Sr Lead, SDLC Testing Governance

Northern Trust-posted 3 months ago
$95,600 - $162,400/Yr
Full-time • Senior
Chicago, IL
5,001-10,000 employees
Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities
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The Sr Lead, SDLC Testing Governance is a senior individual contributor and thought leader responsible for establishing, governing, and continuously improving testing governance across the SDLC. Operating in a regulated financial services environment, this role ensures testing practices and evidencing are robust, auditable, and aligned to industry specific and Northern Trust internal standard, with a strong partnership across 1LOD/2LOD and Enterprise Change Management (ECM). The successful candidate will work horizontally across product, engineering, QE, architecture, release/change, risk, and audit partners to drive uplift, reduce risk, and enable high-quality releases with complete, traceable test evidence.

  • Own and enforce SDAM testing controls across programs/releases covering test requirements analysis, strategy/plan approvals, production-separate and production-equivalent environments, application security testing, and data protection in non-prod.
  • Define and operate practical stage gates and tollgates for testing artifacts (Test Strategy, Test Plan, Traceability, Execution Results, Defect reports, Test Summary, Post-Implementation Validation) with clear acceptance criteria and approvals.
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for QE/testing compliance matters; conduct self-assessments and targeted audits; manage exceptions with documented mitigations; partner with 1LOD/2LOD to meet ECM and enterprise risk expectations.
  • Support remediation of supervisory observations (e.g., MRIA/MRA) by tightening test oversight, documentation completeness, and release governance for Tier-1 programs.
  • Lead the uplift of testing governance processes, playbooks, and templates; standardize how teams plan, execute, and evidence testing in ADO / ServiceNow Test Management Module (TMM); drive adoption through pilots and iterative rollout.
  • Facilitate governance forums, CAB support, and decision-making meetings; curate artifact checklists and ensure readiness against ECM expectations and required templates (e.g., Impact Analysis, Risk Registry, Test Strategy/Plan).
  • Develop and deliver training, clinics, and office hours for engineering, product, and program teams on SDLC testing governance, evidencing, and SDAM alignment.
  • Build trusted relationships with product owners, architects, development, QE, change/release, and risk/audit partners; act as a liaison across IT, compliance, audit, and business to ensure cohesive execution and a culture of accountability.
  • Define and track KPIs/OKRs for testing governance (e.g., artifact completeness, traceability coverage, defect leakage, automation coverage, environment parity, audit issue closure); publish dashboards and executive-ready reporting.
  • Perform gap assessments and retrospectives across audits, and major releases; integrate lessons learned to mature controls, tooling, and workflows (including risk-based testing and exception paths).
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field.
  • 8+ years in software testing/QE, test governance, or QA leadership in regulated financial services or technology environments.
  • Hands-on governance of enterprise/release Test Strategy & Test Plans, traceability, defect management, and test summarization for complex, multi-system programs.
  • Strong tool proficiency: Azure DevOps (ADO), ServiceNow TMM, CI/CD pipelines, and test data/environment management; fluency in risk-based testing practices.
  • Deep understanding of SDLC, Agile/DevOps, change/release governance and software risk management.
  • Excellent communication, documentation, and executive-facing reporting skills; ability to influence without authority in a matrixed environment.
  • Advanced degree or relevant certifications (e.g., ISTQB Advanced Test Manager, CISA/CRISC, SAFe, DevOps).
  • Demonstrated leadership in enterprise change programs, including artifact readiness for CAB/SteerCo and regulator/auditor walkthroughs.
  • Experience maturing test governance assets and QE procedures (gating, evidencing, automation policy) across a broad portfolio.
  • Comprehensive benefits package including retirement benefits (401k and pension).
  • Health and welfare benefits (medical, dental, vision, spending accounts and disability).
  • Paid time off, parental and caregiver leave.
  • Life & accident insurance, and other voluntary and well-being benefits.
  • Discretionary bonus program that may include an equity component.
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