Associate Director, AI Products Development Lead

What is the opportunity?

We are looking for a hands-on technical leader who will own and drive the development of AI-powered communications surveillance products at RBC Capital Markets, combining deep full-stack engineering expertise with practical experience in AI/ML technologies — including LLM integration, AI agents, prompt engineering, and intelligent automation.

This role builds next-generation surveillance and compliance technology, architecting solutions that leverage GenAI to detect anomalies and surface actionable insights from complex and unstructured data. The ideal candidate has a track record of shipping production AI products, uses AI tools to accelerate delivery velocity, mentors developers in AI-augmented development practices, and collaborates cross-functionally with compliance, product, and data teams to translate regulatory and business requirements into measurable, deployed outcomes.

Location: This role can be based in either Halifax or Toronto.

What will you do?

• Leads full-stack development of AI-powered products, owning architecture, implementation, and delivery across front-end, back-end, and AI/ML components. Hands-on with coding, testing, and troubleshooting to ensure applications meet performance and regulatory requirements.
• Architects and implements AI/ML solutions including LLM integration, AI agents, prompt engineering, RAG, and intelligent automation. Designs systems that enhance alert generation, anomaly detection, and investigative analysis within the surveillance domain.
• Uses AI tools to accelerate development velocity, establishing workflows with Copilot, GenAI assistants, and AI-powered development aids. Drives measurable throughput improvements by bridging expertise gaps, accelerating domain-specific coding, and expanding the team's capacity to ship more products per quarter.
• Collaborates cross-functionally with surveillance stakeholders, compliance, product owners, and data engineering to define product roadmaps, gather requirements, and ensure AI products align with regulatory obligations and business priorities.
• Mentors developers in AI-augmented practices, establishing coding standards, AI-assisted workflow guidelines, and best practices for human-AI collaboration. Builds team capabilities through coaching, code reviews, and knowledge transfer.
• Evaluates emerging AI/ML technologies and frameworks for applicability, translating findings into actionable recommendations and proof-of-concept implementations. Ensures the team adopts tools that deliver genuine operational value.
• Owns complex technical initiatives end-to-end, from architecture through production deployment and iteration. Provides decisive technical leadership in ambiguous situations and guides the team to deliver on schedule.
• Builds strategic relationships with internal teams and external partners, aligning the AI product roadmap with business objectives. Represents the team's capabilities in stakeholder discussions and contributes to enterprise AI strategy.

What do you need to succeed?

Must-have:

Technical skills:

• Programming Languages: Strong proficiency in Python (primary for AI/ML and automation), with experience in JavaScript/TypeScript and Java.
• Full-Stack Frameworks: Deep knowledge of back-end frameworks (Node.js, Spring Boot, FastAPI, or Django) and working knowledge of modern front-end frameworks (React, Angular, or Vue.js)
• AI/ML Technologies: Practical experience integrating LLMs, NLP, prompt engineering, RAG, vector databases, and AI agent frameworks into production systems. Proficiency with AI-assisted development tools (Copilot, GenAI coding assistants).
• Cloud and Infrastructure: Experience with AWS, Azure, or GCP. Proficiency with Docker, Kubernetes, and infrastructure-as-code.
• Data Engineering: Strong SQL skills, experience with relational and NoSQL databases, and familiarity with streaming platforms (Kafka, Kinesis) and pipeline tools (Airflow, Spark).
• DevOps and Quality: Experience with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, code quality tooling, and production monitoring.
• AI Agent Development: Experience building AI agents or agentic workflows in enterprise or regulated environments.

Other skills:

• Technical Leadership: Proven ability to lead teams, set technical direction, establish coding standards, and grow junior and intermediate developers.
• Agile Delivery: Experience in agile environments collaborating with product owners, business analysts, and cross-functional teams to maintain steady delivery cadence.
• Stakeholder Communication: Ability to translate technical capabilities into business language, present roadmaps, and influence technology strategy with senior leadership.
• Problem-Solving: Comfort in ambiguous environments with evolving requirements; willingness to prototype rapidly and iterate toward production-quality solutions.

Nice-to-have:

• Enterprise AI Platforms: Experience with platforms such as Claude, Devin, Copilot or similar enterprise AI tools, including building on platform APIs and creating custom agents.
• Communications Surveillance and Compliance Technology: Experience with surveillance systems, alert generation, case management, or compliance workflows; understanding of how AI can enhance detection accuracy and analyst productivity.
• Regulatory Frameworks: Awareness of surveillance-relevant regulations (MAR, Dodd-Frank, MiFID II) and ability to translate regulatory requirements into technical specifications.

What’s in it for you?

We thrive on the challenge to be our best, progressive thinking to keep growing, and working together to deliver trusted advice to help our clients thrive and communities prosper. We care about each other, reaching our potential, making a difference to our communities, and achieving success that is mutual.

• A comprehensive Total Rewards Program including bonuses and flexible benefits, competitive compensation, commissions, and stock where applicable.
• Leaders who support your development through coaching and managing opportunities.
• Work in a dynamic, collaborative, progressive, and high-performing team.
• Flexible work/life balance options.
• Opportunities to building close relationships with clients.
• Access to a variety of job opportunities across business and geographies.

Job Skills

Application Development, Application Development, Application Security, Application Testing, Architecture Design Patterns, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Artificial Intelligence Technologies, Big Data, Cloud Computing, Collaboration, Communication, Data Analysis, Emerging Technologies, Full Stack Development, IT Service Design, IT Systems Integration, Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP), Problem Solving, Scrum (Agile), Scrum Software Development, Solution Architecture, System Performance, Technical Direction, Technical Knowledge {+ 2 more}

Additional Job Details

1597 BEDFORD HWY:HALIFAXHalifaxCanada37.5Full timeCAPITAL MARKETSRegularSalaried2026-10-012026-10-22

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

Our Employment Opportunities

At RBC, we are guided by living shared values of Client First, Integrity, Collaboration, Respect and Excellence and winning together as One RBC. We believe an inclusive workplace that has diverse perspectives is core to our continued growth as one of the largest and most successful banks in the world. Maintaining a workplace where our employees feel supported to perform at their best, effectively collaborate, drive innovation, and grow professionally helps to bring our Purpose to life and create value for our clients and communities. RBC strives to deliver this through policies and programs intended to foster a workplace based on respect, belonging and opportunity for all.

RBC is presently inviting candidates to apply for this existing vacancy. Applying to this posting allows you to express your interest in this current career opportunity at RBC. Qualified applicants may be contacted to review their resume in more detail.