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