Infrastructure Network Testing Lead

Northern Trust • Chicago, IL

7d • $95,600 - $162,400

About The Position

The Infrastructure Network Testing Lead is responsible for independently validating enterprise network changes across LAN/WAN, security, and cloud platforms. The role ensures network changes meet functional, performance, security, resilience, and compliance requirements before production release. It partners with engineering, operations, CAB, risk, and release teams to support high-quality, low-risk deployments and acts as a quality gate to reduce incidents and improve deployment success through structured testing and automation.

The lead owns testing delivery, including estimating effort, tracking failed-change incidents, identifying improvement opportunities, optimizing the testing lifecycle and change process, and driving automated solutions for network and security changes. The role also maintains testing documentation, validation evidence, reports, quality metrics, and regulatory documentation; supports governance and audit readiness; and provides release readiness recommendations. It includes mentoring junior engineers and supporting continuous improvement in testing and validation practices.

Requirements

• 10–14 years of total IT experience.
• At least 5 years of experience in network testing delivery leadership.
• Experience with network change validation and testing across switching, routing, firewalls, SD-WAN, Zscaler, and load balancers.
• Experience designing and executing test plans, test cases, and validation scenarios.
• Knowledge of functional, performance, resilience, security, and compliance validation, including regression and post-change testing.
• Experience identifying and managing defects, risks, and validation gaps, and coordinating defect resolution and re-validation.
• Ability to make and communicate go/no-go recommendations and assess release readiness.
• Experience with testing automation, validation processes, and improving test coverage and efficiency.
• Ability to collaborate with engineering, operations, release management, CAB, and risk stakeholders.
• Experience maintaining testing documentation, evidence, reports, metrics, and regulatory documentation.
• Experience with Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, ServiceNow, ITIL service management concepts and tools, HP, or BMC Remedy; ServiceNow experience involving Incident, Problem, Change, and Release processes is referenced.
• Familiarity with Agile Scrum or Kanban and project management tools such as Azure and Jira.
• Strong delivery ownership, decision-making, executive-level communication, stakeholder management, risk-based thinking, escalation judgment, structured problem-solving, and incident leadership.
• Ability to manage cross-functional, geographically distributed teams.
• Flexibility to work on weekends.
• Must be authorized to work in the U.S. without current or future employment-based visa sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

• Knowledge of SD-WAN platforms such as Silver Peak or Palo Alto, Zscaler, F5, Infoblox, and Azure or AWS cloud.
• Experience with automation tools, scripting, and CI/CD validation.
• Knowledge of risk frameworks, audit compliance, and governance.
• CCNA or CCNP certification.
• ITIL or COBIT certification or knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Execute independent validation and testing of network changes, including switching, routing, firewalls, SD-WAN, Zscaler, and load balancers.
• Ensure changes meet functional, performance, resilience, security, compliance, and governance requirements before production deployment.
• Design and execute test plans, test cases, and validation scenarios, including regression and post-change validation.
• Identify, document, and track defects, risks, and validation gaps; coordinate resolution and re-validation with engineering teams.
• Provide go/no-go recommendations during release and bridge calls and support release decision-making with quality insights.
• Collaborate with Network Engineering, Operations, CAB, Risk, and Release Management on change readiness and low-risk releases.
• Estimate testing effort, track failed-change incidents, and identify opportunities to improve delivery.
• Drive automation and improve testing efficiency, effectiveness, coverage, and change-process optimization.
• Develop and maintain standardized testing frameworks and standard operating procedures.
• Maintain test plans, execution reports, validation evidence, quality metrics, and regulatory documentation; ensure audit readiness and traceability.
• Publish quality metrics such as defect leakage, incident reduction, and automation coverage.
• Create and maintain knowledge base articles in ServiceNow or Confluence.
• Participate in bridge calls, change reviews, and governance forums; communicate validation results, risks, and readiness status.
• Mentor junior engineers on testing methodologies and tools.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives and stay current with emerging network technologies and testing strategies.

Benefits

• Retirement benefits, including 401(k) and pension.
• Health and welfare benefits, including medical, dental, vision, spending accounts, and disability benefits.
• Paid time off.
• Parental and caregiver leave.
• Life and accident insurance.
• Other voluntary and well-being benefits.
• Discretionary bonus program that may include an equity component.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed