About Brave
What is Brave?
Brave (formally Brave Technology Co-Op) is a Vancouver-based multi-stakeholder cooperative making overdose detection tools that activate life-saving community response. The mission is direct: "End overdose deaths. We're building a world where every overdose is detected and reversed." Brave's origin story is a group of UBC students who invented an overdose detection device — a story since covered by Vice, CTV News, The Globe and Mail, Filter, Techcouver, and others.
Brave's three product lines target the spaces where people use drugs alone: the Brave Overdose Detection System (anonymous remote supervision for harm-reduction service providers), Brave Buttons (panic buttons inside supportive housing buildings), and Brave Sensors (privacy-respecting detection in care centers, civic spaces, and bathrooms). To date the tools have driven 18,000+ connections to care, 1,800+ safer spaces, and 400+ overdoses reversed. Brave is co-owned and democratically governed by its members — anyone who uses the products, works at Brave, or invests can become a co-op member. Brave hosted the first Tech and Harm Reduction Symposium in January 2022.
Where will I work?
Brave is a distributed team with two co-working spaces — Vancouver, BC (210 - 49 Dunlevy Ave) and Dayton, Ohio (inside The Hub, since September 2022). The careers page is explicit: "Work anywhere: Folks in Vancouver and Dayton are welcome to access our co-working spaces. But you can work from anywhere." Brave offers both full- and part-time roles depending on the position.
What is the Brave team like?
Brave is "a lateral organization, which means we all report to each other. We don't have superiors. We give all team members autonomy over how they work and expect a high degree of accountability from everyone." The team aspires to be a "teal" organisation — characterised by self-management, wholeness, and a deeper sense of purpose. Values shape every decision: Autonomy ("every person has the right to autonomy"), Social Justice ("the overdose epidemic is fundamentally an issue of social justice that has disproportionately affected marginalized communities"), Collaboration ("we openly exchange knowledge and create solutions with the many other organizations and people on this shared mission"), Connection ("human connection is the antithesis of isolation and sits at the heart of everything we do"), and Trust ("we trust in one another to make decisions that are aligned with our mission, good for humanity, and based on mutual respect"). Products are co-designed with People Who Use Drugs (PWUD).
Work-Life Balance
In Brave's own words: "Set your own hours: We don't live by the traditional 9-5 schedule. Brave lets you work when it works for you. We do ask that you remain accountable and available to your team." Paid time off (both full- and part-time employees qualify for vacation days and sick days — the number varies by role and hours), plus unlimited unpaid time-off for any reason or no reason. The structure favours autonomy and flexibility over rigid schedules.
Perks and Benefits
- Work from anywhere — co-working spaces in Vancouver, BC and Dayton, Ohio (inside The Hub); fully remote allowed
- Set your own hours — no traditional 9-5; full ownership and autonomy, with accountability to your team
- Paid time off (full- and part-time, days vary by role) plus unlimited unpaid time-off for any reason or no reason
- Cooperative membership — every employee becomes a member of the multi-stakeholder co-op with a real say in Brave's future
- Profit sharing — when Brave earns a surplus in a given year, every member shares in it
- Lateral "teal" organisation — no superiors; collective ownership and decision-making