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Software engineer job description template

General information, not legal advice. Last checked October 29, 2026.

By , tech recruiter at GuruLink in Winnipeg. Recruiting tech people since 2018. Updated .

How to use this

General information, not legal advice. Laws change. Check with an employment lawyer in your province before you post.

Put the pay in every posting.

In Ontario, from January 1, 2026, an employer with 25 or more employees must put a few things in every public job posting for work in Ontario. That means the expected pay or a pay range, a note if you use AI to screen, assess or select applicants, and whether the posting is for an existing vacancy (ESA ss. 8.2, 8.4, 8.5). A range can't be wider than $50,000 (O. Reg. 476/24, s. 4). The pay rule doesn't apply if the pay, or the top of the range, is over $200,000 a year (O. Reg. 476/24, s. 3). The ad and the application form also can't ask for Canadian experience (ESA s. 8.3).

BC needs the expected pay or range in every public posting, at any company size (Pay Transparency Act, s. 2). BC's guidance says "competitive wage" does not count (BC guidance).

Fill in the brackets. Delete the notes at the bottom before you post. Then run it through the Ontario 2026 checklist. Keep a copy of every version you post for 3 years (ESA s. 15(7.1)).

Keep the "what you need" list short. Name your real stack. Say what the person will build.

The template

Download .md

Software Engineer

[Company name] · [City, Province] · [Remote / Hybrid, X days in office / On-site] · [Full-time, permanent]

Pay

$[X] to $[Y] per year.

[If there is a bonus or commission tied to hours, output or results, add it here. Example: "Plus a bonus of up to [X]% of salary, based on [what it's based on]."]

About this posting

  • This posting is for an existing vacancy. [Or: "This posting is not for an existing vacancy." Pick one.]
  • We [use / do not use] artificial intelligence (AI) to screen, assess or select applicants. [If you use it, you must say so. You don't have to name the tool.]
  • If we interview you, we will tell you within 45 days of your last interview whether we have made a hiring decision.
  • We offer accommodation for disabilities at every step of hiring. Tell [name, email] what you need and we will work it out with you.

About us

[Two or three sentences. What you build. Who uses it. How big the team is. Skip the mission statement.]

What you'll do

  • Build and ship features, from the database to the screen.
  • Write tested code and give useful code reviews.
  • Work with product and design to plan and size the work.
  • Fix production issues and make the system more reliable.
  • Help newer engineers grow.

What you need

  • About [3] years of building and shipping software, or the same skill from other work.
  • Strong skills in [your main language, for example Python, Go, Java or TypeScript].
  • Hands-on work with [your frontend framework, for example React].
  • Comfort with SQL databases and API design.
  • You can explain a trade-off to someone who isn't technical.

Nice to have

  • [Your cloud, for example AWS, GCP or Azure].
  • Open source work.
  • CI/CD and DevOps habits.

What we offer

  • [Health, dental and vision coverage]
  • [Vacation: X weeks a year]
  • [Equity, if any, and how it vests]
  • [Remote or hybrid setup]
  • [Learning budget: $X a year]

How to apply

Send your resume to [email or link]. A short note about something you built helps.

We read every application.

Notes before you post. Delete this section before posting. General information, not legal advice.

  1. Ontario, 25 or more employees: the pay line, the AI line and the vacancy line are required. Sources: ESA ss. 8.2, 8.4, 8.5 (https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/00e41) and O. Reg. 476/24 (https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/r24476).
  2. Keep the gap between $X and $Y at $50,000 or less. Source: O. Reg. 476/24, s. 4.
  3. Don't ask for Canadian experience in the ad or the application form. Source: ESA s. 8.3. The OHRC calls a strict Canadian experience rule discrimination on its face (https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/policy-removing-canadian-experience-barrier).
  4. Tell each person you interview whether you've made a hiring decision within 45 days of their last interview. Source: ESA s. 8.6 and O. Reg. 476/24, s. 5.
  5. Keep every posted version, any linked pages and the application form for 3 years. Source: ESA s. 15(7.1) and the Ontario guide (https://www.ontario.ca/document/your-guide-employment-standards-act-0/requirements-related-publicly-advertised-job).
  6. Ontario employers must tell the public that accommodation is available for applicants with disabilities. Source: O. Reg. 191/11, s. 22 (https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/110191).
  7. BC: post the expected pay or range. Don't ask about past pay, directly or through anyone else. Source: Pay Transparency Act, ss. 2 and 3 (https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/23018).
  8. Don't word the ad in a way that points to age, sex, race, religion, family status, disability or any other protected ground. Sources: Ontario Human Rights Code s. 23(1) (https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90h19), Manitoba Human Rights Code s. 14(3) (https://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/statutes/ccsm/h175.php), Canadian Human Rights Act s. 8 (https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/h-6/FullText.html).

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