Activate Games is a cutting-edge entertainment company that blends physical activity with interactive digital gaming. With high-tech, challenge-based rooms, Activate offers an immersive experience that pushes players’ mental and physical limits. As they continue to expand across North America and global markets, Activate is seeking a driven Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to lead technology strategy and innovation, as well as expand digital, hardware, and retail infrastructure on a global scale. The CTO can be located anywhere in Canada, with the expectation that up to 50% of their time will be spent in Winnipeg.

 

Founded in Winnipeg, Canada, Activate has become the fastest-growing entertainment company in the world, with more than 40 locations as well as signed license agreements across 20 countries with local development partners. Adam and Megan Schmidt, owners of one of Canada’s most successful escape room businesses, saw a need for an active gaming concept with replayable elements. What started as a concept, working nights in their backyard poolhouse to map out this vision, redirecting their creative teams, and dedicating countless nights, led to perfecting the world’s first active gaming facility – Activate.

 

Activate is revolutionizing the way people experience gaming by combining physical activity with immersive, tech-driven challenges that are captivating audiences around the globe. Every Activate location delivers a dynamic gaming environment where players work together or engage in interactive competitions that seamlessly blend movement with cutting-edge technology in multiple gaming rooms.

 

Reporting to the CEO and Founder of Activate Games, and leading a team of ~43, the CTO will be responsible for shaping the company’s technology vision, ensuring seamless integration of hardware and software across locations, and driving the development of new interactive gaming experiences. This executive leader will oversee technology teams, product innovation, IT infrastructure, and retail operations technology, ensuring a frictionless experience for customers and staff. 

 

The CTO will fast-track execution of the founder’s vision into working prototypes and scalable implementations, along with Identifying and delivering new tech-driven experiences that immediately elevate Activate’ s competitive advantage. Building and optimizing the technology team, the CTO will also ensure seamless integration between in-store technology, gaming software, and operational systems, ensuring an exceptional player experience and open new locations globally with scalable and reliable technology.

 

The ideal candidate brings experience leading the technology function in a high-growth environment, preferably in interactive entertainment, gaming, retail technology, or consumer experiences. You have led custom software development, and understand real-time software development, data-driven product enhancements, and seamless hardware/software integration. You thrive in a fast-paced, founder-led environment and ideally bring some global experience. This individual must balance visionary thinking with practical implementation, translating innovative ideas into scalable, high-performing technology solutions and is comfortable working both strategically and tactically, moving between high-level vision and hands-on execution.

  

We would like to thank all applicants but regret that we are only able to personally contact those individuals whose backgrounds best match the requirements for the role.

  

Activate Games is an equal opportunity employer. In accordance with the Accessible Canada Act, 2019 and all applicable provincial accessibility standards, upon request, accommodation will be provided by both Odgers Berndtson and Activate Games throughout the recruitment, selection and/or assessment process to applicants with disabilities.

 

Odgers Berndtson is deeply committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion in all the work that we do. As part of our efforts to better understand our ability to reach as broad a pool of candidates as possible for our searches, our EDI team would like to encourage you to take a moment and access our Self-Declaration Form.