Sooke, BC, Canada · Open to new opportunities
Nicholas Bates
Engineering Manager — Backend Engineering & Software Development Leadership
20+ years in software development. Most recently, 5+ years building and managing a backend engineering team at ArborXR, growing it from 2 people to as many as 8 direct reports and owning system architecture, scalability, and security/compliance readiness for an enterprise SaaS product.
About
Engineering manager with 20+ years in software development. Most recently, I spent 5+ years building and managing a backend engineering team at ArborXR (formerly SpringboardVR), growing it from 2 people to as many as 8 direct reports. I owned system architecture, scalability, and security/compliance readiness — SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and GDPR audit prep, penetration-test coordination, and customer cybersecurity questionnaires — for an enterprise SaaS product, and led the engineers who built it.
My approach spans any altitude: writing and reviewing code, setting technical direction, and building the conditions for a team to do its best work. That range comes from two decades split between hands-on development, running an independent consultancy, and growing into full-time engineering leadership.
Experience
Engineering Manager, Backend Engineering — ArborXR (formerly SpringboardVR)
2021 – 2026 · Remote- Led and managed the backend engineering team behind ArborXR's Portal product, owning system architecture, scalability, and performance decisions.
- Grew the team from 2 direct reports (self and the CTO) to 8 — including one engineer via acquisition — then right-sized to 4, including one performance-based exit and one promotion into a backend architect role.
- Proposed and championed adoption of an MQTT-based messaging layer now depended on across ArborXR products, and contributed to the team's public CLI alongside the platform team.
- Owned security and compliance readiness end-to-end across SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and GDPR — customer cybersecurity questionnaires, penetration-test coordination, and audit prep using Vanta.
- Set technical direction while staying hands-on — contributing code and running reviews — and served as technical point of contact for prominent enterprise customers on architecture and security ahead of key contract decisions.
Lead Backend Developer — SpringboardVR → rebranded to ArborXR
2017 – 2021 · Remote- Owned backend architecture and development practices as the team's first permanent lead, partnering with engineering leadership on system design and scalability.
- Built out people-leadership responsibilities alongside technical ownership, carrying that scope through the company's rebrand from SpringboardVR to ArborXR.
Earlier Career
| Founder & Director of Development, Iconic Media | 1999 – 2016 | |
| Development Manager / Software Engineer, Bravenet Web Services | 2008 – 2015 | |
| Desktop Application Developer, JADE Software Systems Inc. | 2015 – 2016 | |
| Full Stack Developer, Curious Minds Media | 2015 – 2017 | |
| Full Stack Senior Developer, GEMtouch | 2017 – 2018 |
Ran an independent development consultancy (Iconic Media) from 1999–2016 while delivering the client and contract engagements listed above. Full-stack and backend development, database/architecture decisions, and team/release management across Laravel, PHP, AngularJS, EmberJS, and ReactJS.
Current Projects
BusyBasket — Founder & Engineer
In developmentA shared shopping cart and list app, built as a genuine native mobile experience with NativePHP and offline-first sync, backed by a Laravel/Filament web platform.
Skills
Leadership
Frameworks & Coding
Data & Cloud
Tools & Practices
"Nicholas has been a great person to work with. In projects we've worked on together, he's been thorough in completing the tasks and ensuring that they are done to — and in some cases higher than — the customer spec. I don't hesitate to recommend him to others."
Jamie Penner, V3 Media
Education
Multimedia Design & Communication Diploma
1999 – 2000Applied Multimedia Training Centers, Calgary, AB, Canada