Advisor, Software Engineering

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation; Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal; On-site; CAD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A public sector organization in Ottawa seeks an Advisor, Software Engineering who will be pivotal in defining secure software standards and modernizing engineering practices. The role involves mentoring developers and integrating security into application development. Ideal candidates have over ten years of experience, a strong grasp of secure coding standards, and are bilingual in English and French. This position offers comprehensive benefits and the chance to contribute to a meaningful mission.

Benefits

Annual paid vacation

Performance incentives

Comprehensive group insurance

Qualifications

• Minimum of ten years of experience in software engineering, focusing on secure development.
• Experience implementing modern identity architectures and secure coding practices.
• Strong background in cloud-native platforms and CI/CD pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Define and promote secure software engineering standards.
• Lead modernization initiatives like microservices design.
• Conduct threat modeling and design reviews to identify vulnerabilities.

Skills

Secure software development

Architecture and platform modernization

Communication skills

Bilingualism (English and French)

Education

Undergraduate degree in computer science, IT, software engineering or related

Tools

GitHub Advanced Security

Azure Functions

Kubernetes

Job description

About CMHC

The work you do and the work we do together matters. We come to work every day with a common purpose: to contribute to a well-functioning housing system.

At CMHC, we hold ourselves accountable for our results and support our colleagues in their achievements. We thrive on collaboration, connecting across CMHC and involving the right people to get our work done. Our leadership style is guided by trust, where our leaders favour an adaptive approach based on the needs of their teams.

Join us and be part of a team that's committed to making a real difference and be part of something meaningful.

What’s in it for you

We’ve got the purpose, the people and the perks you need for a fulfilling career. Here’s the comprehensive and generous benefits you get when you’re a permanent employee:

• Annual paid vacation.
• Annual individual performance incentive.
• Comprehensive group insurance plan to support your well-being from day one.
• Support towards your personal and professional growth with training, mentorship and more.
• An inclusive workplace culture and environment.

About the role

Join CMHC’s Software Engineering Practices team as an Advisor, Software Engineering — a senior technical leader focused on shaping how software is built and secured across the organization. In this role, you will define and champion modern engineering and security practices, enabling teams to build applications that are scalable, maintainable, and resilient to real-world threats.

You’ll work across product, platform, and security teams to embed secure-by-design thinking into software delivery, while mentoring developers, standardizing best practices, and leading the evolution of CMHC’s secure development lifecycle.

What you’ll do:

• Define and promote secure software engineering standards, including coding guidelines, API design patterns, and architectural best practices for modern platforms.
• Lead modernization initiatives such as monolith decomposition, microservices design, and componentized frontends, ensuring secure foundations throughout.
• Conduct threat modeling, design reviews, and secure code walkthroughs, identifying vulnerabilities early and advising on remediation strategies.
• Integrate AppSec tooling (SAST, SCA, DAST) into CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Advanced Security, Invicti, and SonarQube.
• Mentor engineers through workshops, pair programming, and secure design sessions, supporting growth in both engineering quality and security maturity.
• Maintain internal developer enablement assets like secure coding playbooks, reusable components, and platform-specific guidance.
• Lead a Community of Practice (CoP) for secure software engineering, fostering collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.

What you should have:

• An undergraduate degree in computer science, information technology, software engineering, or a related field. An equivalent combination of education and/or experience can be considered.
• A minimum of ten (10) years of relevant experience in software engineering with a strong expertise in secure development, architecture, and platform modernization.
• A deep understanding of secure software development lifecycle (SSDLC), including threat modeling, secure code patterns, and remediation strategies.
• An experience implementing modern identity architectures (OAuth2, OIDC, JWT), API hardening, and platform-level security measures.
• A strong background in cloud-native platforms (e.g., Azure Functions, Logic Apps, Kubernetes) and CI/CD pipelines (ADO, GitHub Actions).
• A proven ability to coach and influence developers, technical leads, and platform engineers.
• Strong communication skills — including the ability to translate complex technical concepts into actionable practices and standards.
• Bilingualism (English and French).

It would be great if you also had:

• A certification, such as: OSWE, CSSLP, GIAC GWEB, GWAPT.
• An experience with frontend micro-frontends or progressive web apps (PWAs).
• A familiarity with WCAG accessibility standards, DevEx strategy, or performance optimization.
• Contributions to open-source, CoPs, or engineering standards groups.
• A background in scaling secure coding practices across multi-team environments.
• A public sector or financial services experience.

Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion

We’re committed to employment equity and encourage women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, veterans and persons of all races, ethnicities, religions, abilities, sexual orientations, and gender identities and expressions to apply. We also welcome applications from non-Canadians who are eligible to work in Canada.

CMHC is an inclusive workplace where diversity of thought – and of people – are recognized, valued, and considered essential to achieving our mission.