Director & Principal Engineer, AI/ML & MLOps Platform

RBC; Vancouver; On-site; CAD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

RBC is seeking a senior leader to design and build data-intensive applications, ML platforms, and analytics capabilities. You will balance hands-on coding (20-30%) with architecture leadership, guiding adoption of new data/ML technologies across teams.

You will mentor engineers, champion governance, and ensure scalable, secure solutions that support risk and retail credit decisioning. Your background includes 8+ years in data engineering, strong Cloud + IaC skills, and a track record of

Qualifications

• 8+ years designing data-intensive applications with 3+ years in senior technical leadership.
• Deep expertise in distributed data processing and ML engineering tools/languages.
• Strong MLOps knowledge: model deployment, monitoring, CI/CD, real-time inference.
• Experience with AWS or Azure and IaC tooling (Terraform).
• Excellent communication and leadership of engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end data pipelines, analytics platforms, and ML systems with hands-on and leadership.
• Define best practices in data engineering and ML engineering; evaluate new tech.
• Collaborate with data scientists and business leaders to translate needs into solutions.
• Mentor engineers and foster a culture of innovation and high performance.
• Deliver projects with high quality, on time, and with governance and security.

Skills

Distributed data processing

ML engineering

Python

Java/Scala

SQL

Kafka

CI/CD

Cloud fundamentals

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/Engineering

Master’s or PhD preferred

Tools

AWS

Azure

Terraform

PySpark

Spark

Job description

Job Description

Global Functions Technology (GFT) is part of RBC’s Technology and Operations division. GFT’s impact is far-reaching as we collaborate with partners from across the company to deliver innovative and transformative IT solutions. Our clients represent Risk, Finance, HR, CAO, Audit, Legal, Compliance, Financial Crime, Capital Markets, Personal and Commercial Banking and Wealth Management. We also lead the development of digital tools and platforms to enhance collaboration. In your role, You’ll architect and create systems that directly influence billions in lending decisions, shaping RBC’s competitive edge in financial innovation.

What is the Opportunity?

What will you do?

• Lead by Doing: Design, build, and review scalable data pipelines, analytics platforms, and ML systems. This is a hands‑on role with end‑to‑end ownership, balancing hands‑on coding (20-30%) with solution architectural & engineering leadership.
• Set Technical Direction: Define and promote best practices in data and ML engineering. Evaluate emerging technologies and guide adoption to drive innovation.
• Partner Cross-Functionally: Work closely with data scientists, business leaders, and IT teams to understand needs and translate them into technical solutions. Your first set of prominent goals are to transform the bank’s retail credit decisioning by bringing together a set of platform capabilities to enable our risk experts to scale vertically and horizontally to provide the depth and the breadth for competitive and personalize lending products.
• Mentor and Inspire: Coach engineers and foster a high-performing, collaborative culture. Champion engineering excellence and team growth. You are not an old fashioned manager that just command, but a role model that cultivates a culture of innovation and high performance, who skillfully inspires the next generation of leaders without micro managing.
• Deliver at Scale: Ensure projects are executed with high quality, on time, and aligned with business goals. Proactively identify risks and enforce compliance standards, especially around data governance and security.

What do you need to succeed?

Must Have:

• 8+ years of experience in designing and building data-intensive applications, with 3+ years in a senior technical leadership role.
• Deep expertise in modern distributed data processing and ML engineering tools and languages (e.g., Python, Java/Scala, PySpark/Spark, Kafka, SQL, orchestration frameworks).
• Strong understanding of the ML lifecycle and MLOps practices, including model deployment, monitoring, and CI/CD pipelines. Experience with real-time inference systems in both on-prem and Cloud.
• Proven experience in cloud platforms like AWS or Azure, with knowledge of scalable architecture patterns, and proficient in IaC (SDK, Terraform)
• Excellent communication skills - able to clearly explain complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated success in leading engineering teams and delivering high-impact platforms or products.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field; Master’s or PhD preferred.

Nice to Have:

• Hands‑on experience with AWS SageMaker and related services (Glue, EMR, Lambda, Step Functions, Airflow, CloudWatch).
• Track record of building high-performing teams (e.g., hiring/retaining top talent, improving team NPS)
• Background in enterprise‑level data governance, privacy, and security practices.

Job Skills

Big Data Management, Cloud Computing, Database Development, Data Mining, Data Warehousing (DW), ETL Processing, Quality Management, Requirements Analysis, Software Product Management, Waterfall Model

Additional Job Details

Address:

745 THURLOW ST:VANCOUVER

City:

Vancouver

Country:

Canada

Work hours/week:

37.5

Employment Type:

Full time

Platform:

TECHNOLOGY AND OPERATIONS

Job Type:

Regular

Pay Type:

Salaried

Posted Date:

2026-10-29

Application Deadline:

2027-02-28

Note

Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the application deadline date above

Our Employment Opportunities

At RBC, we are guided by living shared values of Client First, Integrity, Collaboration, Respect and Excellence and winning together as One RBC. We believe an inclusive workplace that has diverse perspectives is core to our continued growth as one of the largest and most successful banks in the world. Maintaining a workplace where our employees feel supported to perform at their best, effectively collaborate, drive innovation, and grow professionally helps to bring our Purpose to life and create value for our clients and communities. RBC strives to deliver this through policies and programs intended to foster a workplace based on respect, belonging and opportunity for all.

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