HEAD OF APPLICATION SUPPORT & ENGINEERING
WHAT IS THE OPPORTUNITY?
As the Head of Application Support & Engineering, you will play a critical leadership role in City National Bank's Technology & Innovation division, responsible for shaping and leading the application support function and improving the engineering culture. This is a senior leadership position that requires a leader with a high level of technical, practical and senior leadership experience who will be responsible for ensuring the stability, performance, and continuous improvement of CNB's applications while leading a team of skilled professionals.
The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of banking applications, as well as a proven track record of success in leading and managing internal and external teams, ensuring efficiency, resilience, and innovation within our banking technology domain.
Technology and Innovation Division
As a member of City National's Technology & Innovation group, you will drive, develop, and maintain solutions for clients and colleagues. This is an exciting time of technology advancement and innovation across the bank, particularly within our technology teams.
What you will do?

• Strategic Leadership
• Develop and implement strategies for application stability, reliability, and alignment with banking regulations and the bank objectives, with a special emphasis on SRE principles.
• Drive innovation and technology advancements to improve application performance and reliability.
• Act as a pivotal link between technical teams, business units, and senior management, ensuring a unified approach to application support within an SRE framework.
• Team Leadership
• Lead, mentor, and inspire a team responsible for application support, maintenance, and enhancements within a Site Reliability Engineering framework.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, continuous learning, and excellence within the department.
• Be accountable for the delivery of a new Application Support Model across the full CNB application landscape
• Work with cross-functional teams to develop and implement solutions to improve banking operations.
• Collaborate with domain technology leaders to develop and implement new platforms and technology.
• Collaborate with and oversee external managed services providers to maintain robust application support and compliance.
• Lead the team in diagnostics and resolution of complex technical issues leading to implementing effective solutions
• Application Support
• Define and implement a standard operating model across application support utilizing industry standard tolling and industry leading processes.
• Manage the maintenance and support of business-critical applications, ensuring high availability and minimal downtime.
• Proficiency in automation tools and scripting languages to streamline support processes.
• Establish and maintain robust incident management and resolution processes.
• Develop a holistic view of application performance, scalability, and reliability with an aim to assess and improve
• Drive the Implementation of proactive monitoring and analysis of system performance to identify and resolve issues before they impact users.
• Implement and drive a data/KPI driven organization where facts are clear
• Experience in designing and implementing robust incident management protocols and lead post-incident reviews, create action plans, and prevent reoccurrence.
• Engineering Excellence
• Accountable for the definition of engineering standards which ensure the adherence to best practices, coding standards, and CNB processes
• Make recommendations for hardware, software, and tools necessary for efficient support and engineering operations.
• Manage and mitigate risks related to banking operations and core technology systems.
• Quality Assurance
• Develop, enhance and maintain existing testing and quality assurance processes to minimize defects and improve user experience.
• Monitor and enhance application security and compliance.
• Documentation
• Maintain clear and comprehensive documentation for applications which remove the repeated need for collation
• Continuous Improvement
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement, implementing best practices, and staying current with industry trends and technologies.
• Foster innovation and explore new tools and methodologies to enhance the application support and engineering functions.
• A mindset focused on continuous improvement, with the ability to identify areas for enhancement and drive initiatives to enhance application reliability and operational efficiency.

Must-Have*

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent
• Minimum 7 years management experience
• Minimum 10 years experience in Information Services/Technology

Skills and Knowledge

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering or a related field.
• Industry-specific certifications, especially in SRE, are highly advantageous.
• Certified Banking Technology Professional (CBTP), Project Management Professional (PMP), or ITIL Preferred
• Certifications in cloud platforms, DevOps, microservices, and AI/ML also preferred
• Strong leadership capabilities, with the ability to inspire and guide a diverse team.
• A proven track record of team building, coaching, and mentoring to ensure optimal performance and professional growth.
• Proven experience in a senior leadership role within Application Support and Engineering, with a track record of practical experience.
• Strong understanding of application development, architecture, and support processes.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to lead and collaborate effectively.
• Proficiency in project management, budgeting, and resource allocation.
• Knowledge of industry-standard technologies, tools, and methodologies.
• Proficiency in a variety of technologies used in banking applications, including but not limited to C#, Java, Python, SQL, and relevant frameworks.
• Experience with database management systems and API integrations is highly advantageous.
• Knowledge of DevOps practices and the ability to implement automation for monitoring, alerts, and response systems.
• Expertise in capacity planning to ensure applications can handle increasing workloads.
• Ability to analyze and fine-tune performance in collaboration with development teams.
• In-depth understanding of the banking domain, including core banking systems, payment processing, regulatory compliance, and security protocols.
• Familiarity with FinTech trends and innovations is a plus.
• A strong understanding of banking regulations and compliance standards

Compensation
Starting base salary: $127,626 - $237,014 per year. Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location. This job is eligible for bonus and/or commissions.
*To be considered for this position you must meet at least these basic qualifications
The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.
Benefits and Perks
At City National, we strive to be the best at whatever we do, including the benefits and perks we offer our colleagues. Get an inside look at our Benefits and Perks .
INCLUSION AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT
City National Bank is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other basis protected by law.'
ABOUT CITY NATIONAL
We start with a basic premise: Business is personal. Since day one we've always gone further than the competition to help our clients, colleagues and community flourish. City National Bank was founded in 1954 by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs and that legacy of integrity, community and unparalleled client relationships continues to be at the heart of our company today. City National is a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada, one of North America's leading diversified financial services companies.
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