What Does Xero’s Engineering Hub in Vancouver Work On?
Xero’s engineering hub in Vancouver is much more than a satellite office — it’s the heart of a critical mission.
The goal? To evolve Xero’s core architecture — in other words, dismantle the monolith. According to Senior VP of Product Engineering Andrew Hurst, the company has a series of large multi-tenant databases and millions of lines of code developed over 20 years, and its Vancouver-based engineers are using AI to break it all up and build a proper platform API layer.
“Our goal is to ensure every team doesn’t have to worry about core ledger schemas — they should just have a clean API to build the next generation of products,” Hurst said.
What Does Xero Do?
Xero provides small business software that helps business owners accept payments, manage invoices, access bank data, streamline payroll and more.
Those working at Xero’s Vancouver engineering hub aren’t just maintaining software. They're shaping the infrastructure that businesses depend on daily.
“It’s about strengthening boundaries and clarifying data contracts so our platform can support both today’s customers and tomorrow’s innovations,” Director of Engineering Bernardo Farah said.
At Xero’s growing Vancouver hub, engineers get to take the lead on technical transformation, supported by a culture that, according to Hurst, “values human connection as much as clean code.”
Below, Farah and Hurst share more about why they decided to join Xero and what it’s like to work at Xero’s Vancouver engineering hub, including the technical work that their teams tackle and the culture that supports them.
About Andrew Hurst and Bernardo Farah
Andrew Hurst: Senior VP of Product Engineering at Xero. He previously held engineering leadership roles at Google, Splunk and Databricks, with experience spanning site reliability, cloud storage, data platforms and developer experience.
Bernardo Farah: Director of Engineering at Xero. His background includes software engineering and engineering leadership roles at Walmart, CoverHound and Samsara, where he worked on product platforms and durable execution systems.
Why Engineering Leaders Andrew Hurst and Bernardo Farah Joined Xero
Hurst: “It’s almost cliché, but the people were kind. During the interview process, they were focused on ensuring I wasn’t just technically proficient, but a culture fit. There are no ‘brilliant jerks’ here — just good people who want to do the right thing for customers.”
“There are no ‘brilliant jerks’ here — just good people who want to do the right thing for customers.”
Farah: “I was looking for systems where getting it wrong has meaningful consequences, and getting it right unlocks significant value. Accounting infrastructure sits squarely in that space. It represents the source of truth for millions of businesses. That responsibility is motivating.
[During the interview process], the people were sharp and ambitious, but very human. We weren’t just talking about features; we were talking about data integrity, long-term evolution and platform responsibility.”
What Technical Challenges Are Xero’s Vancouver Engineers Solving?
Farah: “We aren’t chasing novelty for the sake of it. We are using tools like Temporal for durable execution and exploring AI assistants to improve velocity, but it’s all aimed at building something durable.”
The Technical Challenges Xero’s Vancouver Engineers Are Solving
- “Consistency and correctness: In accounting, there is no ‘close enough.’ Data must be auditable and immutable.”
- “Breaking boundaries: Evolving a mature, 20-year-old system to support modern, real-time expectations without compromising reliability.”
- “AI-ready infrastructure: Structuring data so it can power intelligent, AI-native experiences while maintaining absolute trust.”
How Xero’s Engineering Leaders Are Building Culture in Vancouver
Hurst: “Building a great engineering hub is more akin to planting a new garden than building a skyscraper. My role is to build the conditions for a great culture — customer-focused, impact-driven and balanced — and then support the emergent culture that shows up when great people work together.”
The Pillars of Xero’s Engineering Culture in Vancouver
- Go Bold by making magic happen
- Go Fast because the future doesn’t wait
- Go Further by aiming higher
- Go Together because we win as one
Why Xero Is Growing Its Engineering Presence in Vancouver
Farah: “Early teams set the trajectory. The decisions we make about hiring, ownership and quality will compound for years. Vancouver is the perfect place for this because the market here combines large-scale distributed systems experience with a pragmatic, product-oriented mindset.”
Why Join Xero’s Growing Engineering Hub in Vancouver?
Hurst: “There’s nothing more empowering than building things people love. Xero has a deep history and a loyal following among small business owners and accountants. The potential to augment their workflows with AI — without just throwing a chat box on top of an LLM — is a massive opportunity.”
Farah: “If you want to shape foundational systems with real-world stakes — and help define a new engineering hub from the ground up — this is a rare moment to do it. The architectural decisions we make now will shape Xero for years.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Xero engineering hub in Vancouver work on?
Vancouver engineers are working to "dismantle the monolith" — evolving Xero’s core architecture, which consists of large multi-tenant databases and millions of lines of code developed over 20 years. They are using AI to break down the monolithic code and build a clean platform API layer so other teams don't have to worry about core ledger schemas when building next-generation products.
What technical challenges do Xero engineers solve?
Xero engineers face the challenge of evolving a mature, 20-year-old system to support modern, real-time expectations without compromising reliability. They must structure data so that it can power intelligent, AI-native experiences, while using tools like Temporal for durable execution and exploring AI assistants to improve team velocity aimed at building long-term, durable solutions.
What is the engineering culture like at Xero?
Xero's engineering culture prioritizes human connection as much as clean code, valuing kind, good people over "brilliant jerks" who want to do the right thing for customers. The culture is described as being customer-focused, impact-driven and balanced.
