Senior Backend Engineer

woodbineentertainment; Toronto; On-site; CAD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Woodbine Entertainment is seeking a Sr. Backend Engineer to lead operational health, security, and reliability of our enterprise platforms and data services.

You will guide a team of Platform Engineers and collaborate with stakeholders to align IT delivery with business goals. Reporting to the Platform Engineering leadership, you will own platform lifecycle management, incident response, and continuous improvement across Dynamics 365, .NET applications, and cloud-based data and reporting

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS/IT/SE or related.
• 7+ years of progressive enterprise applications, platforms, and data experience.
• 2+ years leading engineering teams.
• Experience with Dynamics 365 F&O, Dynamics CRM, Azure, SQL Server.
• Familiarity with ITSM processes: incident, problem, change, governance.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Oversee platform operations and service delivery for enterprise applications and platforms.
• Lead and develop Junior to Senior Platform Engineers through coaching and performance management.
• Oversee data, reporting and integration platforms (Azure Data Factory, Databricks, SSIS, SQL Server; Tableau/Power BI/SSRS).
• Establish engineering standards, automation initiatives, monitoring strategies, and best practices.
• Ensure security, governance, compliance across supported platforms.

Skills

Leadership

Cloud & IaaS

SQL Server

Data Integration

BI Reporting

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related

Tools

Dynamics 365 F&O

Dynamics CRM

Azure Data Factory

Databricks

SSIS

Tableau

Power BI

SSRS

Job description

A NEW BREED OF ENTERTAINMENT

With almost 150 years of proud horseracing history, Woodbine Entertainment Group is the founding pioneer and largest operator of professional horseracing in Canada.

Building on our rich past, we are surging ahead to the future with an energized, new vision. Today we deliver the most thrilling and highest quality racing, dining and entertainment experiences to our visitors. In doing so, we remain a world-leader in horse-racing - and also among the most exciting and diverse entertainment facilities on the globe.

JOB SUMMARY

The Sr. Backend Engineer is responsible for the operational health, administration, security, reliability, and continuous improvement of enterprise business platforms, data integration services, reporting solutions, databases, cloud services, and supporting infrastructure. The role provides technical and people leadership for a team of Junior, Intermediate, and Senior Platform Engineers, ensuring consistent delivery of platform services aligned with business objectives.

The position is accountable for platform operations, service availability, incident management, platform lifecycle management, technical standards, team development, and operational excellence across a diverse portfolio including Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations and CRM, internally developed .NET applications, data integration and reporting platforms, SQL Server environments, cloud services, monitoring solutions, and business-critical operational systems.

Working closely with business stakeholders, vendors, and technology teams, the Lead Platform Engineer drives service reliability, security, compliance, automation, and continuous improvement while developing team capabilities and supporting strategic technology initiatives.

KEY ACCOUTABILTIES

• Platform Operations & Service Delivery: Lead administration, support, maintenance, and continuous improvement of enterprise applications and platforms including Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, Dynamics CRM, internally developed .NET applications, Kronos, Firebase, Squirrel POS, Yellow Dog Inventory, Totes, and other business-critical systems. Ensure platform availability, reliability, performance, and lifecycle management
• People Leadership & Team Development: Directly manage and develop Junior, Intermediate, and Senior Platform Engineers through coaching, mentoring, performance management, career development planning, workload management, capacity planning, recruitment support, and succession planning activities.
• Data, Reporting & Integration Platforms: Oversee operational support and optimization of Azure Data Factory, Databricks, SSIS, SQL Server environments, enterprise reporting solutions including Tableau, Power BI, and SSRS. Ensure data quality, integration reliability, reporting availability, and operational performance.
• Technical Leadership & Continuous Improvement: Establish engineering standards, operational procedures, automation initiatives, monitoring strategies, and best practices. Lead root cause analysis, problem management activities, platform modernization initiatives, and operational excellence programs.
• Security, Governance & Compliance: Administer security controls, user access management, licensing, audit compliance, monitoring solutions, and governance requirements across supported platforms. Ensure adherence to organizational security standards and regulatory obligations.

SKILLS

Knowledge and Education

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering, Data Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 7 years of progressive experience supporting enterprise applications, platforms, databases, cloud services, and integration technologies.
• Minimum 2 years of experience leading, mentoring, or managing technical support or engineering teams.
• Demonstrated experience supporting business-critical production environments and enterprise applications.
• Experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, Dynamics CRM, Azure services, SQL Server, enterprise reporting platforms, integration technologies, and operational monitoring tools.
• Strong understanding of IT Service Management (ITSM), Incident Management, Problem Management, Change Management, and Operational Governance processes.
• Relevant certifications such as Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate, Azure Solutions Architect Expert, AWS Certified Solutions Architect, ITIL Foundation, or related certifications are considered an asset.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

Lived Experience

Progressive Technology Operations Experience: Building expertise through progressively responsible roles supporting enterprise applications, infrastructure, databases, cloud services, integration platforms, or business-critical operational systems. Experience managing production environments, troubleshooting incidents, and supporting business users can provide equivalent pratic