Director, AI Native SDLC

Requisition ID: 267632 

Join a purpose driven winning team, committed to results, in an inclusive and high-performing culture.

The Director, AI Native SDLC is a hands on technical leader and enterprise capability owner responsible for defining, building, and scaling Scotiabank’s AI Native Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC).

This role combines deep engineering execution with strategic ownership of SDLC policies, standards, and frameworks, ensuring AI capabilities are embedded safely, consistently, and effectively across all stages of software delivery.

As a Director, the incumbent will lead through implementation and influence, shaping enterprise-wide engineering practices by building production-grade systems, while also establishing the governance, documentation, and rollout strategies required for sustained, large-scale adoption across the Bank.

Is this role right for you? In this role, you will:

Hands‑On Engineering & Platform Build

• Directly design, build, and deploy core AI‑Native SDLC capabilities, including: 
  • Enterprise guidelines, standards, and procedures embedded in tooling
  • CLI‑based developer platforms (e.g., GitHub Copilot harnesses and extensions)
• Lead development of end‑to‑end RAG systems (ingestion → retrieval → grounding → evaluation).
• Provide deep technical direction and contribution to MCP server design and integration, ensuring enterprise-grade security (authentication, authorization, auditability).
• Oversee and contribute to secure GitHub Actions implementations, enabling AI agents with controlled permissions and governed artifact handling.
• Maintain hands-on coding involvement (TypeScript/JavaScript or Python) in critical platform components and reference implementations.

Enterprise AI‑Native SDLC Ownership

• Define, own, and evolve the enterprise AI‑Native SDLC framework, covering: 
  • AI‑assisted requirements, architecture, development, testing, and operations
  • Standardized IDE tooling, agent skills, and devContainer environments
  • AI integration patterns across CI/CD pipelines and developer workflows
• Ensure all frameworks are practical, scalable, and grounded in real engineering implementations.
• Drive consistency across business lines through reusable patterns, templates, and reference architectures.

Policy, Standards & Governance

• Establish and own enterprise SDLC policies, engineering standards, and AI usage guidelines.
• Define enforceable guardrails for AI‑enabled development, including: 
  • Secure and responsible use of LLMs and agents
  • Data privacy, access control, and model interaction boundaries
  • Traceability, auditability, and explainability of AI‑generated outputs
• Develop and maintain: 
  • Enterprise engineering standards documentation
  • Approved AI patterns and reference architectures
  • Secure coding and review standards specific to AI workflows
• Partner with Risk, Security, Compliance, and Architecture to embed regulatory and enterprise controls.

Process Definition, Documentation & Rollout

• Lead creation of enterprise-grade SDLC documentation, including: 
  • Playbooks, engineering patterns, and implementation guides
  • Reference architectures (C4 models, ADRs)
  • Sample pipelines, templates, and reusable assets
• Define and execute enterprise rollout strategy, including: 
  • Phased adoption models across engineering teams
  • Developer enablement, training, and workshops
  • Hands-on support for priority and early adopter programs
• Establish scorecard-based governance models to measure: 
  • Adoption and compliance
  • Engineering quality and risk reduction
  • AI effectiveness and productivity impact

Developer Experience & Platform Enablement

• Shape and deliver a modern, AI‑enabled developer experience (DevEx) across the bank.
• Oversee development and packaging of reusable components: 
  • Agents and agent skill libraries
  • SDKs and internal frameworks
  • CLI tools and automation
  • CI/CD templates and pipelines
• Drive adoption of standardized development environments (e.g., devContainers, codified environments).

Leadership, Influence & Continuous Innovation

• Act as a technical thought leader in AI‑driven software engineering both internally and externally.
• Influence senior engineering and business stakeholders on AI adoption strategy and execution.
• Mentor engineers, senior engineers, and technical leads through hands-on engagement, code reviews, and architectural guidance.
• Continuously evaluate and introduce emerging AI and engineering capabilities, refining the SDLC based on: 
  • Developer feedback
  • Usage metrics and KPIs
  • Risk and compliance insights

Do you have the skills that will enable you to succeed in this role? We'd love to work with you if you have:

• 10+ years of hands‑on software engineering experience, including senior technical leadership roles.
• Proven success defining and scaling SDLC frameworks, engineering standards, or developer platforms at enterprise level.
• Hands-on experience integrating LLM APIs into real-world development workflows.
• Experience building custom agents and agent skills for CLI-based harnesses (GitHub Copilot preferred), including packaging for reuse.
• Strong programming expertise in TypeScript/JavaScript or Python; shell scripting is a strong asset.
• Experience building RAG systems end-to-end (ingestion → retrieval → grounding → evaluation).
• Experience designing or integrating MCP servers with strong security and governance controls.
• Deep experience with GitHub Actions and CI/CD, including secure execution of AI agents.
• Demonstrated experience defining policies, standards, and governance frameworks within engineering organizations.
• Strong understanding of cloud platforms (Azure preferred), APIs, distributed systems, and DevOps practices.
• Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive enterprise-wide adoption.

Nice‑to‑Have Qualifications

• Working knowledge of architecture design artifacts (C4 diagrams, ADRs).
• Experience implementing scorecard-based governance with measurable, traceable outcomes.
• Experience with container platforms (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Hands-on experience with devContainers or reproducible development environments.
• Experience building or contributing to developer platforms or internal engineering ecosystems.
• Experience in financial services or highly regulated environments.

What's in it for you?

• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Allyship - We strive to create an inclusive culture where every employee is empowered to reach their fullest potential, respected for who they are, and are embraced through bias-free practices and inclusive values across Scotiabank. We embrace diversity and provide opportunities for all employee to learn, grow & participate through our various Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) that span across diverse gender identities, ethnicity, race, age, ability & veterans.
• Accessibility and Workplace Accommodations - We value the unique skills and experiences each individual brings to the Bank, and are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and accessible environment for everyone. Scotiabank continues to locate, remove and prevent barriers so that we can build a diverse and inclusive environment while meeting accessibility requirements.  
• Upskilling through online courses, cross-functional development opportunities, and tuition assistance. 
• Competitive Rewards program including bonus, flexible vacation, personal, sick days and benefits will start on day one.
• Dynamic Ecosystem - Free tea & coffee, universal washrooms, and lots of space for team collaboration.
• Community Engagement - No matter where you choose to work from; we offer opportunities for community engagement & belonging with our various programs.

Location(s):  Canada : Ontario : Toronto 

Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our purpose: "for every future", we help our customers, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets.  

At Scotiabank, we value the unique skills and experiences each individual brings to the Bank, and are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and accessible environment for everyone. If you require accommodation (including, but not limited to, an accessible interview site, alternate format documents, ASL Interpreter, or Assistive Technology) during the recruitment and selection process, please let our  Recruitment team know. If you require technical assistance, please click here. Candidates must apply directly online to be considered for this role. We thank all applicants for their interest in a career at Scotiabank; however, only those candidates who are selected for an interview will be contacted.