Director, Software Engineering - US Retirement Platform & Payments Technology
**Toronto, ON / Waterloo, ON / Boston, MA - Hybrid**
At Manulife, we're helping millions of customers make decisions easier and lives better.

As we continue to modernize our retirement and payments technology platforms, we're seeking an experienced
**Director of Software Engineering**
to lead the evolution of our US Retirement (USR) platform and SWIFT-enabled payment capabilities.

This is a highly visible leadership role that combines strategic thinking with technical depth.

You'll be responsible for driving platform modernization, leading AI-enabled innovation, overseeing mission-critical payment technologies, and mentoring engineering teams across multiple squads.

We are looking for a leader who is not afraid to roll up their sleeves, solve complex technical challenges, and partner closely with engineers to deliver scalable solutions.
**What You'll Do**
**Engineering Leadership & Platform Strategy**
Own the technology strategy, roadmap, and delivery for the US Retirement platform and associated SWIFT payment capabilities.

Lead the modernization of critical applications, services, and integrations to improve scalability, resilience, and customer experience.

Drive the adoption of cloud-native, API-first, and AI-powered engineering solutions.

Partner with Product, Architecture, Operations, and Business leaders to align technology investments with business priorities.
**Delivery & Technical Excellence**
Lead multiple engineering squads responsible for platform development, enhancements, integrations, and production support.

Ensure the delivery of secure, high-quality, and scalable software solutions.

Drive engineering best practices including Agile delivery, Dev

Ops, CI/CD, automated testing, observability, and operational excellence.

Champion platform stability, reliability, and performance while supporting ongoing enhancement initiatives.
**SWIFT & Enterprise Payments Leadership**
Provide technical leadership for SWIFT-related applications, messaging workflows, and payment integrations.

Drive the modernization and resiliency of payment processing platforms.

Partner with business and technology stakeholders to support evolving payment and regulatory requirements.

Ensure appropriate governance, controls, and operational readiness for business-critical financial transactions.
**AI & Innovation**
Identify opportunities to leverage AI and automation to improve platform capabilities, engineering productivity, and operational efficiency.

Lead the adoption of AI-enabled development tools and practices across engineering teams.

Champion innovation and continuous improvement initiatives that create measurable business value.
**People Leadership & Mentorship**
Build, mentor, and develop high-performing engineering teams across multiple squads.

Foster a culture of accountability, technical excellence, innovation, and continuous learning.

Coach engineers and technical leads in architecture, engineering practices, problem-solving approaches, and career development.

Promote collaboration and psychological safety while driving high performance.
**Hands-On Technical Leadership**
Remain actively engaged in architectural decisions, technical design reviews, and complex problem resolution.

Work alongside engineering teams when required to troubleshoot critical issues, review solutions, and accelerate delivery.

Demonstrate strong coding and technical troubleshooting abilities, with the capability to dive into code, analyze system behavior, and help teams solve challenging engineering problems.





Lead by example through technical expertise and practical problem-solving.
**Required Qualifications**
10+ years of progressive software engineering experience, including leadership of large-scale engineering teams.

Experience leading enterprise platforms supporting mission-critical business functions.

Deep understanding of software architecture, distributed systems, APIs, cloud technologies, and modern engineering practices.

Experience with SWIFT messaging, payment platforms, or financial transaction processing environments.

Proven success managing multiple engineering teams and delivering complex technology initiatives.

Demonstrated ability to balance strategic leadership with hands-on technical involvement.

Strong stakeholder management skills with experience partnering across business and technology organizations.

Exceptional communication, coaching, and leadership capabilities.
**Preferred Qualifications**
Experience in Wealth Management, Retirement Services, Financial Services, Banking, or Payments Technology.

Experience with Microsoft Azure and cloud-native architectures.

Strong understanding of CI/CD, Dev

Ops, Infrastructure as Code, and platform automation.

Experience with AI-enabled software development, automation, and engineering productivity tools.

Familiarity with React, microservices, API-driven architectures, and modern web technologies.

Experience leading modernization and digital transformation initiatives.

Knowledge of security, compliance, resiliency, and operational risk management in regulated environments.
**Why Join Manulife?**
Lead the transformation of platforms serving millions of customers.

Influence enterprise-wide technology strategy and innovation.

Work with talented engineering leaders and teams across North America.

Drive the adoption of cutting-edge AI and cloud technologies.

Build and develop the next generation of engineering talent.

Help shape the future of retirement and financial services technology.
**If you're a technical leader who enjoys building high-performing teams, solving complex engineering challenges, and driving innovation through cloud and AI technologies while remaining close to the technology, we'd love to hear from you.**
**Key Recruiting Selling Points**
Ownership of a mission-critical US Retirement and SWIFT platform.

Leadership across multiple engineering squads.
AI-focused modernization mandate.

Strategic leadership combined with hands-on technical involvement.

Opportunity to influence enterprise-scale transformation.

Strong people leadership and mentorship focus.

Cloud, AI, payments, and digital modernization all in one role.
_If you are applying to this role in US, please note the salary range is $127,330 to $236,470 USD.

Additionally, employees also have the prospect to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance_ .

The role being advertised is an existing vacancy.
**Acerca de Manulife y John Hancock**
Manulife Financial Corporation es un importante proveedor internacional de servicios financieros que ayuda a las personas a tomar decisiones de una manera más fácil y a vivir mejor.

Para obtener más información acerca de nosotros, visite
http://www.manulife.com .




**Manulife es un empleador que ofrece igualdad de oportunidades**
En Manulife/John Hancock, valoramos nuestra diversidad.

Nos esforzamos por atraer, formar y retener una fuerza laboral tan diversa como los clientes a los que prestamos servicios, y para fomentar un entorno laboral inclusivo en el que se aprovechen las fortalezas de las culturas y las personas.

Estamos comprometidos con la equidad en las contrataciones, la retención de talento, el ascenso y la remuneración, y administramos todas nuestras prácticas y programas sin discriminación por motivos de raza, ascendencia, lugar de origen, color, origen étnico, ciudadanía, religión o creencias religiosas, credo, sexo (incluyendo el embarazo y las afecciones relacionadas con este), orientación sexual, características genéticas, condición de veterano, identidad de género, expresión de género, edad, estado civil, estatus familiar, discapacidad, o cualquier otro aspecto protegido por la ley vigente.

Nuestra prioridad es eliminar las barreras para garantizar la igualdad de acceso al empleo.

Un representante de Recursos Humanos trabajará con los solicitantes que requieran una adaptación razonable durante el proceso de solicitud.

Toda la información que se haya compartido durante el proceso de solicitud de adaptación se almacenará y utilizará de manera congruente con las leyes y las políticas de Manulife/John Hancock correspondientes.

Para solicitar una adaptación razonable en el proceso de solicitud, envíenos un mensaje a
[email protected] .
**Referenced Salary Location**
Toronto, Ontario
**Modalidades de Trabajo**
Híbrido
**Salary range is expected to be between**
$113,260.00 CAD - $210,340.00 CAD
Los empleados también tienen la oportunidad de participar en programas de incentivos y recibir una compensación vinculada al rendimiento empresarial e individual.

El salario real variará según las condiciones del mercado local, la geografía y factores relacionados con el puesto como conocimientos, habilidades, requerimientos, experiencia y educación/formación.

Si solicitas este puesto fuera de tu ubicación principal, por favor escríbenos a
[email protected]
para conocer el rango salarial correspondiente a tu ubicación.

Manulife ofrece a los empleados aptos una amplia variedad de beneficios personalizables, entre ellos, beneficios de salud, odontológicos, de salud mental, oftalmológicos, por discapacidad a corto y a largo plazo, cobertura de seguro de vida y por muerte accidental y desmembramiento, adopción/subrogación y bienestar, y planes de asistencia al empleado/familiar.

También ofrecemos a los empleados admisibles varios planes de ahorro para la jubilación (incluidos planes de pensiones y un plan mundial de propiedad de acciones con contribuciones equivalentes del empleador) y recursos de asesoramiento y educación financiera.

Nuestro generoso programa de tiempo libre remunerado en Canadá incluye feriados, vacaciones, días personales y días por enfermedad, y ofrecemos la gama completa de ausencia laboral reglamentaria.

Si se está postulando para este puesto en los EE. UU., póngase en contacto con
[email protected]
para obtener más información sobre las disposiciones relativas al tiempo libre remunerado específicas de EE. UU.

We use data and analytics technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and automated processing tools, to analyze and process the information you provide to us or third parties in the application process.

For more information, please refer to our personal information collection statement (https://careers.manulife.com/global/en/talentacquisitionprivacystatement) .

📌 Director of Engineering – Retirement Digital Platforms (Waterloo)
🏢 Manulife
📍 Waterloo