Senior Researcher

What’s the opportunity?

RBC Borealis is at the forefront of artificial intelligence research and development, driving the innovative edge for the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). Our team is dedicated to advancing the science of AI, delivering cutting-edge solutions that create substantial value for RBC and its customers. As part of RBC, you will have the opportunity to contribute to impactful projects within a leading financial institution, harnessing the power of AI to revolutionize the financial services industry.

We are looking for a Senior Researcher for AI Solutions. The role focuses on technical leadership with the goal of delivering products for the financial services industry. The candidate will play a critical role in shaping and leading our product, technical solution, reputation, and practice. The role includes engagement with technical and business stakeholders to shape and deliver on project roadmaps. Mentorship and contributions to talent development is also a core component of the role.

Your responsibilities include:

• Technical Leadership. Provide technical leadership and scientific guidance to AI projects, working within and across teams.
• Research Innovation. Develop innovative machine learning approaches and novel intellectual property
• Product Delivery. Iteratively refine and deliver machine learning concepts from proof of concept through to product delivery
• Research Leadership. Contribute to defining our research vision, publish papers, and communicate internally and externally around machine learning research.
• Mentorship. Collaborate with team members including other researchers, engineers, and interns to grow and develop their skills in AI research and solutioning.

You’re our ideal candidate if you have:

• A Ph.D. degree in Computer Science or a related technical field;
• Expertise in machine learning, with experience in experimental design, causal inference, reinforcement learning, probabilistic graphical models being a plus.
• 2+ years of experience as a machine learning researcher or engineer in a product-centric environment or equivalent experience;
• Experience delivering high-impact machine learning products, with experience in pricing, offers, or e-commerce being a plus.
• Experience of mentorship including junior researchers and engineers and experienced high-performance researchers;
• Involvement across the research and development lifecycle, from prototyping to production, engaging with stakeholders to develop solutions that meet business needs;
• The ability to formulate and drive a research project independently;
• Exceptional communication skills;
• A history of high quality academic publications (e.g., NeurIPS, ACL, EMNLP, CVPR, ICLR, ICML etc.).

What’s in it for you?

• Lead a team that thinks progressively and works collaboratively. We care about seeing each other reach full potential;
• A comprehensive Total Rewards Program including bonuses and flexible benefits, competitive compensation, commissions, and stock options where applicable;
• Leaders who support your development through coaching and managing opportunities;
• Ability to make a difference and lasting impact from a local-to-global scale.

About RBC Borealis

RBC Borealis is the driving force behind Royal Bank of Canada’s AI and data innovation. As part of Canada’s largest financial institution, we bring together a team of architects, engineers, scientists, and product experts on a mission to revolutionize finance through world-class research, solutions, and a resilient data platform. With locations across Toronto, Waterloo, Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver, we’re at the forefront of AI research and platform development. With a focus on cutting-edge research in areas like time series forecasting, causal machine learning, and responsible AI, we are seamlessly integrating AI research and data engineering, to solve critical challenges in the financial industry. We are building intelligent, and scalable, data-driven solutions that will help communities thrive and drive innovation for our customers across the bank.

Inclusion and Equal Opportunity Employment
RBC is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We are pleased to consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veterans status, Aboriginal/Native American status or any other legally-protected factors. Disability-related accommodations during the application process are available upon request.

Job Skills

Big Data Analytics, Client Counseling, Coaching Others, Critical Thinking, Decision Making, Industry Knowledge, Machine Learning (ML), Software Engineering, Software Product Design

Additional Job Details

777 BAY ST, TH 27:TORONTOTorontoCanada37.5Full timeTECHNOLOGY AND OPERATIONSRegularSalaried2026-01-092026-04-06

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

Inclusion and Equal Opportunity Employment

At 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.