We are Koru.

Koru is a first of its kind venture studio funded by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP). We partner with OTPP portfolio companies to build and invest in businesses with a clear right to win.

Founded in 2019, our mission is to drive value creation aimed at growing the overall value of OTPP’s portfolio companies by partnering with them to identify, validate, build and oversee new disruptive businesses. We go from 0-1, building ventures that address customer frictions head-on — and we leverage our corporate partnerships to gain unfair advantages in the market.

We offer a unique balance of risk and reward where startup talent can build with the backing of a $250B pension plan and the ability to impact portfolio companies all around the world, explore disruptive new opportunities and share in the upside of every business we put into the market. We promote a truly entrepreneurial mindset and a culture of fearless reinvention.

The Opportunity.

As Koru looks to stand up its AI practice, this role affords you with the opportunity to partner with Senior Leadership in shaping the domain and play a critical role in building and growing this team.

If you get excited by building innovative products that allow new entrants to disrupt existing industries, enjoy working in a collaborative and dynamic startup environment, have an entrepreneurial background, have a passion for technology and AI, this might be the opportunity for you.

As a Senior AI Solutions Engineer you will:

• Design & code practical Generative AI and Machine Learning solutions for a variety of industries (we build across a wide variety of industries. Check out our launched ventures to see a few.)
• Develop a collection of AI libraries & techniques that may be reused in other ventures
• Collaborate with a cross functional team (product, design, operations, etc.) to understand business goals and challenges and identify opportunities for leveraging AI technologies
• Assess the feasibility and potential impact of AI solutions in addressing problems via a combination of research and building proof of concept projects.
• Communicate findings & recommendations to a technical and non-technical audience
• Stay informed about industry best practices and emerging trends in AI to ensure the relevance of recommendations & practices

• Collaborate with other engineers to design customized AI solutions considering factors such as data availability, model complexity, and integration with existing systems
• Support project teams to ensure successful execution and delivery of AI solutions

What you will bring:

• Proven experience in developing and deploying AI solutions in real-world applications.
• Experience in early stage startups or building new solutions from scratch is ideal.
• Experience with integrating generative AI libraries & frameworks.
• Experience with machine learning frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, or scikit-learn.
• Familiarity with AI Agent composition & development.
• Familiarity with RAG implementations.
• Some experience with prompt engineering and model fine tuning.
• Strong understanding of data structures, algorithms, and software design principles.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a cross-functional team in a highly collaborative, 0-1 environment.
• Comfort in navigating ambiguity, and turning the conceptual into real tangible products.
• Strong communication skills to convey technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

What happens next?

Once we review your application, if we’d like to move you forward in the process, here’s what you can expect:

Step 1: Functional 1 - Interview with the Hiring Lead (Virtual, 30-45 minutes)

Step 2: Functional 2 - Interview with a Team Member (Virtual, 30-45 minutes)

Step 3: Practical Challenge

• Presentation Prep
• Presentation Delivery: 60 minutes total (Virtual or In-Person, 30 minutes presentation & 30 minutes Q&A).
• 2:1 Team Interviews: 2-3 2:1 interviews with the panel involved in the presentation (Virtual or In-Person, 45 minutes each).

Step 4: Hiring team conducts a Candidate Debrief

Step 5: Offer

Total Rewards at Koru.

Our total rewards package is balanced, flexible, inclusive, and fair which makes it a key part of our employer value proposition. We regularly review and update our total rewards, taking into account best practices, industry trends, and feedback from our team. Currently, our total rewards package is inclusive of:

• Cash compensation made up of 1) competitive base salary 2) annual bonus 3) company-matched RRSP and 4) participation in our equity program
• Comprehensive health benefits, including:
• • Group insurance
  • A flexible healthcare spending account
  • Fitness benefit
  • Mindfulness benefit
• Generous paid time off including vacation, sick, and a parental leave top-up.
• Other benefits include:
• • Mobile phone reimbursement
  • Education benefit

Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Diversity of perspectives and experience is at the core of how we approach disruption and innovation. We believe in fostering an environment where team members of all backgrounds can feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work every day. We aim to ensure all of our employees work in an environment that makes them feel valued, heard and supported while they strive towards career pursuits and their personal and professional growth.

We are committed to providing accommodations for all candidates that require them and in all aspects of the recruitment, selection, and/or assessment process. If you are selected to participate in any part of the selection and/or assessment process, please inform us of any accommodation(s) that you may require.

Our location.

Koru’s offices are located in downtown Toronto. We humbly acknowledge that Koru HQ is located on land that is the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the New Credit, Chippewa (Anishinaabeg), Haudenosaunee, and Wendat. This territory is covered by the ‘Toronto Purchase: Treaty 13’ which was the surrender of the lands from the Mississaugas of the Credit to the British Crown initially in 1787.

Koru staff and/or board members are made up of settlers, immigrants, descendants of immigrants, or a combination thereof. Our roots lie in continents across the world and we are grateful for the opportunity to share this land where we work and live.

This role is hybrid and requires the selected candidate to travel to Koru’s office located in Toronto, Ontario as and when required by the company. All individuals considered for this role are required to be legally eligible to work in Canada.

We’re flattered that you’d like to join our team, but only applicants selected to proceed in the hiring process will be contacted.