Full Job Description
Role Description
We are seeking a highly experienced Director of Quality Engineering to lead our Fixed Income Middle/Back Office testing function. This role is responsible for defining, implementing, and governing a robust testing strategy that ensures the reliability, scalability, and compliance of post-trade processing systems across settlements, confirmations, collateral management, regulatory reporting, and risk. The ideal candidate combines deep Fixed Income product knowledge, back office workflows, and hands-on Quality Engineering leadership to drive automation, governance, and continuous improvement.
Role Objectives
• Leadership & Strategy
o Define and execute the Quality Engineering strategy for Back Office applications supporting Fixed Income trading.
o Partner with Technology, Operations, Risk, and Compliance to align QA with business priorities and regulatory requirements.
o Build and manage a high-performing QE team across manual, automation, and performance testing disciplines.
• Governance & Standards
o Establish QA governance frameworks with clear accountability, traceability, and reporting across all back office test cycles.
o Drive adoption of test management tools (e.g., Jira + Xray) to ensure complete coverage and defect traceability.
o Define and enforce QE best practices, including test automation frameworks, regression coverage, and shift-left practices.
• Test Execution & Coverage
o Oversee end-to-end testing for settlements, reconciliations, clearing, payments, regulatory reporting (MiFID, TRACE, CFTC), and other post-trade processes.
o Ensure test coverage includes STP (straight-through-processing), fail/exception handling, SWIFT messaging, and integration with custodians/clearing houses.
o Expand performance, resilience, and failover testing for high-volume transaction flows.
• Automation & Tooling
o Drive automation strategy to increase regression efficiency, scalability, and accuracy across back office platforms (e.g., Calypso, Murex BO, or proprietary systems).
o Leverage modern test harnesses, CI/CD pipelines, and AI-driven test frameworks for smarter, faster, and more reliable validation.
• Metrics & Continuous Improvement
o Define and maintain key quality metrics (defect leakage, automation coverage, cycle time, escape rate).
o Deliver executive-level reporting via dashboards (Power BI, Tableau, or equivalent).
o Implement continuous improvement loops to reduce production escapes and improve testing efficiency.
Qualifications and Skills
o 12+ years in Quality Assurance/Engineering, with at least 5+ in a Director/Head of QE role in Capital Markets.
o Strong background in Fixed Income products (Swaps, Govies, Corporates, Repos, Derivatives, OTC products) and Back Office workflows (settlements, clearing, custody, payments).
o Demonstrated success in building QE functions in complex, regulated environments.
o Proven track record of implementing large-scale automation and QA governance frameworks.
• Technical Skills
o Deep knowledge of post-trade systems and integrations (e.g., Calypso, Murex, Broadridge, Impact, GLOSS, DTCC, SWIFT).
o Strong expertise in test automation frameworks (Java/Python + Selenium, Cypress, REST/SOAP service testing, performance tools like JMeter/LoadRunner).
o Familiarity with DevOps and CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitLab, Azure DevOps).
o Data validation skills (SQL, Excel, reconciliation tools).
• Leadership & Soft Skills
o Exceptional leadership, mentoring, and communication skills.
o Ability to engage with Front Office, Back/Middle Office, Risk, Operations, and Regulators at senior levels.
o Strategic mindset with hands-on problem-solving capabilities.
Preferred Qualifications
• Advanced degree (MBA, MS in Computer Science/Engineering, or Financial Engineering).
• Prior experience in a sell-side investment bank or hedge fund back/middle office environment.
• Knowledge of regulatory frameworks (Dodd-Frank, MiFID II, CFTC, EMIR).
• Experience with AI/ML in test automation and predictive analytics for QA.
Success Metrics
• Successful production release of new Middle/Back Office platform buildout
• Reduction in production defects / escape rate.
• Increased automation coverage and execution reliability.
• Improved cycle time for testing across major releases.
Additional Requirements
SMBC's employees participate in a Hybrid workforce model that provides employees with an opportunity to work from home, as well as, from an SMBC office. SMBC requires that employees live within a reasonable commuting distance of their office location. Prospective candidates will learn more about their specific hybrid work schedule during their interview process. Hybrid work may not be permitted for certain roles, including, for example, certain FINRA-registered roles for which in-office attendance for the entire workweek is required.
