Lead Software Architect

About The Role

FDM is a global business and technology consultancy delivering client and industry driven solutions through our 5 core specialist Practices; Software Engineering, Data & Analytics, IT Operations, Change & Transformation, and Risk, Regulation & Compliance.

FDM is seeking a Dev Lead/Architect located in Montreal to support a project in the Capital Markets sector. Involvement in this project is anticipated to last initially 12 months but may be extended.

This role will be hybrid with requirements to be in office 3 days per week.

Our client, a leading Canadian bank, is establishing a new Prime Brokerage capability within its Capital Markets business.

This is a greenfield transformation initiative requiring experienced technology professionals to help design, build, integrate, and implement the platforms and processes needed to support the new business.

We are looking for Dev Lead/Architect with strong Capital Markets experience. Previous exposure to Prime Brokerage, Equity Finance, Stock Borrow/Lending, Total Return Swaps, Synthetic Trading, or Corporate Actions would be particularly valuable.

Successful candidates will work closely with Capital Markets technology, product, operations, and business stakeholders to help take the capability from concept and architecture through to implementation.

Responsibilities may include:

- Define target-state architecture for the Prime Brokerage technology ecosystem.

- Design integration between new Prime Brokerage services and existing Capital Markets platforms.

- Define application, API, messaging, and data architecture.

- Establish patterns for scalability, resilience, security, and high availability.

- Make architectural decisions around Java services, caching, event-driven architectures, messaging, and real-time data processing.

- Work closely with engineering teams to translate architecture into implementable designs.

- Identify technical dependencies across trading, operations, risk, finance, reference data, and downstream platforms.

- Establish engineering and architectural standards for the new platform.

We are looking for strong Java engineers with experience across:

- Java 17/21, with Java 21 preferred

- Spring Boot

- GraphQL, ideally SPQR

- WebSocket subscriptions

- OAuth2 / JWT

- GridGain / Apache Ignite

- Solace or Kafka

- IBM MQ

- SQL Server

- Flyway

- JUnit

- Mockito

- Cucumber

- Kubernetes

- GitHub Actions

AI-Assisted Engineering

Experience using modern AI development tools is highly desirable, particularly:

- Devin

- Claude Code

- AI-assisted software development workflows

- Building reusable AI skills, workflows, or development agents

- Building validators or automated quality controls around AI-generated code

Specialized Engineering Experience

Experience in one or more of the following would be a strong advantage:

- GridGain / Ignite performance tuning

- JVM optimization, including heap and garbage collection tuning

- High-performance Java

- Multithreading and concurrent programming

- Low-latency or high-throughput application development

- Solace administration or operations

About FDM

FDM powers the people behind tech and innovation. We spot trends, find top talent, and help businesses stay ahead.

With 35+ years of experience, we coach, mentor, and launch fresh thinkers from diverse backgrounds into world-class careers. Partnering with top global companies, we deliver the right talent at the right time—while guiding our people toward exponential growth.

🌍 Global impact – 18 centers across North America, APAC, the UK, and Europe

🚀 25,000+ careers launched – and counting

🤝 300+ trusted client partners

Committed to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Tech careers should be for everyone. With 75+ nationalities represented, FDM thrives on diversity, fuels innovation through unique perspectives, and celebrates success together. As an Equal Opportunity Employer and FTSE4Good-listed company, we ensure every qualified applicant gets a fair shot—no barriers, just opportunities.

Please note that FDM’s recruitment and assessment processes involve third-party tools that use artificial intelligence.

ATTENTION: MONTREAL OPENINGS: Due to the operational requirements of these roles, including frequent communication with clients and FDM employees located outside Quebec, the duties associated with these positions require proficiency in English. / ATTENTION : OFFRES À MONTRÉAL : En raison des exigences opérationnelles de ces postes, y compris la communication fréquente avec des clients et des employés de FDM situés en dehors du Québec, les tâches associées à ces postes exigent une maîtrise de l'anglais.