Senior Research Engineer

RBC; Vancouver; On-site; CAD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading Canadian financial institution in Vancouver is seeking an experienced Senior Research Engineer. The role involves driving AI projects from problem definition to prototype development, collaborating with various teams, and engaging in applied research. Candidates should have a Ph.D. or equivalent experience, proficiency in Python and ML systems, and the ability to manage experiments effectively. The position offers competitive compensation and a supportive team environment.

Benefits

Comprehensive Total Rewards Program

Flexible benefits

Competitive compensation

Stock options

Qualifications

• Experience developing and maintaining a production ML system.
• Ability to independently drive the ML research process.
• Ability to manage large numbers of ML experiments.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership throughout the research lifecycle.
• Collaborate with teams to define AI problems and prototype solutions.
• Engage in applied research experimentation for algorithm improvement.

Skills

Machine learning system development

Python

PyTorch

OpenShift

GitHub

Slurm

Generative AI

User representation learning

Education

Ph.D. in computer science or related field

Post-graduate degree with 5+ years of experience

Job description

Job Summary

Job Description

What’s the opportunity?

RBC Borealis is looking for an enthusiastic Senior Research Engineer who’s excited by the opportunity of being at the forefront of machine learning technology and working on extremely challenging problems in the financial services industry. As a Senior Research Engineer, you’ll be part of a collaborative team delivering AI projects end to end – everything from scoping and defining the AI problem, to data pre-processing and exploration, to prototyping novel algorithmic solutions, to software implementations of machine learning-based products. At RBC Borealis, you’ll be joining a team that works directly with leading researchers in machine learning, have access to rich and massive datasets, and offers the computational resources to support cutting‑edge machine learning R&D.

Your responsibilities include:

• To provide technical leadership throughout the research and product development lifecycle to deliver cutting edge AI solutions;
• To partner with RBC Borealis’ business, product, research, and engineering teams to ensure the seamless delivery of these products;
• To collaborate with business stakeholders to define the AI problem and rapidly prototype a solution;
• To engage in applied research experimentation to build and improve upon algorithms and models used in RBC Borealis’ products;
• To support projects with thorough documentation, design decisions, and technical advisory.

You’re our ideal candidate if you have:

• A Ph.D. degree in computer science or a related technical field and 2+ years of experience, or a post‑graduate degree and 5+ years of progressive experience;
• Experience developing and maintaining a production ML system;
• Ability to independently drive the ML research process, including problem abstraction, solution design, integration of mixed data sources, data understanding, model training, model evaluation, and model validation;
• Ability to approximate real‑world business concepts with mathematical models and leverage those models to drive ML design process;
• Ability to manage large numbers of ML experiments across shared resources;
• Proficient in Python, PyTorch, OpenShift, GitHub, and Slurm;
• Experience with sequence models, Generative AI, user representation learning, and/or financial machine learning;
• Ability to collaborate with colleagues spanning a mix of business, product, engineering, and research teams through both written and oral communications.

What’s in it for you?

• Become part of a team that thinks progressively and works collaboratively. We care about seeing each other reach full potential;
• A comprehensive Total Rewards Program including bonuses and flexible benefits, competitive compensation, and stock options where applicable;
• Leaders who support your development through coaching and managing opportunities;
• Ability to make a difference and lasting impact from a local‑to‑global scale.

About RBC Borealis

RBC Borealis is the driving force behind Royal Bank of Canada’s AI and data innovation. As part of Canada’s largest financial institution, we bring together a team of architects, engineers, scientists, and product experts on a mission to revolutionize finance through world‑class research, solutions, and a resilient data platform. With locations across Toronto, Waterloo, Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver, we’re at the forefront of AI research and platform development. With a focus on cutting‑edge research in areas like time series forecasting, causal machine learning, and responsible AI, we are seamlessly integrating AI research and data engineering, to solve critical challenges in the financial industry. We are building intelligent, and scalable, data‑driven solutions that will help communities thrive and drive innovation for our customers across the bank.

Inclusion and Equal Opportunity Employment

RBC is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We are pleased to consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veterans status, Aboriginal/Native American status or any other legally‑protected factors. Disability‑related accommodations during the application process are available upon request.

Job Skills

Additional Job Details

Address: 401 GEORGIA ST W: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: 2025-05-09

Application Deadline: (no explicit deadline provided)

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

Join our Talent Community

Stay in‑the‑know about great career opportunities at RBC. Sign up and get customized info on our latest jobs, career tips and Recruitment events that matter to you.

Expand your limits and create a new future together at RBC. Find out how we use our passion and drive to enhance the well‑being of our clients and communities at jobs.rbc.com.