Job Description
The incumbent is accountable for the architecture of assigned initiatives, products, systems, or features within an Agile Release Train (ART). The role translates business, functional, non-functional, security, and operational requirements into scalable and maintainable solutions aligned with enterprise standards and solution architecture direction. The incumbent collaborates with Solution Architects, Principal System Architects, engineering teams, and product teams to support successful delivery and technology modernization initiatives.
System Architecture and Solution Delivery
Technical Leadership
Stakeholder Collaboration
The role has standard working conditions in an office environment with a regular workweek from Monday to Friday and is eligible to participate in CN's hybrid work model. The role requires occasional business travel within Canada and the United States in accordance with CN policy.
Signals and Communications
* Any requirement marked with (*) will be considered an asset (not mandatory)
* Any requirement marked with (*) will be considered an asset (not mandatory)
Principal Systems Architect
Req Id:
547
Job Location:
Montreal - QC
Business Unit:
Technology
Highest Level Division:
Information Security
Posting Start Date:
10/1/26
Posting End Date:
09/26/26 11:59 EDT
French/English Bilingual Requirement:
Yes
Hiring Salary Range: $ 110000 - 144000
This range represents the hiring range. Salaries are determined individually depending on skills and experience. You will also be eligible to an annual bonus, employee share investment program (ESIP), Pension, Benefits and other perks.
At CN, we are committed to our pursuit of excellence. We take pride in delivering work of the highest standard, continually innovating to shape the railroad of the future. As responsible railroaders, we make the right decisions every time, putting safety first, acting with unwavering integrity, and holding ourselves accountable for our actions. We believe in succeeding together—by fostering inclusivity and collaboration, we sustainably deliver exceptional results for our customers.
Join us today and get your career moving!
Job Summary
The incumbent is accountable for the architecture of assigned initiatives, products, systems, or features within an Agile Release Train (ART). The role translates business, functional, non-functional, security, and operational requirements into scalable and maintainable solutions aligned with enterprise standards and solution architecture direction. The incumbent collaborates with Solution Architects, Principal System Architects, engineering teams, and product teams to support successful delivery and technology modernization initiatives.
Main Responsibilities
System Architecture and Solution Delivery
- Support epic refinement, feature analysis, and solution design activities.
- Analyze business, functional, non-functional, security, and operational requirements.
- Define system architectures and design patterns for assigned initiatives and products.
- Develop architecture artifacts aligned with enterprise and solution architecture guidance.
- Ensure solution designs comply with architecture standards, principles, and governance requirements.
- Collaborate with application, infrastructure, data, security, platform, and integration teams.
- Participate in PI Planning and delivery planning activities.
- Support implementation teams by resolving technical issues and design challenges.
- Contribute to architecture reviews, risk assessments, and technology evaluations.
- Maintain architecture documentation, standards, patterns, and repositories.
Technical Leadership
- Provide technical guidance to Solution Designers and delivery teams.
- Share architecture best practices and reusable patterns.
- Contribute to architecture community forums and knowledge-sharing initiatives.
- Evaluate emerging technologies and provide recommendations for adoption.
- Support continuous improvement of architecture processes, standards, and governance practices.
Stakeholder Collaboration
- Collaborate with business, product, architecture, cybersecurity, and engineering teams.
- Present architectural recommendations and design decisions to project stakeholders.
- Support alignment between business needs, delivery timelines, and technical constraints.
- Contribute to architecture governance forums and decision-making processes.
Working Conditions
The role has standard working conditions in an office environment with a regular workweek from Monday to Friday and is eligible to participate in CN's hybrid work model. The role requires occasional business travel within Canada and the United States in accordance with CN policy.
Experience
Signals and Communications
- 10+ years experience in Information Technology, enterprise architecture, solution architecture, system architecture, engineering, or related technology roles
- Minimum 3 years defining solution or system architectures for medium to large technology initiatives
- Experience developing architecture artifacts, technical roadmaps, standards, and implementation guidance
- Experience working within Agile, SAFe, product delivery, or project delivery environments
- Railroad, transportation, or global industrial experience*
- Candidates with an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience will be considered
* Any requirement marked with (*) will be considered an asset (not mandatory)
Education/Certification/Designation
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or System Analysis
- The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF), Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), Google Professional Cloud Architect, SAFe Architect certification*
- Candidates with equivalent practical experience, education, or training will be considered
* Any requirement marked with (*) will be considered an asset (not mandatory)
Competencies
- We Care About Each Other
- We Strive for Excellence
- We Succeed Together
- We Lead Responsibly
- Compliance
- Business acumen
- High
- Conveying the vision
- Coordination
Technical Skills/Knowledge
- Information Architecture and enterprise data domains
- Business, information, and data architecture alignment
- Conceptual, logical, and physical data modeling
- Master Data Management (MDM), reference data management, and data quality frameworks
- Enterprise data integration, information exchange, and data lifecycle management
- Metadata management, business glossaries, data catalogs, and enterprise information management
- Data Governance frameworks, including data ownership, stewardship, accountability, policy management, and governance operating models
- Data Security Posture Management (DSPM), including data discovery, classification, risk identification, sensitive data monitoring, and remediation strategies
- Data Loss Prevention (DLP) architectures and controls to protect sensitive, confidential, and regulated information across applications, platforms, collaboration tools, and cloud environments
- Information security and privacy-by-design principles, including data protection, retention, regulatory compliance, and information risk management
- Data platform architectures, including data lakes, lakehouses, data warehouses, and modern data ecosystems
- Analytics, business intelligence, AI-enabled data ecosystems, and trusted data products
- Enterprise information sharing, data interoperability, and event-driven information architectures
- Data lineage, traceability, auditability, and information lifecycle governance.
- Data modernization strategies, including cloud-based data services, data migration, and platform rationalization
- Architecture governance, standards, reference models, and controls to ensure information consistency, quality, security, and reuse across the enterprise
Additional Information (If Any)
About CN
CN is a premium railroad that sustainably generates value for our customers, shareholders, employees, and stakeholders with an unwavering commitment to safety and service. Essential to the economy, to the customers, and to the communities it serves, CN safely transports more than 300 million tons of natural resources, manufactured products, and finished goods throughout North America every year. CN's network connects Canada’s Eastern and Western coasts with the U.S. South through an 18,800-mile rail network. CN and its affiliates have been contributing to community prosperity and sustainable trade since 1919. CN powers the North American economy and is committed to programs supporting social responsibility and environmental stewardship.
At CN, we are dedicated to building North America's safest, most inclusive and sustainable railroad, which includes reflecting the communities in which we operate. Research shows that candidates often don't apply unless they feel they fit the job posting at 100%. To all potential applicants, even if you don't meet every job requirement listed in a posting, we still encourage you to apply. If you require an accommodation for the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials, accessible meeting rooms or other accommodations), please get in touch with our team at cnrecruitment@cn.ca.
As an equal opportunity employer, qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, and other protected status as required by applicable law.
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