Back-End Application Developer - Proactive Recruitment

Belonging to Air Canada is about belonging to a Canadian symbol, Air Canada recently voted best airline in North America. Let your career take off by joining our innovative and diverse team at the forefront of passenger air transport.

Joining Air Canada means being part of an iconic Canadian company recently named Best Airline in North America. Let your career take off by joining a diverse and forward-thinking team shaping the future of passenger air transport through digital innovation.

We are looking for a creative and meticulous back-end application developer who will play a vital role in the smooth running of our background systems by designing, building and maintaining robust, scalable and secure back-end systems. The successful candidate for this position will play a key role in integrating applications with required systems, including existing architectures, and provide clear, well-documented application program interfaces (APIs) for the front end. This person will be responsible for application performance, reliability and scalability. Proactive and collaborative, back-end application developers optimize databases, implement best practices and ensure data security, while staying at the cutting edge of emerging technologies to provide innovative, future-ready solutions.

Air Canada IT is going through an exciting time, and several major ongoing projects will transform the IT landscape. Air Canada is also heavily investing in new technologies to support its digital transformation. This is a unique opportunity to discover cutting-edge technologies with an industry leader and help shape the future of Air Canada.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement robust, scalable, and secure back-end services and middleware components that power business logic while ensuring compliance with architectural best practices and business requirements.
• Develop and maintain functional, high-performing, and well-documented APIs enabling smooth integration between front-end and back-end systems.
• Integrate both legacy and modern enterprise platforms using AWS native services, Node.js, and Apache Kafka.
• Support quality assurance activities and user acceptance testing, analyze reported defects, and apply necessary design and code fixes to resolve issues.
• Optimize back-end system performance through efficient data access patterns, query optimization, and caching strategies to ensure low-latency, high-availability systems.
• Implement containerization (e.g., Docker) and orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes) to support scalable deployment and environment consistency.
• Manage asynchronous messaging systems and event streaming platforms (e.g., Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ) to enable reliable, decoupled communication between services.
• Write comprehensive unit, integration, and performance tests to ensure code reliability and maintainability, while developing automation tools to simplify repetitive tasks.
• Ensure data security and compliance by implementing robust authentication, authorization, and encryption mechanisms, and adhering to relevant regulatory standards.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (Product Managers, DevOps, Quality Assurance) to align goals, timelines, and deliverables, ensuring back-end systems support the overall product vision.
• Participate in system architecture and design discussions, providing input on scalability, fault tolerance, and system reliability.
• Implement and maintain observability tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack) to monitor system health and performance and proactively troubleshoot issues.
• Manage back-end processes, workflows, and APIs to foster knowledge sharing, maintainability, and integration.
• Leverage AI-assisted development tools to accelerate coding, refactoring, and documentation while encouraging responsible adoption within the team.
• Actively participate in Agile ceremonies such as sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and retrospectives.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of team practices, delivery pipelines, and communication strategies by proposing innovative solutions and sharing technical knowledge.

Qualifications

Mandatory

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or equivalent.
• At least three years of experience in back-end software development.
• Solid experience in Java or Node.js development.
• Hands-on experience with AWS services (e.g., Lambda, EC2, S3, RDS, DynamoDB, API Gateways, AppSync).
• Proven experience integrating critical APIs and cloud-native platforms.
• Experience in designing and implementing microservices architectures.
• Proficiency in containerization tools (Docker) and orchestration platforms (Kubernetes).
• Knowledge of asynchronous messaging systems and event streaming platforms (e.g., Apache Kafka, RabbitMQ).
• Experience with observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack).
• Excellent understanding of TDD (Test-Driven Development), unit testing, mocking, and integration testing.
• Proficiency in version control systems like Git.
• Knowledge of relational and NoSQL databases.
• Understanding of API formats (XML, JSON), protocols (REST, SOAP), and specifications (OpenAPI, Swagger).
• Strong oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
• High attention to detail and a systematic, rigorous approach to problem-solving.
• Ability to work autonomously and proactively.
• Demonstrated punctuality and reliability to support the team’s overall success in a fast-paced environment.

Assets

• Experience with Mulesoft or other Java-based Enterprise Service Buses (IBM IIB, Tibco).
• Knowledge of API management tools (Apigee, IBM API Connect, Mulesoft API Manager).
• Exposure to continuous integration and development toolchains and DevOps practices.
• Experience in the airline or travel industry.
• Interest in learning new technologies and contributing to digital transformation initiatives.

Employment Conditions:

Candidates must be eligible to work in the country concerned at the time a job offer is presented and are responsible for obtaining work permits, visas, or other necessary authorizations. Proof of eligibility must be provided prior to the start date.

Language Requirements

All things being equal, preference will be given to bilingual candidates.

Diversity and Inclusion

Air Canada is strongly committed to diversity and inclusion and aims to create a healthy, accessible, and rewarding workplace that highlights the unique contribution of our employees to our company's success.

As an equal opportunity employer, we encourage diverse applications so that we can have a workforce that is varied and representative of our customers and the communities where we live and serve.

Air Canada thanks all candidates for their interest, but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.