Principal Software Engineer

Join M&T Bank's Digital Banking Experience (DBX) team as a
Principal Software Engineer
, helping shape the modernization of our digital banking platform. You'll be part of a forward-thinking, tech-savvy environment driving innovation across one of the bank's most critical customer-facing systems.

As a key Principal Software Engineer, you'll partner with two existing Technical Leads and work hands-on with a dedicated agile team to deliver high-quality, modernized banking solutions. This is an opportunity to influence technology direction, guide engineering excellence, and collaborate closely with business partners to turn strategy into impactful digital experiences.

This role is based
onsite in Buffalo, NY
and works within a dynamic mix of full-time employees and contractors.

Primary Responsibilities

• Accountable for the overall code change and review process to ensure high quality and process optimization.
• Apply and analyze metrics across teams to identify opportunities for SDLC process improvement, peer reviews, and work with teams to implement solutions.
• Author organized, clean, efficient, and secure source code at the expert level in multiple programming languages; coach team members on data structures and algorithms to solve business problems.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of development operations, coding practices, and strategic engineering initiatives.
• Contribute to and review technical roadmaps that address both strategic requirements and technical debt, ensuring compliance with corporate standards and industry best practices.
• Support rollout of engineering capabilities for specific domains and ensure all regulatory requirements are met.
• Lead discussions with business or technical stakeholders; proactively engage other groups to align on technical and architectural opportunities.
• Design, review, and approve system architecture; ensure cross-domain alignment, identify gaps and efficiencies, and drive strategic direction while adhering to architectural design patterns.
• Regularly participate in and present at peer group committees, capturing opportunities for improvement and working with senior leadership to act on them.
• Ensure code quality meets industry and corporate standards while mentoring junior team members.
• Drive implementation adherence and recommend best practices related to performance testing, resiliency, and optimizations.
• Influence behavioral change with product owners, architects, and senior leaders in the overall requirements and story ingestion process.
• Understand and adhere to the Company's risk and regulatory standards, policies, and controls in accordance with the Company's Risk Appetite.
• Promote an environment that supports a culture of belonging and reflects the M&T Bank brand.
• Maintain internal control standards, including timely implementation of internal and external audit points.
• Complete other related duties as assigned.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities
No direct supervisory responsibilities, but will provide technical mentorship and leadership to engineers across agile teams.

Education And Experience Required

• Associate's degree and a minimum of 9 years' systems analysis and/or application development work experience, or
• Bachelor's degree and a minimum of 7 years' systems analysis and/or application development work experience.
• In lieu of a degree, a combined minimum of 11 years' education and/or relevant work experience, including a minimum of 7 years' systems analysis and/or application development work experience.
• Expert proficiency in a minimum of 1 relevant programming language and advanced proficiency in a minimum of 1 additional relevant programming language.

Updated Preferred Qualifications & Experience

• Technical Expertise: Proficient in Java, Spring, Angular, SQL, database design, API development, and Git.
• Modern Development Practices: Hands-on experience with software modernization, SDLC, DevOps, and delivering in fast-paced, dynamic environments.
• Industry Knowledge: Background in the financial industry with exposure to business banking features, servicing processes, and back-office support.
• Integration Skills: Experience with third-party vendor platform integrations and managing cross-dependencies for system integrations.
• Leadership & Collaboration: Proven ability to lead and mentor development teams, translate technical designs into actionable deliverables, and foster collaboration in agile team environments.
• Delivery Focus: Track record of driving high-quality technical delivery under tight timelines.

Why Join Us
This is a chance to be part of a transformative initiative at the intersection of banking and technology—modernizing the core digital experiences that millions of customers rely on every day. You'll have the autonomy to design innovative solutions, the influence to shape technology strategy, and the opportunity to mentor engineers in a collaborative and growth-minded environment.

M&T Bank is committed to fair, competitive, and market-informed pay for our employees. The pay range for this position is $130, $217,992.53 Annual (USD). The successful candidate's particular combination of knowledge, skills, and experience will inform their specific compensation.

Location
Buffalo, New York, United States of America