Principal, SW Quality Eng

Northern Trust • Chicago, IL

3d • $114,700 - $194,900

About The Position

Northern Trust is seeking a Principal, Software Quality Engineering professional to provide technical and quality leadership for Capital Markets Securities Finance. The role combines strong Securities Finance domain knowledge with end-to-end test strategy, automation engineering, data and API validation, performance testing, and quality governance. The professional will partner with Product Owners, Business Analysts, Architects, Developers, and global technology teams to drive scalable, risk-based quality engineering across complex platforms and integrated workflows.

The position leads quality engineering strategy and execution across functional, integration, regression, data, API, and non-functional testing. It includes defining quality standards and governance, building and maintaining automation capabilities, integrating quality checks into CI/CD pipelines, validating complex data flows, and leading end-to-end test cycles. The role also establishes quality metrics and release-readiness reporting, identifies and mitigates risks, and provides technical mentorship across distributed teams.

The role requires 14 years of relevant software quality engineering, testing, or technology delivery experience, including senior technical or quality leadership responsibilities. Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without employment-based visa sponsorship. The listed base salary range is $114,700–$194,900 USD.

Requirements

• Strong functional understanding of securities lending, borrowing, or financing workflows and associated lifecycle events.
• Demonstrated experience designing and governing end-to-end test strategies for large, integrated financial systems.
• Expertise building and extending scalable automation frameworks using modern programming or scripting languages such as Java, Python, JavaScript, and SQL.
• Experience with BDD/TDD approaches and tools such as Cucumber and Selenium or comparable modern automation technologies.
• Experience integrating automated quality checks with Jenkins, Azure DevOps, or comparable delivery pipelines.
• Strong SQL skills and experience validating relational or analytical databases, data warehouses, ETL/ELT processing, and complex data flows.
• Strong experience validating service interfaces, integration flows, and data-layer behavior.
• Experience planning and executing performance, scalability, and resiliency testing at application or program level.
• Ability to understand complex business logic, diagnose systemic defects, and recommend strategic quality improvements.
• Proven ability to communicate quality risk, technical decisions, and delivery status to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Substantial experience delivering quality engineering for capital markets or other complex financial platforms.
• 14 years of relevant software quality engineering, testing, or technology delivery experience, including senior technical or quality leadership responsibilities.
• Demonstrated experience leading quality engineering for complex, business-critical financial systems and multi-team programs.
• Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with cloud and modern data platforms, including Azure-based services.
• Experience modernizing legacy test suites into reusable, maintainable automation capabilities.
• Experience supporting regulatory, control-sensitive, or audit-focused technology delivery in financial services.
• Azure or relevant quality/engineering certification.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the Securities Finance quality engineering strategy across functional, integration, regression, data, API, and non-functional testing.
• Advance product quality through testing innovation, engineering practices, and continuous process improvement.
• Collaborate with Product Owners, Business Analysts, Architects, and Developers to design testable solutions and establish quality requirements early in the SDLC.
• Develop technical roadmaps and implementation plans for program-level test strategies and automation capabilities.
• Lead complex end-to-end test cycles across interconnected Securities Finance applications and global teams, including defect triage, risk assessment, and release-readiness reporting.
• Design and manage technical proof-of-concepts and feasibility studies for new quality engineering capabilities.
• Identify quality and delivery risks early, drive root-cause analysis, and ensure timely escalation and mitigation.
• Optimize and maintain automation frameworks and regression suites; expand automated coverage for high-value and high-risk business workflows.
• Integrate automated testing into CI/CD pipelines to enable early, repeatable feedback and support continuous delivery.
• Lead data validation across databases, ETL/ELT pipelines, and downstream reporting or processing flows.
• Design and execute API, microservices, integration, and performance testing at program level.
• Define quality metrics and provide execution, defect, automation, and release-readiness reporting to technical and business stakeholders.
• Provide technical mentorship and quality engineering leadership across distributed teams; help establish consistent standards and engineering best practices.

Benefits

• Retirement benefits, including 401(k) and pension.
• Health and welfare benefits, including medical, dental, vision, spending accounts, and disability.
• 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: Principal
• Education Level: No Education Listed