Principal Software Engineer

Questrade Financial Group

$130K — $175K *
Finance & Insurance
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent experience.
  • Over 9 years of software development with a focus on technical leadership.
  • Expertise in distributed systems design including resilience and scaling.
  • Architectural ownership experience for significant production platforms.
  • Extensive cloud-native architecture experience (preferably GCP).
  • Skill in influencing others without formal authority and CI/CD practices.

Responsibilities

  • Define and refine the target architecture for your domain.
  • Lead complex system designs with a focus on availability and security.
  • Identify and build roadmaps for addressing systemic technical risks.
  • Translate business objectives into actionable technical roadmaps.
  • Establish scalable engineering standards and reference implementations.
  • Provide leadership on platform migrations and modernization efforts.
  • Coach and develop senior technical staff and drive alignment.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive benefits plan including health and wellness options.
  • Competitive bonus program associated with performance and contributions.
  • Flexible working conditions with potential for remote options.
Full Job Description
We're looking for our next Principal Software Engineer. Could It Be You?

The Principal Software Engineer defines and evolves the target architecture for their domain. This high-impact role leads the design of complex, high-risk systems, identifies systemic technical risks, and establishes engineering standards that scale organizationally. The Principal Engineer acts as an escalation authority for major incidents, provides strategic technical leadership on modernization efforts, and coaches senior technical staff without formal authority.

Need more details? Keep reading...
  • Define and evolve target architecture for your domain in alignment with Enterprise Architecture and executive leadership.
  • Lead the design of high-risk, complex systems with strict requirements for availability, low latency, security, and regulatory compliance.
  • Identify systemic technical risks across Pods, building business cases and technical roadmaps to address them.
  • Translate business objectives into technical roadmaps and communicate architectural trade-offs to senior leadership.
  • Establish engineering standards, patterns, and reference implementations that scale beyond a single Pod.
  • Provide technical leadership on platform migrations monolith-to-microservices modernization, and build-versus-buy decisions.
  • Coach and grow senior developers and technical leads, driving architectural alignment without formal authority.
  • Serve as an escalation authority for severe production incidents, leading systemic remediation efforts across platforms.


So are YOU our next Principal Software Engineer ? You are if you...
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
  • 9+ years of professional software development experience with a sustained track record of technical leadership.
  • Expert-level command of distributed systems design (consistency, resilience, scaling, failure modes).
  • Demonstrated architectural ownership for large, business-critical production platforms.
  • Extensive cloud-native architecture experience (GCP preferred), including multi-region, high-availability, and cost-aware design.
  • Proven ability to influence and align engineers, architects, and product leaders without relying on formal authority. and CI/CD at scale.


Preferred Qualifications:
  • Background in brokerage, capital markets, trading systems, payments, or highly regulated financial environments.
  • Hands-on experience with high-frequency data streaming, real-time market data, or low-latency execution systems.
  • Track record leading large-scale cloud migrations or monolith-to-microservices modernization.
  • Application security, threat modeling, or DevSecOps at an organizational level.
  • Recognized technical presence through open-source contributions, patents, or industry speaking


Compensation Information:
  • Base salary range: $130,000- $175,000
  • 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.


Sounds like you? Click below to apply!
This job posting is for an existing vacancy and the location can be Toronto, ON (5700 Yonge St/70 York St) OR Calgary, AB (Our Brand-New Office)

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