Montreal's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 4
MONTRÉAL’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2026)
J.P.ROBERT/AUDIOKINETIC
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p Louis-Xavier Buffoni, senior director of research at Audiokinetic, gives a technical presentation to employees at the Montréal-based music software firm.
Montréal’s tech sector is defining what future workplaces look like
Much like how tech giants set the tone in the mid-2000s, employers in artificial intelligence and game design
are rethinking the future of work
A
s tech accelerates worldwide,
Montréal is a uniquely equipped city for sustainable growth
and innovation. A tight-knit
ecosystem of universities, research institutions, startups and global tech
companies makes it a hub for top talent.
This is on full display in Montréal’s Top
Employers (2026), a competition that for
over two decades has highlighted the city’s
most innovative employers — including
Coveo, Compulsion Games, Air Canada
and Audiokinetic — for the way they
invest in people.
Amidst AI and changing tools, the ability
to adapt is paramount
For many of this year’s Top Employers,
adaptability is increasingly important in
rapidly shifting sectors with high demand
for roles that require technical expertise
and experience. Nowhere is this more
apparent than in the artificial intelligence
(AI) sector, where Montréal hosts a
significant portion of Canada’s AI jobs.
Coveo, a Montréal-based firm known
for its applied AI tools that improve search
personalization and product discovery, has
benefited from a collaborative talent
ecosystem, where universities, research
institutes, startups and large employers
feed into the same talent market.
“Montréal in particular is an amazing
hub for that type of talent, which is why
we’ve been successful in hiring and
growing our business so far,” says Chelsea
Finnemore, chief people officer at Coveo.
“We actually want a robust ecosystem
because yes, it is competitive, but it is also
constantly building and nurturing the
talent pool.”
As AI has rapidly moved beyond
research environments and into real-world
applications, employers have narrowed
their search for candidates who can
deliver real business and user outcomes.
Increasingly, the applicants who are most
in demand are those who combine
technical understanding with adaptability
and creativity — qualities that allow
people to grow alongside constantly
changing tools and expectations.
“If you’re curious, you’re going to both
learn and question, which I think are
really important qualities,” says Finnemore. “If you have grit, you’re going to be
resilient and adapt to the change that’s
coming.”
Creativity in the work, the workplace and
the hiring process
This demand for specialized talent is
echoed in Montréal’s gaming sector; the
city remains one of the world’s leading
hubs for video-game development.
Despite tech layoffs in 2023, demand has
rebounded and remained strong for
workers with expertise in software
engineering, AI, data science and other
technical roles.
At Compulsion Games, a Montréalbased studio recognized for the fifth year
