Senior Principal Software Engineer

United States Digital Space LLC; Toronto; On-site; CAD 223,000 - 265,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health & wellbeing resources

Paid vacation and sick days

Competitive compensation and benefits

Hybrid in-office schedule (3+ days)

Career growth opportunities

Community involvement

Diversity & inclusion

Job summary

QFG is seeking a Senior Principal Software Engineer to serve as the chief architect for our API Platform and Developer Experience (DX). This IC role will shape the architectural strategy across public, partner, and internal gateways, including MCP integrations and developer portals.

You will lead cross-team technical investments, ensure secure, scalable APIs, and mentor senior engineers while influencing tech direction without direct people management responsibilities.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software engineering experience with at least 3 years in Staff/Principal roles.
• Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a closely related field.
• Experience with large-scale SaaS infrastructure, enterprise integrations, or global developer platform domains.
• Strong understanding of API gateways, distributed systems, and modern API standards.

Responsibilities

• Define the long-term architectural vision for public APIs, partner APIs, and internal gateway infrastructure (e.g., Apigee).
• Architect scalable, self-serve developer portals and automated SDK generation pipelines.
• Define security and identity architectures (OAuth/OIDC, zero-trust) and global rate-limiting strategies.
• Mentor engineers across the organization and represent the company at external events or blogs.

Skills

API Gateway architectures

Distributed systems

Backend languages

OAuth 2.0 / OIDC

OpenAPI / GraphQL

Kubernetes

Cloud platforms (GCP/AWS)

System design & architecture

Leadership / mentorship

Education

Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

Tools

Apigee

Kubernetes

AWS

GCP

Job description

the company (QFG), through its companies - Questrade, Questbank, Questrade Wealth Management, Community Trust Company, Zolo, and Flexiti, provides securities and foreign currency investment, professionally managed investment portfolios, mortgages, real estate services, financial services and more. We use cutting-edge technology to help Canadians become much more financially successful and secure.At QFG, we combine human-centric collaboration with AI-driven innovation to redefine financial services. The ideal candidate will be a catalyst for change, using AI to transform and deliver unparalleled customer experiences and shaping a future where AI empowers our teams to do their best work.Join our diverse, inclusive, and hybrid workplace to unleash your creativity and nurture your curiosity without limits. If you share this sense of infinite possibility, come shape your future at QFG.

What’s in it for you as an employee of QFG?

• Health & wellbeing resources and programs
• Paid vacation, personal, and sick days for work-life balance
• Competitive compensation and benefits packages
• Work-life balance in a hybrid environment with at least 3 days in office
• Career growth and development opportunities
• Opportunities to contribute to community causes
• Work with diverse team members in an inclusive and collaborative environment

This job posting is for an existing vacancy

We’re looking for our next Senior Principal Software Engineer. Could It Be You?We are seeking a visionary Senior Principal Software Engineer to serve as the chief architect and technical north star for our API Platform & Developer Experience (DX). In this highly impactful Individual Contributor (IC) role, you will design the enterprise-wide technical strategy for our external developer ecosystems. You will define the architecture for our API gateways, developer portals, SDK pipelines, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrations. As the ultimate technical authority for the platform, you will solve our most complex distributed systems challenges, drive engineering excellence across multiple squads, and influence the broader organizational tech strategy without the day-to-day responsibilities of people management. You will serve as a bridge between high-level business objectives and deep technical execution, ensuring our APIs remain robust, secure, and developer-friendly at a massive scale.

Need more details? Keep reading…

• Architecture & Technical Strategy: Define the long-term architectural vision for our public APIs, Partner APIs, and internal gateway infrastructure (e.g., Apigee). Pioneer next-generation integration patterns, including MCP servers for LLM/AI agents. Lead cross-departmental technical investments and evaluate emerging technologies.
• Platform & DX Excellence: Architect highly scalable, frictionless self-serve developer portals and automated SDK generation pipelines. Set standards for RESTful, GraphQL, and modern API paradigms. Ensure backward compatibility, high availability, and flawless performance of our external-facing systems under immense load.
• Security, Identity & Resilience: Define the architectural blueprint for API identity (OAuth 2.0, OIDC, robust token management) and zero-trust access models. Partner with DevSecOps to design global rate-limiting, throttling, and threat mitigation strategies.
• Technical Leadership & Mentorship: Act as the primary technical advisor to Directors and VPs. Mentor Principal, Staff, and Senior engineers across the organization. Foster a culture of engineering rigor, systems thinking, and continuous innovation. Represent the company as an industry thought leader at external tech conferences or via engineering blogs.

So are YOU our next Job Title? You are if you…

• Education & Experience: 8+ years of software engineering experience with at least 3 years acting in a Staff, Principal, or Chief Architect capacity. Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a closely related field. Deep background in large-scale SaaS infrastructure, enterprise integrations, or global developer platform domains.
• Technical Proficiency: Unrivaled expertise in API Gateway architectures (Apigee preferred) and distributed systems. Mastery of modern backend environments (e.g., C#, Python, Node.js) and frontend architectural patterns for portal development. Expert-level understanding of complex auth flows (OAuth 2.0, OIDC), API design standards (OpenAPI, GraphQL, MCP), and cloud-native infrastructure (Kubernetes, GCP/AWS).
• Strategic Capabilities: Proven ability to influence executive leadership and drive technical alignment across matrixed teams
• without formal reporting authority. Exceptional systems thinking and risk mitigation skills. Track record of leading massive technical migrations or launching greenfield enterprise platforms. Exceptional communication skills, capable of translating the most complex technical challenges into clear business value.

Compensation Information:

• Base salary range: $160,000 - $190,000
• The final compensation package will be commensurate with the successful candidate's experience, skills, and geographic location (Canada). It includes a comprehensive benefits plan and a competitive incentive (bonus) program for Full-Time Permanent roles.

At the company of Companies, with multiple office locations around the world, we are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive and accessible work environment. This is an environment where individuals are treated with dignity and respect. Here, the unique skills and experience you bring will be valued. You will be supported and motivated, so that you can harness your unlimited potential. Our team reflects the diversity of the communities we serve and operate in. Having a collaborative and diverse team helps us push boundaries to bring the future of fintech into existence—not only for the benefit of our customers, but for those who build their career with us.

the company of companies Applicant Tracking System utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) for application screening. The AI system operates on predetermined criteria, with final decisions subject to human review.

Candidates selected for an interview will be contacted directly. If you require accommodation during the recruitment/selection process, please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.