Executive Principal, Quality Transformation

OCC • Chicago, IL

3d • $186,900 - $304,200 • Hybrid

About The Position

Executive Principal, Quality Transformation & Strategic Operations acts as the operational and strategic deputy to the MD. This individual does not manage domain staff directly; they multiply the MD's effectiveness by owning coordination, governance, and communication at the program level. The role is designed to close the gap between the MD's strategic mandate and the execution capacity needed to deliver it. The second mandate is owning the EQM transformation roadmap which includes defect prevention initiatives, test scenario and test data coverage improvements, talent enablement and continuous process improvements.

Requirements

• Demonstrable experience operating as a senior program or quality leader in large-scale technology transformation environments.
• A track record of driving cross-functional coordination without direct authority — building influence through credibility, relationships, and structured communication.
• Fluency in quality engineering and testing disciplines, sufficient to represent EQM with technical and executive audiences.
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to synthesize complex, multi-domain quality signals into clear executive narratives.
• Commercial and organizational acumen — able to identify and escalate risk, manage ambiguity, and operate in a high-stakes program environment.
• Proven ability to contribute consistently and positively in a dynamic, fast-paced, and highly regulated environment
• Analytical problem-solver
• Self-directed and detail oriented
• Highly effective organization and planning skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including effective presentation skills
• Develops and maintains constructive and cooperative working relationships
• Bachelor of Science in Computer Science or a related discipline or an equivalent combination of education and work experience
• 15+ years in technology, project management or business management role
• demonstrated success at multiple job levels
• experience in financial trading industry
• Proficiency in using Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio)
• Experience with Agile tools such as Jira and Confluence

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with complex technology-focused transformative programs involving multiple and sometimes conflicting objectives with compressed timelines and multiple layers of oversight
• Proven ability to manage a project in various stages of the project life cycle from initiation through completion
• Proven ability to facilitate project alignment between business and technical teams
• Strong experience with project management tools such as Microsoft Project and SharePoint (or similar PPM tool)
• Master’s Degree
• experience as an auditor
• experience in capital markets (options/futures)

Responsibilities

• Acts as the operational and strategic deputy to the MD.
• Multiplies the MD's effectiveness by owning coordination, governance, and communication at the program level — closing the gap between the MD's strategic mandate and execution capacity.
• Owns the EQM transformation roadmap at program level.
• Ensures cohesion across five testing disciplines, tracks maturity milestones, and proactively surfaces and resolves delivery risks before they reach the MD or program steering.
• Designs and operationalizes quality gates across all Renaissance phases. This is the primary structural response to the governance gap identified in the business case — establishing enforceable entry and exit criteria that directly influence release decisions.
• Leads the enterprise defect prevention program. Drives RCA discipline, identifies systemic failure patterns across the SDLC, and influences upstream remediation — reducing the cost of quality by shifting intervention earlier in the delivery lifecycle.
• Develops and owns executive and board-level quality reporting on behalf of the MD. Directly addresses the current reporting risk — providing program and business leadership with a clear, data-driven quality narrative synthesized from all five domains.
• Resolves cross-domain coordination gaps, priority conflicts, and execution blockers. Operates through credibility and relationship rather than line authority — a deliberate structural choice, not a limitation.
• Represents EQM in cross-functional governance bodies and steering committees. Acts as an accountable delegate for the MD, freeing MD capacity for strategic leadership rather than operational forums.
• Translates MD priorities into coordinated, time-bound action plans across five domain leads.
• Creates the operational layer the MD currently lacks — ensuring decisions are tracked, communicated, and closed with clear accountability.
• Monitors capacity, alignment, and culture signals within EQM. Acts as an early warning system for the MD — surfacing people and organizational risks before they become delivery or retention issues.
• Builds trusted relationships across EQM, technology, program management, and business. These relationships are the primary mechanism of delivery - the role's effectiveness is entirely proportional to the trust it earns.

Benefits

• Tuition Reimbursement to support your continued education
• Student Loan Repayment Assistance
• Technology Stipend allowing you to use the device of your choice to connect to our network while working remotely
• Generous PTO and Parental leave
• 401k Employer Match
• Competitive health benefits including medical, dental and vision

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal