups and established tech companies. It will demonstrate the dynamism and diversity of Montreal’s startup community and how rapidly it is growing.

Here’s what you can expect:

• Access to great job opportunities at great companies
• A chance to converse with an employee or founder and start to build a relationship
• A casual (yet serious) environment to network with others in your field of interest

Tech firms, startups and seekers are invited to submit an application for attendance.

RSVP here

As mentioned earlier, the event will be organized immediately before and in conjunction with the #MTLNewTech demos which always draw a crowd. There’s already 140 people registered just for MTLStartupTalent, and with the NewTech crowd, organizers are expecting a 250 to 300 crowd for the evening, with a good percentage of students from the 4 universities and schools + also developers from local groups.

The main event sponsor is RadialPoint — a fast-growing company looking for talented pythonistas and software engineers

Other main companies at the event are 2 Bolidea companies, Feeling Software, Whatsnexx, Crowdtwist and airblazer. Of course, there are many new startups looking for key collaborators and early employees (I’ve counted 14), meaning there won’t be a shortage of opportunities at MTL Startup Talent.

The event has reached out openly to various groups in Montreal (Montreal.rb, MontrealPython, phpQuebec and new groups such as fringedev), as well as universities such as Concordia, UdeM, UQAM, McGill as well as dedicated engineering schools such as ETS and SUPINFO. Of course the event is not limited to developers, and designers, experienced marketers, copywriters, salespersons are warmly welcomed — making it a special and unique event in Montreal.

The NewTech presentations (see here how it works), where 4 to 5 startups are launched every month, with a formula of 5mn presentation + 5mn Q&A is also scheduled at 7.30pm in the evening. Let us know if you want to present, we still have 1 (or 2) slot available.

Position: Senior full-stack developer

Responsibilites and Tasks:

Kembrel.com is a VC-backed startup innovating on social commerce. We help consumer brands gain traction and influence in the huge university market by exposing them to our community of engaged students.

We are looking for a lead fullstack developer to be in charge of our product development efforts. The right person can eventually transition into a CTO role.

Our beta has attracted over 40k members, 300 brand partners and has garnered significant press coverage (e.g., Forbes, Vogue, Mashable). We are re-launching a new site in the next few weeks and the store will be running on a Magento backend.

Btw, our office is located in the heart of the Plateau (corner St-Laurent & Mont-Royal) and both founders have CS degrees so you won’t be dealing with “MBA-types” :)

Application hint: We are not looking for a code monkey. We are looking for someone fun and passionate. Ideally, we would like to get a sense of your personality through your application. Please add links to your online presence (e.g., blog, Tumblr, Twitter) or anything else that you think is interesting.

Compensation:
- Competitive salary
- Meaningful equity in US-based, VC-backed startup
Requirements
- Deep experience on a LAMP stack
- Some knowledge and experience of Magento
- Some light front-end stuff (e.g., CSS, JQuery)
- Basic sys admin stuff (we run everything in the cloud)
- Engineering / CS degree

View job listing to apply

Position: web/.Net Developer – Start Up

Responsibilites and Tasks:
Our client is looking for a web/.Net developer, focusing mainly on web content management. Success in this position will involve a flexible approach to problem solving, technical innovation and strong communication skills.
Educational Background:

• University Bachelor degree or equivalent in Computer Science, Engineering or Math;
• +5 years experience in Web Development;
• +4 years of ASP.Net and C# web development;
• Solid experience with SQL Server, as well as strong experience with JQuery and Ajax;

Experience and formal training combined with demonstrated performance and ability may substitute for stipulated academic/experience requirements.
Must Have Skills:

• ASP.Net, C#;
• IIS, SQL Server;
• Web Services;
• Ajax, jQuery, JavaScript;
• XML, XSL, XSLT;
• HTML, DHTML, CSS.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Actively contribute to early functionality design and implement solutions;
• Improve the ease of use and site dynamics through up to date technical innovations;
• Provide estimates of development time from high-level requirements or detailed designs, depending on case;
• Research and implement the required 3rd party APIs;
• Work collaboratively with remote development team;
• Document all work to required standards and be well organized;
• Deliver the projects and tasks on time.

Requirements:

• Able to manage multiple priorities;
• Proficient in GUI best practices and detail oriented;
• Possesses solid analytical skills for complex problem solving;
• Able to understand a business problem and implement a technical solution;
• Team player, collaborate with team members and other departments as appropriate;
• Can also work independently;
• High performer, ready to contribute to our organization.

Jeffrey Goldstein
jgoldstein@proforce.ca

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Position: Développeur Ruby On Rails

Responsabilités et Tâches
Nous recherchons des candidats ayant une connaissance des produits interactifs jeunesse et possédant une expérience dans l’industrie des nouveaux médias, de la télévision, du cinéma ou du divertissement. Nous recherchons des candidats qui ont une bonne maîtrise de l’environnement Internet 2.0 et qui sont au fait des différentes technologies de pointe utilisée dans l’industrie du Web.

• Esprit d’équipe
• Initiative
• Rigueur, souci du détail et de la qualité
• Bonne organisation du travail
• Sens des responsabilités
• Maîtrise de l’anglais écrit et parlé et du français;

Exigences:

• Diplôme d’étude de niveau universitaire en informatique (Bac);
• Au moins deux ans d’expérience dans un poste similaire;
• Maîtrise de la programmation orientée objet;
• Excellentes connaissances et maîtrise de Ruby On Rails;
• Excellente connaissances et maîtrise de PHP
• Bonne connaissance du HTML, XHTML, XML, CSS, Javascript (frameworks comme jQuery Code Igniter, CakePHP, etc..), Ajax, ActionScript 3;
• Maitrise des plateformes principales : Windows, Mac OS X et Linux.

Voir offre d’emploi
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