Principal Software Developer

RBC • Toronto, ON

10d • Onsite

About The Position

As a Principal Engineer within RBC Borealis Lumina team, you will act as a senior technical leader, guiding a high-performing team of backend engineers and shaping the technical strategy for next-generation solutions across multiple innovation initiatives. You will provide hands-on architecture and engineering leadership, influence enterprise-level decision-making, and ensure delivery of secure, scalable, and compliant backend solutions integrated into RBC’s platforms. RBC Borealis is the driving force behind Royal Bank of Canada’s AI and data innovation. As part of Canada’s largest financial institution, we bring together a team of architects, engineers, scientists, and product experts on a mission to revolutionize finance through world-class research, solutions, and a resilient data platform. With locations across Toronto, Waterloo, Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver, we’re at the forefront of AI research and platform development. With a focus on cutting-edge research in areas like time series forecasting, causal machine learning, and responsible AI, we are seamlessly integrating AI research and data engineering, to solve critical challenges in the financial industry. We are building intelligent, and scalable, data-driven solutions that will help communities thrive and drive innovation for our customers across the bank.

Requirements

• Expert-level backend development experience with Java/Python (Spring Boot, Fast API, REST APIs, multithreading, messaging).
• Proven experience building micro-services and cloud-native applications on platforms like AWS, GCP, or Azure.
• Solid knowledge of container orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift).
• Advanced understanding of CI/CD, infrastructure-as-code, and GitOps workflows.
• Familiarity with modern identity and access management (e.g. OAuth2, JWT, mTLS, etc.).
• Experience with SQL and NoSQL databases, data modeling, and caching strategies.
• Strong experience navigating enterprise governance, compliance, and regulatory frameworks.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to influence technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a team of backend engineers with deep Java expertise and strong delivery capabilities.
• Champion engineering excellence by fostering a culture of craftsmanship, ownership, and continuous improvement.
• Conduct regular performance coaching, technical reviews, and learning sessions.
• Balance near-term execution with long-term strategic capability building and talent development.
• Work closely with product managers to define technical requirements that align with business priorities.
• Partner with delivery leads and scrum masters to plan sprints, manage backlogs, and deliver on roadmaps.
• Collaborate with security, compliance, privacy, and legal to ensure adherence to RBC policies and standards.
• Liaise with DevOps, Cloud, and SRE teams to optimize platform capabilities and developer experience.

Benefits

• Become part of a team that thinks progressively and works collaboratively.
• A comprehensive Total Rewards Program including bonuses and flexible benefits, competitive compensation, commissions, and stock options where applicable.
• Leaders who support your development through coaching and managing opportunities.
• Ability to make a difference and lasting impact from a local-to-global scale.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees