Director & Principal Engineer, AI/ML & MLOps Platform

Royal Bank of Canada; Vancouver; On-site; CAD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Royal Bank of Canada is seeking a Director & Principal Engineer for AI/ML & MLOps Platform in Vancouver. This hands‑on engineering leadership role focuses on building scalable data‑driven systems and platform capabilities that enable advanced analytics and impactful business decisions.

You will manage a team of seasoned engineers, shape the bank's credit decisioning platform, and drive engineering rigor, mentorship, and pace of development to scale across the organization.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience designing and building data‑intensive applications; 3+ years in senior technical leadership.
• Deep expertise in distributed data processing and ML engineering tools (Python, Java/Scala, PySpark, Kafka, SQL, orchestration).
• Strong understanding of the ML lifecycle and MLOps incl. deployment, monitoring, CI/CD; real‑time inference on‑prem and cloud.
• Experience with AWS or Azure cloud platforms; scalable architecture patterns; IaC (SDK, Terraform).
• Excellent communication; proven leadership of engineering teams delivering high‑impact platforms/products.
• Bachelor's in CS/Engineering; Master’s/PhD preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead end‑to‑end design and delivery of data pipelines, ML platforms, and analytics systems.
• Set technical direction; define best practices in data and ML engineering; evaluate and drive adoption of new tech.
• Partner with data scientists, business leaders, and IT to translate needs into scalable solutions.
• Mentor engineers; foster a high‑performing, innovative culture.
• Deliver projects with high quality, on time, and with governance and security in mind.

Skills

Python

Java/Scala

PySpark/Spark

Kafka

SQL

Orchestration frameworks

MLOps

Cloud platforms AWS/Azure

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Engineering

Master's or PhD preferred

Tools

AWS SageMaker

Terraform

Job description

Job Description

What is the Opportunity?
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.

We're seeking a Director & Principal Engineer, AI/ML & MLOps Platform, who brings a unique blend of deep technical expertise and strategic leadership. This is a hands‑on engineering leadership role focused on building and scaling data‑driven systems and platform capabilities that enable advanced analytics, machine learning, and impactful business decisions. You will play a key role in shaping our next‑generation credit decisioning and risk management platform, and lead by example in applying sound architectural thinking, engineering rigor, and technical mentorship. You will manage a team of seasoned engineers to deliver the visions to scale your impacts and pace of development.

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

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