Staff Data Platform Engineer - Snowflake

RBC • Toronto, ON

1d • Onsite

About The Position

Join RBC's Cloud Data Lake Platform (Snowflake) Engineering team as a Staff Data Platform Engineer, where you'll play a critical role in designing, building, and operating one of Canada's largest enterprise data platforms. Our team empowers thousands of Data Scientists, Analysts, and business users across RBC with self-serve analytics capabilities built on Snowflake, delivered through a multi-cloud architecture spanning AWS and Azure. You'll work on our in-house Snowflake Control Plane — a Python-based platform that automates provisioning, enforces RBAC, manages disaster recovery, and governs how the enterprise interacts with Snowflake. A key focus of this role is enabling Snowflake's AI capabilities (Cortex AI) in a secure, governed, and compliant manner. Our team is a vibrant collective of knowledgeable experts committed to staying at the forefront of technology. We thrive on collaboration, with a flat team structure where hierarchy takes a backseat to innovation. Every voice is heard, and every idea matters. Senior members serve as mentors, fostering an environment where engineers can grow and excel.

Requirements

• Python (Expert): Deep proficiency in Python 3.11+, FastAPI, Pydantic v2, async/await patterns, and building production-grade APIs.
• Snowflake: Strong working knowledge of Snowflake architecture — roles, databases, schemas, warehouses, stages, storage integrations, failover groups, replication, and AI Suite. Experience with Snowflake security (OAuth, key pair auth, network policies).
• Cloud Platforms: Hands-on experience with AWS and Azure — IAM, networking, storage, secret management (Vault, AKV), and multi-cloud service delivery.
• Security Engineering: Deep understanding of OAuth 2.0 / OIDC, JWT validation, RBAC design, secret management, and enterprise security patterns. Experience implementing security controls in production systems.
• AI/ML Governance: Understanding of responsible AI principles, model risk management, AI auditing requirements, and regulatory frameworks (OSFI, NIST AI RMF) as they apply to enterprise AI deployments.
• CI/CD & DevOps: Experience with GitHub Actions (or similar), container-based deployments (Docker, OpenShift/Kubernetes), progressive delivery strategies, and security scanning (SAST, SCA, DAST).
• Systems Thinking: Ability to reason about distributed systems, connection pooling, failover strategies, and the end-to-end implications of enabling AI features on an enterprise data platform.
• Security Mindset: Instinctive focus on least-privilege access, defense-in-depth, audit trails, and compliance.
• Technical Leadership: Proven ability to drive architectural decisions, influence without authority, and articulate technical strategy to both engineering peers and business stakeholders.
• Communication: Excellent written and verbal skills — you'll be presenting to various internal key decision-making teams, writing governance documentation, and mentoring engineers.
• Ownership & Accountability: Self-driven with a track record of delivering complex, cross-cutting initiatives from design through production.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 7+ years of experience in platform engineering, data engineering, cloud engineering, or SRE roles.
• 3+ years working with Snowflake or comparable enterprise data platforms at scale.
• Experience operating in regulated environments (financial services, healthcare, or government).

Nice To Haves

• Snowflake Cortex AI: Hands-on experience with Cortex Analyst, Cortex Search, Cortex Agents.
• SnowPro Certifications: SnowPro Core, Advanced: Architect, or Advanced: Data Engineer.
• Temporal / Workflow Orchestration: Experience with Temporal, Airflow, Step Functions, or similar durable workflow engines.
• Observability: Hands-on with Dynatrace, Datadog, Prometheus/Grafana, or ELK Stack for APM and platform monitoring.
• Infrastructure as Code: Terraform, CloudFormation, or similar, for cloud resource management.
• API Design: Experience designing and evolving large API surfaces (RESTful, OpenAPI/Swagger).
• Financial Services: Understanding of Canadian regulatory landscape (OSFI B-13, PIPEDA) and enterprise risk frameworks.
• LLM/GenAI Security: Knowledge of prompt injection risks, data leakage prevention, and AI-specific threat models.

Responsibilities

• Platform Engineering & AI Enablement: Design, develop, and maintain the Snowflake Control Plane. Enable Snowflake new features with appropriate governance controls, access policies, and compliance guardrails. Collaborate with Model Risk and Compliance teams on AI governance frameworks and responsible AI adoption.
• Security & Compliance: Implement and maintain security controls — OAuth/SSO integrations, JWT validation, secret management (HashiCorp Vault, Azure Key Vault), and credential lifecycle automation. Enforce platform security posture including rate limiting, input sanitization, and security headers. Drive compliance with enterprise security standards and OSFI guidelines, particularly for AI/ML workloads.
• Developer Experience & Operations: Build self-service workflows and automation for user onboarding, resource provisioning, and platform management. Operate and improve CI/CD pipelines with progressive deployment, security scanning (SAST, SCA, DAST), and code quality gates. Create technical documentation and contribute to platform observability and monitoring.
• Technical Leadership: Lead architectural decisions and present trade-offs to technical leadership. Mentor junior engineers and co-op students on platform engineering and security best practices. Participate actively in agile ceremonies, PI planning, and sprint demos.

Benefits

• 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: Senior