Lead Software Reliability Engineer

RE Partners; Mississauga; Hybrid; CAD 160,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

RE Partners in Mississauga is seeking a Principal Java Engineer to join the Deployment Security & Software Reliability team. You will work hands-on to strengthen software delivery through secure, scalable Java applications and modernized release processes.

This senior role focuses on CI/CD, dependency modernization, automated testing, and security tooling across multiple teams, with technical leadership rather than people management.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience with Java.
• Experience with large-scale enterprise applications.
• Strong Spring Boot development and architecture knowledge.
• Deep hands-on experience with CI/CD and release processes.
• Proficiency with Gradle and/or Maven, dependency management.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, troubleshoot, and improve large-scale enterprise Java applications and services.
• Lead teams to identify and resolve barriers to safe, rapid software delivery.
• Modernize via dependency upgrades and automated code transformations (Renovate, OpenRewrite).
• Define and improve CI/CD build, release practices and deployment automation.
• Improve automated testing to increase release confidence.
• Provide technical guidance across build ecosystems (Gradle, Maven, npm).
• Define static analysis, code quality gates, and security scanning practices (SAST/SCA).
• Guide integrations with Snyk, Black Duck, and Checkmarx; adopt SBOM tooling (CycloneDX).
• Support containerized and Kubernetes deployments; troubleshoot complex issues.
• Develop reusable engineering patterns and automation; mentor and lead technically across teams.

Skills

Java

CI/CD

Security

Leadership

Communication

Tools

Renovate

OpenRewrite

Gradle/Maven

Snyk

Black Duck

Checkmarx

CycloneDX

Job description

Hello from RE Partners!

Who We Are:

We are a fast growing business and technology consultant company co-founded in 2019. We offer a custom-tailored, white-glove engineering service fit for our clients, because a digital transformation is more than just technology. With a successful track record of being a preferred vendor for Fortune 500 companies and as a trusted partner for some of the industry’s leading companies, our global talent has helped many clients achieve their goals.

The 3 G’s Of RE

Get Shit Done.

Get Over Shit.

Give a Shit.

Principal Java Engineer – Deployment Security & Software Reliability

We are seeking an experienced, hands-on Principal Java Engineer to join a newly established Deployment Security and Software Reliability Engineering team supporting one of the world’s largest financial institutions.

This is not a traditional development, support, or operations role. You will work directly with development teams to make software releases faster, safer, and more secure, identifying what is preventing teams from releasing effectively and helping solve those problems hands‑on.

The role is highly hands‑on, with a focus on Java engineering, CI/CD, dependency modernization, automated testing, software supply‑chain security, containerization, release automation, and vulnerability remediation.

As a Principal Engineer, you will remain deeply hands‑on while providing technical direction and influencing engineering practices across multiple teams. This is a technical leadership position, not a people‑management role.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, troubleshoot, and improve large-scale enterprise Java applications and services.
• Work directly with development teams to identify and resolve technical barriers to safe and rapid software delivery.
• Lead application modernization through dependency upgrades and automated code transformation, using tools such as Renovate and OpenRewrite.
• Define and improve CI/CD build and release practices, including release branches, cascading merges, semantic or calendar versioning, and deployment automation.
• Improve automated, local, integration, and smoke testing to increase release confidence.
• Provide technical guidance across build and package ecosystems including Gradle, Maven, npm, and related tooling.
• Define and improve static code analysis, code quality gates, and application security scanning practices.
• Guide integrations with tools such as Snyk, Black Duck, and Checkmarx.
• Drive adoption of SARIF, SBOM tooling, and CycloneDX to improve software supply‑chain visibility and security.
• Support and improve containerized and Kubernetes‑based application deployments.
• Troubleshoot complex engineering issues across application code, dependencies, builds, configuration, testing, security tooling, and deployment processes.
• Develop reusable engineering patterns, automation, and practices that can be adopted across multiple teams.
• Provide hands‑on technical leadership, architectural guidance, code reviews, and mentorship.
• Influence engineering standards and approaches that make software changes safer, more secure, and easier to deliver.

Required Skills & Experience

• 10+ years of professional software engineering experience, with deep hands‑on expertise in Java.
• Strong experience designing, developing, troubleshooting, and modernizing large‑scale enterprise applications.
• Strong understanding of modern Java / Spring Boot development and architecture.
• Deep hands‑on experience with CI/CD, build pipelines, and software release processes.
• Strong experience with Gradle and/or Maven, dependency management, and application upgrades.
• Experience with automated testing and improving release confidence across complex systems.
• Strong understanding of application security, vulnerability remediation, and software supply‑chain security.
• Experience with static analysis, code quality gates, SAST/SCA tooling, or platforms such as Snyk, Black Duck, or Checkmarx.
• Familiarity with SBOM concepts, CycloneDX, and SARIF.
• Experience with containerized applications and Kubernetes environments.
• Ability to work across application code, configuration, builds, testing, security, and deployment processes.
• Proven ability to operate at a Staff/Principal engineering level, influencing technical decisions, tooling, and engineering practices across multiple teams.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work directly with engineering teams to understand problems and drive solutions through implementation.

Nice to Have

• Deep experience with Renovate and OpenRewrite, including automated dependency upgrades and large‑scale application modernization.
• Experience with semantic versioning, calendar versioning, release branches, and cascading merge strategies.
• Experience across additional ecosystems such as Node.js/npm, Python/PyPI, .NET/NuGet, or Go.
• Experience with Shell, Bash, PowerShell, or Pkl.
• Experience working in Software Reliability Engineering, DevSecOps, Platform Engineering, or deployment engineering environments.
• Experience developing engineering tooling, standards, or processes adopted across multiple development teams.
• Experience helping teams modernize existing applications and software delivery practices.
• Experience working within large, complex engineering organizations.
• Financial services or banking experience is beneficial but not required.

The Opportunity

We are looking for more than strong Java developers. We need senior technical problem solvers and engineering advocates who can walk into a development team, understand what is preventing them from releasing software safely and quickly, and then help solve both the immediate problem and the underlying systemic issue.

For engineers who enjoy solving difficult technical problems, influencing engineering practices across teams, and building reusable capabilities from the ground up, this is a unique opportunity.

Location & Work Environment

• Hybrid work model
• Collaborative, fast‑paced, engineering‑driven environment
• Strong emphasis on hands‑on engineering, technical autonomy, problem solving, and cross‑team impact.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from all qualified individuals regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status.