Join The Instantel Team

Position:        Service Operations Associate
Reports to:      Service Supervisor
Location:         On-Site - 309 Legget Drive, Kanata, ON

Schedule:       Monday to Friday, 8 hours/day

About Us

Established in 1982 and now a business unit within Securitas Products & Solutions, Instantel is a global market leader in the design and production of vibration monitoring instrumentation. Our products are used in over 120 countries. Applications include civil engineering, construction, environmental, mining, mining exploration, quarry, underwater, structural health, human annoyance, military, and noise.

Responsibilities:

This role is essential to maintaining high service efficiency and ensuring timely turnaround for customer units.

Service Intake & Inspection

• Clean, label, and prepare incoming customer units received through the RMA process
• Perform basic, non-technical inspection of returned units and categorize condition using defined guidelines (training provided)
• Accurately enter and maintain product and inspection data in internal systems
• Ensure units are properly identified, organized, and staged for the next step in the service process

Service Workflow Support

• Assist with the disassembly and reassembly of products as trained
• Support technicians by preparing units and maintaining organized work areas
• Follow priorities set by the team to support service turnaround objectives

Material & Operations Support

• Assist with shipping, receiving, and material handling activities as needed
• Support inventory movement, staging, and organization within the service area
• Maintain a clean, safe, and organized work environment
• Contribute to team-based tasks and support other operational needs as required

Performance Expectations

• Meet daily and weekly productivity targets for unit processing
• Maintain a high level of accuracy and attention to detail
• Contribute to efficient service turnaround times
• Demonstrate flexibility in supporting multiple operational areas
• Work in compliance with established company Health and Safety guidelines procedures

Qualifications & Skills

• 1+ year of experience in a manufacturing, service, warehouse, or similar hands-on environment preferred
• Strong attention to detail and ability to follow standardized processes
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment
• Basic mechanical aptitude and comfort handling technical products
• Ability to use computers and learn internal systems
• Reliable, self-motivated, and willing to take on a variety of tasks

Physical Requirements

• Ability to stand for extended periods
• Ability to lift and move items up to 20 kg
• Comfortable performing repetitive, hands-on tasks

Additional Information

• No formal technical training is required; on-the-job training will be provided
• This position does not perform repair or diagnostic work
• Opportunity to learn about service operations within a technical environment

Job Type: 

This position is being offered as a contract role (4–6 months) to support current service operations needs. This approach provides an opportunity for both the candidate and the company to assess fit, performance, and long-term potential.

High-performing individuals may be considered for future full-time opportunities, including progression into Service Technician roles as openings become available.

Why Join Us

• Competitive hourly pay with room for growth
• Team-oriented environment
• Opportunity to work within a global leader in monitoring technology
• This role offers the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a technical service environment and build a pathway into permanent roles within the organization.

Senior Product Manager                      

Position Summary

The Senior Product Manager is a critical strategic role within Instantel and is responsible for ensuring the Company's products continue to meet evolving customer needs while driving profitable, sustainable growth. This position serves as the bridge between dealers, customers, the marketplace, Sales, R&D, Marketing, Production, Service, and executive management. The primary responsibility of the role is to translate customer and market requirements into clear, prioritized, commercially viable, and technically achievable product requirements that can be developed efficiently, cost-effectively, and successfully commercialized.

The Senior Product Manager owns the product roadmap, functional specifications, product lifecycle, and long-term product portfolio strategy. Working closely with cross-functional teams, the role ensures resources are focused on developing the right products, at the right time, at the right cost, at the right price, for the right markets—including existing, adjacent, and emerging markets.

By providing disciplined product leadership, the Senior Product Manager improves development efficiency, reduces costly rework and changing priorities, accelerates time-to-market, strengthens competitive positioning, and maximizes the long-term profitability of Instantel's product portfolio.

Primary Responsibilities

Product Strategy & Portfolio Management

• Develop and maintain the long-term product strategy for all Instantel product lines.

• Own the multi-year product roadmap.

• Identify product gaps, market opportunities, and new product initiatives.

• Recommend investments in new products and technologies for core, adjacent, and new markets.

• Recommend product retirement and end-of-life strategies where appropriate.

Voice of Customer & Market Intelligence

• Develop a deep understanding of customer workflows, applications, and operational challenges.

• Gather product requirements through direct interaction with customers, dealers, consultants, distributors, and industry partners.

• Analyze competitive products, technologies, pricing, and market trends.

• Evaluate emerging technologies and changing regulatory requirements.

• Maintain an ongoing Voice of Customer process.

Product Requirements & Functional Specifications

Working closely with the Director Business Development & Sales, Director R&D, and key business and technical team members:

• Translate customer needs into clear, complete, and prioritized product requirements.

• Develop and own comprehensive Functional Specification Documents that provide Engineering with practical, technically achievable product requirements.

• Ensure all requirements include measurable acceptance criteria.

• Balance customer value with technical complexity, development cost, schedule, manufacturability, serviceability, and commercial viability.

• Minimize scope changes during development through disciplined upfront product definition.

Product Development Leadership

Working closely with the Director of R&D and key R&D team members:

• Participate throughout the product development process.

• Clarify product requirements during development.

• Evaluate proposed design trade-offs.

• Participate in design reviews.

• Support validation of completed features against approved specifications.

• Assist in managing product scope throughout development.

The Senior Product Manager defines what the product must accomplish and why it should be built. Engineering determines how those requirements are implemented.

Product Lifecycle Management

Own products throughout their lifecycle, including:

• Concept development

• Business case development

• Product definition

• Development support

• Product launch

• Product enhancements

• End-of-life planning

Commercial Success

Working closely with the Director of Business Development & Sales, Sales team members, and Marketing:

• Recommend product positioning.

• Recommend pricing strategy.

• Develop value propositions.

• Support product launches.

• Develop sales tools and technical product information.

• Support major customer opportunities.

Cross-Functional Leadership

Work closely with:

• Research & Development

• Sales

• Marketing

• Production

• Technical Support

• Service

• Executive Management

The Senior Product Manager leads through influence and collaboration rather than direct organizational authority.

Decision Making Authority

The Senior Product Manager is expected to make recommendations regarding:

• Product priorities

• Product roadmap

• Functional requirements

• Product features

• Market opportunities

• Product lifecycle decisions

• Product positioning

• Product pricing recommendations

• Product investment priorities

Major investment decisions remain subject to executive approval.

Work Environment

This position is based at Instantel's Ottawa, Ontario headquarters and offers a flexible hybrid work arrangement. Given the collaborative and customer-facing nature of the role, regular on-site presence is essential to effectively engage with cross-functional teams, support product development activities, and participate in strategic planning and decision-making.

The successful candidate is expected to work on-site a minimum of three days per week (Tuesday through Thursday). Subject to business requirements, remote work may be accommodated on Mondays and Fridays. However, the needs of the business take precedence, and additional on-site attendance may be required.

The role also requires significant travel, both domestically and internationally, to meet with dealers, customers, strategic partners, and other stakeholders. Regular field engagement is considered an essential component of the position, ensuring a thorough understanding of customer requirements, market trends, and emerging business opportunities.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Electronics, Technology, or another relevant technical discipline.

• An MBA or postgraduate business education is considered an asset.

Experience

• Approximately 10 years of progressively responsible experience.

• Demonstrated success managing technically complex products.

• Experience developing product strategies and roadmaps.

• Experience translating customer requirements into product specifications.

• Experience working closely with engineering teams throughout product development.

• Experience launching commercial products.

• Experience working with customers and sales organizations.

• Experience with hardware, embedded firmware, software, cloud platforms, or integrated systems.

Industry experience in instrumentation, monitoring, industrial electronics, mining, construction, environmental monitoring, or related markets is preferred but not mandatory.

Required Competencies

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Strong technical aptitude

• Excellent business acumen

• Strategic thinking

• Exceptional analytical ability

• Outstanding written communication skills

• Ability to develop clear technical documentation

• Strong presentation skills

• Excellent listening skills

• Customer-focused decision-making

• Commercial awareness

• Strong organizational skills

• Ability to influence cross-functional teams

• Sound judgment

• High integrity

Travel

Travel of approximately 20–30% is expected to:

• Visit customers and dealers.

• Attend trade shows and industry events.

• Conduct field evaluations.

• Participate in product launches and customer demonstrations.

Travel schedules will vary depending on business needs.

Location: Ottawa, Ontario

Reports To: VP Instantel directly, with dotted line to Director R&D and Director Business Development & Sales

Senior Quality Assurance & Technical Support Specialist

Position Summary

The Senior Quality Assurance & Technical Support Specialist is a senior technical position that combines responsibility for product verification (Quality Assurance) with customer-facing Technical Support. The role is instrumental in ensuring Instantel products perform as intended while providing exceptional technical assistance to dealers and end users worldwide.

This position works closely with Engineering, Production, Sales, the Manager of QA, and the Director of R&D to improve product quality, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency. In addition to executing day-to-day responsibilities, the successful candidate is expected to develop, implement, and continuously improve systems, processes, and best practices that enhance the effectiveness, productivity, and scalability of both the Quality Assurance and Technical Support functions.

This position is primarily on-site at Instantel's Ottawa office. The hands-on nature of product verification, cross-functional collaboration, and direct access to equipment require regular in-person presence. 

Senior Quality Assurance Responsibilities

The Quality Assurance component of this role is focused on product verification and validation. The objective is to ensure that products developed by Engineering meet functional requirements, performance specifications, reliability expectations, and customer needs before release.

Unlike traditional compliance-focused QA roles, this position emphasizes hands-on technical verification of hardware, firmware, software, and integrated systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute comprehensive product verification and validation plans.

• Design and maintain structured test procedures, test cases, and verification documentation.

• Verify that products meet functional, performance, reliability, and usability requirements.

• Perform regression testing for firmware, software, and hardware releases.

• Identify, document, reproduce, and communicate product defects clearly to Engineering teams.

• Validate corrective actions and verify resolution of reported issues.

• Participate throughout the product development lifecycle to improve product quality before release.

• Assist with root cause investigations and product performance analysis.

• Support product launch readiness activities.

• Provide objective product readiness recommendations to Engineering leadership.

Continuous Improvement

As a senior member of the organization, the successful candidate is expected to:

• Design and implement efficient QA systems and workflows.

• Develop testing standards, procedures, and documentation practices.

• Improve test coverage, repeatability, and automation opportunities where appropriate.

• Recommend tools and processes that increase quality, efficiency, and consistency.

• Establish meaningful QA metrics and reporting to monitor product quality and organizational performance.

Senior Technical Support Responsibilities

The Technical Support component of this role provides professional technical assistance to Instantel's global dealer network and end users. The successful candidate serves as a trusted technical expert who is capable of resolving product issues while representing the company professionally.

Responsibilities

• Professionally answer incoming technical support calls and inquiries from dealers and end users.

• Diagnose and troubleshoot hardware, software, firmware, and application-related issues.

• Provide timely technical assistance by telephone, email, remote support, and other communication channels.

• Document customer issues accurately and ensure appropriate follow-up.

• Escalate complex technical issues to Engineering when necessary.

• Document, prioritize, and report the nature and characteristics of support, and identify trends and areas for improvement.

• Maintain a high level of customer satisfaction through responsive and professional support.

• Support product demonstrations and customer training sessions.

• Assist Sales during technical evaluations and customer visits.

• Develop technical knowledge articles and support documentation.

Continuous Improvement

The successful candidate is expected to strengthen the Technical Support function by:

• Developing efficient technical support workflows and best practices.

• Creating support procedures and knowledge management systems.

• Identifying recurring customer issues and driving permanent solutions.

• Improving response times and first-contact resolution.

• Recommending tools and systems that improve productivity and customer satisfaction.

• Establishing meaningful Technical Support metrics to monitor service quality and performance.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Collaborate closely with: Engineering, Production, Service, Business Development, Sales, Marketing, Product Management, and Executive Leadership. Act as a technical liaison between internal teams, dealers, and customers to ensure product quality and customer success.

Work Environment

This is primarily an on-site position located at Instantel's Ottawa facility. Regular collaboration with Engineering, Production, and R&D requires daily in-person interaction. The role also involves hands-on testing of products and equipment, activities that cannot be effectively performed remotely.  Occasional travel may be required for customer visits, training, trade shows, and technical support activities.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The successful candidate will possess:

• Strong technical aptitude in electronics, instrumentation, firmware, software, or integrated systems.

• Extensive experience in product verification, validation, or Quality Assurance.

• Significant experience providing technical support to customers or channel partners.

• Exceptional troubleshooting and analytical skills.

• Outstanding verbal and written communication abilities.

• Strong customer service and relationship management skills.

• The ability to develop systems, processes, and tools that improve organizational efficiency.

• A continuous improvement mindset with a passion for operational excellence.

• The ability to work independently while collaborating effectively across departments.

• Excellent organizational and project management skills.

• A minimum of five years of experience in related roles.

Education Requirements:

The ideal candidate will possess a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related engineering discipline. Candidates with a diploma in Electronics Engineering Technology and significant relevant industry experience may also be considered.