Lead Software Engineer

Responsible at the expert level for writing code and leading the team's technical requirements gathering. Completes work following banking technology standards and contributes to the overall stability and resiliency of banking technology within the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) while coaching and mentoring other engineers. This role requires deep expertise in modern application development, architecture, authentication and authorization frameworks, and front-end and back-end technologies to deliver secure, scalable, and resilient solutions.

Primary Responsibilities

• Develop and coach other team members while also working independently on applications within approved Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) processes, including identification and recommendation of solutions to meet business needs while minimizing risk through clean, secure, and resilient code.
• Review and approve application designs, technical proposals, and pull requests while overseeing execution through the change management process.
• Design and lead peer review processes while coaching engineers on code quality, coding standards, and continuous improvement.
• Author organized, clean, efficient, and secure source code at an expert level while promoting appropriate use of data structures, algorithms, and design patterns.
• Serve as a technical leader in the design and development of enterprise applications utilizing C#, JavaScript, Angular, and other modern development technologies.
• Provide architectural guidance across multiple programming languages, frameworks, and application domains, ensuring alignment with enterprise standards and best practices.
• Lead implementation and governance of authentication and authorization frameworks, including OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect (OIDC), JWT, token-based security models, and associated identity and access management solutions.
• Oversee source control management processes, including branching strategies, code integration, release management, and deployment activities.
• Review testing methodologies and code coverage to ensure comprehensive testing, application quality, and production readiness.
• Drive adherence to engineering patterns and practices for performance, resiliency, scalability, monitoring, and optimization.
• Review and approve technical requirements and solution designs in partnership with delivery teams to ensure completeness, feasibility, and alignment with business objectives.
• Champion modern software engineering practices, including DevOps, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, infrastructure automation, and observability.
• Utilize and promote best practices related to development tools, monitoring platforms, collaboration tools, and project management software.
• Serve as a key partner across technology and business teams, identifying opportunities for process improvements and technical enhancements that span organizational boundaries.
• Contribute technical requirements and solution recommendations to support application delivery and ongoing maintenance efforts.
• Effectively communicate architecture, technical progress, risks, and challenges to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Contribute ideas and recommendations to application architecture, engineering standards, and technology strategy; present recommendations to architecture peer groups and review boards.
• Present team initiatives and technical solutions at internal forums and contribute thought leadership through documentation and knowledge-sharing activities.
• Understand and adhere to the Company's risk and regulatory standards, policies, and controls in accordance with the Company's Risk Appetite. Identify risk-related issues needing escalation to management.
• Promote an environment that supports a culture of belonging and reflects the M&T Bank brand.
• Maintain M&T internal control standards, including timely implementation of internal and external audit points together with any issues raised by external regulators, as applicable.
• Complete other related duties as assigned.

Scope of Responsibilities

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities

• No direct supervisory responsibilities.
• Provides technical leadership, mentoring, coaching, and guidance to development teams.

Education and Experience Required

• Associate’s degree and a minimum of 7 years’ systems analysis and/or application development work experience or Bachelor's degree and a minimum of 5 years' systems analysis and/or application development work experience. In lieu of a degree, a combined minimum of 9 year’s education and/or relevant work experience, including a minimum of 5 years’ system analysis and/or application development work experience.
• Expert proficiency in a minimum of 1 relevant programming language and professional proficiency in a minimum of 1 additional relevant programming language.
• Advanced proficiency in C# and expertise developing enterprise-scale applications.
• Strong experience with JavaScript and Angular development.
• Demonstrated experience working across multiple programming languages, frameworks, and technology stacks.
• Strong understanding of software architecture principles, application design patterns, and distributed systems concepts.
• Experience implementing and supporting modern authentication and authorization frameworks, including OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect (OIDC), JWT, and token-based security models.
• Experience with identity and access management tools and platforms.
• Hands-on experience with source control platforms, CI/CD pipelines, automated build and deployment processes, and DevOps practices.
• Experience utilizing application monitoring, observability, and performance management tools.
• Proficiency with collaboration platforms and project management tools supporting Agile delivery methodologies.

Education and Experience Preferred

• Expert analytical skills specific to application development.
• Experience working in Agile team environments.
• Ability to work autonomously while influencing technical direction.
• Ability to manage multiple complex initiatives simultaneously.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills.
• Advanced verbal and written communication skills.
• Experience driving project milestones and delivery dates.
• Proven experience leading technical projects, initiatives, or modernization efforts.
• Experience partnering with and presenting to multiple stakeholders across technology and business functions.
• Experience defining application architecture and technical standards across multiple platforms and programming languages.
• Experience mentoring and developing engineers through code reviews, design reviews, and technical coaching.
• Knowledge of cloud-native development and cloud platforms such as Azure preferred.