Principal Consultant - Open Banking and API Security (Ottawa (Downtown), ON, CA)

Principal Consultant - Open Banking and API Security

Take a central role

The Bank of Canada has a vision to be a leading central bank—dynamic, engaged and trusted—committed to a better Canada. No other employer in the country offers you the unique opportunity to work at the very center of Canada’s economy, in an organization with significant impact on the economic and financial well-being of all Canadians. You will be challenged, energized and motivated to excel in our environment. 

Building on the principles that have always guided us – excellence, integrity and respect – we strive to be forward-looking and innovative, to welcome people with diverse perspectives and talents, and to earn trust by living up to our commitments and by clearly explaining the intent of our policies and actions.  

With our defined-benefit pension plan, benefits, and high flexibility for work life balance - find out more about why we are annually ranked as one of Canada's top employers:  Working Here - Bank of Canada

Find out more about the next steps in our Recruitment process. 

In addition to the position being staffed, this competition may be used to fill similar opportunities (Regular or Term) that become available at the same job grade. If you’re interested in this type of role, we encourage you to apply.

What you need to know

We are seeking a Principal Consultant to provide technical leadership and strategic advice for the Bank's work related to open banking and secure financial APIs. Reporting to the Director, Supervision Portfolio, you will help shape architecture and security decisions for a high-trust financial ecosystem, with a particular focus on encryption keys, certificates, API security and interoperability.

As a trusted subject-matter expert, you will work across technology, security, risk and business teams to translate complex requirements into practical architecture, standards and implementation roadmaps. You will challenge assumptions, identify risks early and help ensure solutions are secure, scalable and aligned with industry standards and leading practices.

What you will do

You will provide strategic and hands-on architectural guidance from early design through implementation. More specifically, you will:

• Shape open banking architecture: Define and evolve the target architecture for secure data sharing, participant connectivity and financial API ecosystems.
• Lead API security design: Establish patterns and controls for financial-grade APIs, including authentication, authorization, consent, token security and secure client onboarding.
• Guide FAPI adoption: Advise on FAPI 1.0 and FAPI 2.0 profiles, including migration considerations, interoperability and implementation choices.
• Strengthen cryptographic trust: Provide expertise in encryption-key lifecycle management, public key infrastructure, certificate issuance and rotation, mutual TLS and related trust services.
• Set standards and guardrails: Develop reference architectures, technical standards, decision records and reusable patterns for APIs, identity and certificate management.
• Challenge and validate solutions: Review designs, test assumptions and identify security, operational and integration risks before implementation.
• Connect technical and business needs: Explain complex security and architecture topics in clear language and provide decision-ready advice to senior leaders and delivery teams.
• Support delivery and capability building: Work with multidisciplinary teams, coach technical specialists and help resolve complex design and implementation issues.

What you need to succeed

You bring deep technical expertise, sound judgement and the ability to influence decisions across organizational boundaries. You can move comfortably between strategy and implementation, communicate clearly with technical and non-technical audiences, and produce concise, decision-ready recommendations.

Technical experience we are looking for includes:

• Open banking and financial ecosystems: Experience designing, implementing or governing open banking, consumer-driven banking, payments, fintech or comparable regulated data-sharing ecosystems.
• Financial-grade API security: Strong knowledge of FAPI 1.0 and FAPI 2.0, OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, API authentication and authorization, and secure consent-based data sharing.
• Encryption-key management: Experience with enterprise key-management services and the full cryptographic-key lifecycle, including generation, storage, access, rotation, revocation, recovery and audit.
• Certificates and trust services: Deep understanding of public key infrastructure, certificate authorities, digital certificates, mutual TLS, certificate-bound access and trust-chain management.
• API architecture and governance: Experience with API design, gateways, developer portals, versioning, lifecycle governance, observability and integration patterns.
• Security architecture: Ability to design secure solutions in regulated environments and align technical controls with enterprise risk, privacy and compliance requirements.
• Enterprise architecture: Experience developing target-state architectures, transition roadmaps, standards and reusable design patterns across complex organizations.
• Cloud-native architecture: Experience designing cloud-native solutions in Microsoft Azure, including scalable, resilient, and cost-optimized solutions.  

Nice-to-have

• Experience with open banking frameworks or ecosystems in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia or the United States.
• Experience with financial ecosystem registries, accreditation models, digital identity or secure participant onboarding.
• Experience with cloud-based key vaults, hardware security modules and certificate-management platforms.
• Knowledge of payment architectures, financial-market infrastructure or digital-asset platforms.
• Relevant architecture, cybersecurity, cloud or identity certifications.

Your education and experience

This position requires a degree or diploma in computer science, engineering, cybersecurity, information systems or a related field, together with a minimum of eight years of relevant experience in technology consulting, enterprise architecture, security architecture or solution architecture. A combination of education and experience may also be considered to determine whether you have the knowledge and skills required for the role.

Innovative Mindset

We value candidates who demonstrate adaptability, curiosity, and a willingness to learn new technologies, including AI and digital tools. We seek individuals who can think critically about data, question existing processes, and find ways to simplify our work while embracing change and new ways of doing things. 

Language requirement
The Bank’s work environment is conducive to the use of both of Canada’s official languages - English and French. Although the position language requirement is English or French essential, we do encourage everyone to improve their second language proficiency for future career growth and to contribute towards fostering a bilingual environment.

What you need to know

• • Priority will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents
  • Security level required: Be eligible to obtain Secret 
  • There will be no relocation assistance provided
  • Please save a copy of the job poster. Once the closing date has passed, it will no longer be available. 
  • The official title for this position is “Principal Consultant ” 

Hybrid Work Model

The Bank offers work arrangements that provide employees with flexibility, enable high-performing teams, and support an excellent workplace culture. Most employees can telework from home for a portion of each month as part of the Bank’s hybrid work model, and they are expected on site at the Bank location a minimum of 12 days per month to help build connections between colleagues. You must live in Canada, and within reasonable commuting distance of the office.  

What you can expect from us
This is a great opportunity to join a leading organization and be part of a high-performing team. We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package designed to meet your needs at every stage of your life and career. For more information on key benefits please visit A great deal to consider. 

• • Salaries are based on qualifications and experience and typically range from $153,721 to $180,848 (job grade 19)
  • The Bank offers an incentive for successfully meeting expectations at  7 to 10% of your base salary. The Bank offers additional performance pay (5%) for those who exceed expectations. Exceptional performers who far exceed expectations may be eligible for higher performance pay.
  • Flexible and comprehensive benefits so you can choose the level of health and dental coverage that meets your needs
  • Extra vacation days (up to five each year) that you can purchase to add to your vacation entitlement
  • Option to join the indexed, defined-benefit pension plan after 24 consecutive months of service

We wish to thank all applicants for their interest and effort in applying for this position. Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.