Engineering Team Lead - Java / CIAM

Join M&T Bank as a key technical leader driving the future of how millions of customers securely access and engage with our digital ecosystem. In this role, you will lead engineering teams that power the front door of the bank’s customer experience, including identity verification, digital onboarding, credential creation, multi-factor authentication, and consent management.

You’ll oversee a fast‑moving, high‑visibility domain deeply connected to enterprise priorities. Your work directly influences how customers open accounts, validate identity, enroll in digital services, and seamlessly navigate across Retail, Commercial, Wealth, Institutional Services, and specialty products.

This is a hands‑on technical leadership role for someone who thrives in complex systems, communicates confidently with senior leaders, shapes architecture patterns, and builds teams that deliver secure, scalable, elegant identity solutions.

Leadership & Vision

• Lead and grow an engineering team focused on identity verification and digital enrollment—including building a multi‑team structure over time.
• Provide day‑to‑day direction for applications, services, and customer identity platforms aligned with enterprise strategy and departmental goals.
• Serve as a strong, confident technical leader capable of influencing senior stakeholders and articulating the “why” behind decisions, tradeoffs, and architectural direction.

Technical Strategy & Delivery

• Oversee development of key systems including Java/Spring Boot services, Angular micro‑frontends, vendor integrations (e.g., Alloy), and identity protocols (OAuth, OIDC, SAML).
• Guide solution design and break down complex technical work into executable plans for engineers.
• Ensure adherence to department and technology standards, design patterns, documentation requirements, and internal control expectations.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Monitor emerging technology trends, CIAM advancements, and best‑in‑class verification patterns.
• Recommend improvements and drive change in areas where new technologies or architectures could benefit customer experience, security, or operational efficiency.
• Serve as SME for customer identity, making decisions that impact multiple lines of business.

Team & Client Leadership

• Build strong partnerships with product owners, architects, senior leaders, and vendor partners.
• Drive an environment of collaboration, accountability, and quality within and across teams.
• Manage staffing decisions, performance evaluations, coaching, promotions, and contractor engagement.
• Support ongoing knowledge transfer as the space transitions from prior engineering groups to new ownership under this role.

Operational Excellence

• Direct team activities, monitor project pipelines, and ensure schedules, deliverables, and quality targets are met.
• Manage cost center budgets and contribute to technology planning and long‑range strategic initiatives.
• Ensure internal controls, regulatory requirements, audit points, and risk expectations are consistently met.

Required Qualifications:

• A combined minimum of 9 years’ higher education and/or work experience, including a minimum of 4 years’ engineering and/or architecture experience and 3 years leadership experience
• Practical experience with Java, Spring Boot and Angular.
• Understanding of modern identity technologies (OAuth, OIDC, SAML) or strong willingness to develop expertise.
• Excellent communication skills—able to present to senior audiences with clarity and confidence.
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, and decision‑making skills.
• Proficiency with project management, SDLC, and engineering delivery processes.
• Ability to manage multiple complex projects in a fast‑moving environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.
• 10+ years of technology management, engineering leadership, or large program oversight.
• Advanced experience with identity‑focused application ecosystems or CIAM platforms.
• Strong architecture fluency and the ability to guide teams through technical design and breakdown.
• Experience building or scaling engineering teams, including contractor strategy.
• Understanding of bank systems, integrations, and multi‑line‑of‑business digital experiences (Retail, Commercial, Wealth, Institutional Services).
• Demonstrated ability to mentor, coach, and inspire engineering talent.

What Makes This Role Exciting:

• High visibility with senior executives, major bank initiatives, and enterprise modernization.
• Ownership of systems that make or break the customer’s first impression of M&T.
• Opportunity to build a team from the ground up, shape culture, and define future-state architecture.
• Direct influence over identity strategy used across multiple business lines and customer experiences.
• A role that blends engineering, architecture, leadership, innovation, and customer impact.

#LI-JB3

M&T Bank is committed to fair, competitive, and market-informed pay for our employees. The pay range for this position is $116,400.00 - $194,000.00 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