Principal, Quality Assurance Architect

The OCC • Chicago, IL

3d • $152,900 - $261,700 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Quality Assurance Architect drives testing tool strategy and orchestration, sets technical direction for quality assurance work, and supports the test automation team. The role works closely with development and testing teams to meet OCC’s quality objectives.

The architect designs, develops, and maintains testing frameworks and solutions; establishes QA automation principles; researches and evaluates automation technologies; and improves existing frameworks. The role also develops Jenkins pipelines, designs and troubleshoots Jira-to-test-management integrations, and identifies opportunities to replace manual tasks with automation. It contributes to automation for data analytics and reporting applications and collaborates across the Agile lifecycle on analysis, design, development, and testing.

The position helps define and document end-to-end business process automation strategy, supports implementation and training, promotes automation practices, and communicates results and trends to inform requirements, design, and development. It also supports production by testing time-sensitive defects and advising on system functionality. The role has no supervisory responsibilities.

OCC is the world’s largest equity derivatives clearing organization. Founded in 1973, it provides clearing and settlement services for options, futures, and securities lending transactions and operates as a Systemically Important Financial Market Utility under the jurisdiction of the SEC, CFTC, and Federal Reserve Board.

The position offers a hybrid work environment with up to two remote workdays per week. The stated salary range is $152,900–$261,700, with a target discretionary incentive range of 23%–30%.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, an analytical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 10+ years of experience in the IT industry, including 5+ years in Quality Engineering, tool architecture, and orchestration using open-source and commercial toolsets.
• Experience with Agile methodology.
• Experience integrating Jira with a test management tool.
• Experience creating automation scripts and developing automation frameworks.
• Experience developing Jenkins pipelines.
• Strong design and development skills with one or more of Selenium, Cucumber, FitNesse, Appian automation, Protractor, or ServiceNow Automated Test Framework.
• Strong design and development skills in CI/CD pipelines.
• Broad knowledge of lifecycle development, change control management, and test planning management.
• Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills, including the ability to test sophisticated systems, diagnose defects, and communicate findings and learnings clearly.
• Strong written and oral communication, analytical, problem-solving, judgment, and time-management skills; ability to work effectively with users, management, and staff.
• Self-motivation, creative problem-solving skills, ability to multitask, and ability to meet deadlines in a fast-paced Agile environment and manage multiple projects.
• Knowledge or experience in data analytics and reporting.
• Experience with relational databases and query tools such as SQL Server, Oracle, and DB2.
• Experience with automated testing tools such as Selenium, Cucumber, Cypress, ServiceNow Automated Test Framework, QTP, or Protractor.
• Programming or scripting experience with Java, JavaScript, VBScript, and Python.
• Experience with ETL tools such as Alteryx and reporting tools such as Tableau.
• Experience with robotic process automation software such as Blue Prism.
• Understanding of CI/CD pipelines and tools such as Jenkins, GitHub, GitLab CI, or Azure DevOps.
• Knowledge of test management and defect tracking tools such as Jira, Zephyr, HP ALM, or SpiraTest, and proficiency in tool integrations.
• Familiarity with performance testing tools such as JMeter, LoadRunner, or Gatling.
• Understanding of containerization technologies such as Docker and orchestration tools such as Kubernetes.
• Knowledge of cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.
• Strong experience working with Linux OS.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in the options and futures industry.

Responsibilities

• Design, architect, develop, and maintain software testing tool frameworks and solutions for OCC.
• Implement QA best practices and establish design principles for automation, performance testing, and failover testing; present options and recommendations.
• Research automation technologies, assess implementation feasibility, and provide return-on-investment statistics.
• Validate existing automation frameworks and optimize them for consistent quality.
• Develop and maintain Jenkins pipelines for automated execution of test scripts.
• Understand Jira-to-test-management data flows; design generic workflows and debug tool integration issues.
• Identify opportunities to automate manual tasks and reduce cycle time.
• Research and develop automation frameworks for data analytics and reporting applications.
• Collaborate with Agile teams throughout the lifecycle to support quality in analysis, design, development, and testing.
• Participate in sprint planning, help create stories with robust acceptance criteria, and identify missing or incomplete requirements.
• Document and implement end-to-end business process automation test strategy and help prepare training materials.
• Encourage automation adherence among test teams and demonstrate its value to leadership.
• Help ensure information system products and services meet quality and performance standards, satisfy audit requirements, uphold security rules, and are properly represented externally.
• Assist production support by testing time-sensitive defects and advising on system functionality.
• Communicate and analyze test results and patterns, providing feedback to requirements, design, and development teams.

Benefits

• Hybrid work environment with up to two days per week of remote work.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• Student loan repayment assistance.
• Technology stipend for a device of the employee’s choice when connecting to the network while working remotely.
• Generous paid time off.
• Parental leave.
• 401(k) employer match.
• Competitive medical, dental, and vision benefits.
• Employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus; bonuses are not guaranteed.

What This Job Offers

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