Overview: The Lead IT Operations Analyst - Core Banking Systems serves as the senior technical lead and subject matter expert for MCU's Core Banking System, Symitar, and related enterprise platforms. This role provides advanced technical leadership, operational oversight, release governance, automation strategy, production support escalation, vendor coordination, and risk-based guidance for mission-critical banking systems that support daily operations, member-facing services, regulatory obligations, and enterprise technology initiatives.
The Lead Analyst leads complex system implementations, Core Banking upgrades, enterprise release activities, integration initiatives, automation improvements, incident resolution, operational readiness planning, and continuous improvement efforts. The position partners with business leaders, technology teams, vendors, and external stakeholders to define requirements, assess risks, establish priorities, manage operational impacts, and ensure successful delivery of technology changes across the IT Operations environment.
This role acts as a trusted advisor to management on Core Banking capabilities, technology roadmaps, vendor solutions, production stability, system performance, control effectiveness, regulatory readiness, and process improvement opportunities. The Lead Analyst mentors team members, establishes operational standards, strengthens documentation and governance practices, and influences technology decisions through specialized expertise, data-driven recommendations, and enterprise-risk awareness.
Responsibilities:
Specific duties include, but are not limited to, the following:
Core Banking Systems Leadership- Serve as the senior technical lead and SME for Symitar and associated platforms including OpCon, Axway, IPSWITCH, SymXchange, online banking integrations, Secure FTP transmissions, and other critical technologies.
- Lead advanced troubleshooting, configuration analysis, platform optimization, operational readiness, and production support for systems that directly support MCU's daily banking operations.
- Establish technical standards, operational practices, support models, and knowledge management expectations that improve reliability, repeatability, audit readiness, and continuity of support.
- Mentor analysts, administrators, and cross-functional partners by providing technical direction, knowledge transfer, and guidance on Core Banking administration and operational best practices.
Enterprise Project Leadership & Strategic Delivery- Lead complex technology projects, enterprise system implementations, platform upgrades, integration initiatives, and business transformation efforts from planning through implementation and transition to support.
- Partner with executive leadership, business units, vendors, external stakeholders, and IT teams to define strategic requirements, evaluate system impacts, prioritize work, and deliver successful project outcomes.
- Provide project leadership, governance, risk identification, implementation planning, resource coordination, timeline management, and stakeholder communication for Core Banking initiatives.
- Drive implementation of new products, services, technology enhancements, and regulatory-driven changes that support organizational growth, operational efficiency, and member service excellence.
Release Governance, Change Management & Operational Risk- Establish, maintain, and improve release management strategies, change governance practices, testing standards, implementation controls, and operational readiness processes.
- Oversee major maintenance and release activities including Symitar releases, AIX operating system updates, VIOS maintenance, HMC upgrades, TLV updates, backup validation, infrastructure coordination, and related platform changes.
- Review, assess, and approve or recommend production changes to ensure alignment with change management standards, risk controls, audit expectations, and business continuity requirements.
- Coordinate enterprise-wide communications, testing strategies, stakeholder engagement, rollback planning, and post-implementation validation for major system changes.
Automation Strategy & Continuous Improvement- Develop advanced OpCon job scheduling strategies, integration workflows, event-driven automation, dependency mapping, and business process orchestration solutions.
- Identify, evaluate, and implement continuous improvement opportunities that reduce manual intervention, improve control effectiveness, strengthen accuracy, and increase operational resilience.
- Lead process reviews, workflow assessments, issue trend analysis, and operational improvement initiatives across Core Banking and related IT Operations platforms.
- Champion innovation and automation practices that improve productivity, service reliability, scalability, and service delivery across the organization.
Production Stability, Incident Leadership & Performance Management- Lead monitoring, performance management, capacity planning, availability analysis, and operational health reporting for Core Banking and related enterprise systems.
- Establish performance metrics, dashboards, reporting frameworks, and escalation practices that support operational excellence and informed decision-making.
- Lead root cause analysis for critical incidents, recurring failures, production disruptions, automation exceptions, and integration issues; drive corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
- Serve as an escalation point for complex operational, system, integration, vendor, and production support issues.
Information Security, Compliance, Audit & Risk Management- Assess operational, technology, vendor, and implementation risks associated with Core Banking changes, integrations, releases, and platform support activities.
- Support audits, examinations, compliance reviews, security assessments, and remediation efforts by providing technical expertise, documentation, evidence, and action planning.
- Ensure operational practices align with organizational policies, FFIEC guidance, NCUA regulations, data privacy requirements, information security expectations, and industry best practices.
Vendor Management & Strategic Partnerships- Manage vendor relationships, service escalations, platform issues, product enhancement requests, release planning, and technology roadmap discussions that support business objectives.
- Evaluate vendor performance, recommend service improvements, coordinate vendor-supported projects, and support SLA/contract discussions where technical expertise is required.
- Represent IT Operations in vendor interactions and cross-functional planning discussions involving Core Banking capabilities, system reliability, integrations, automation, and operational controls.
Documentation, Governance & Team Development- Establish documentation standards for system administration, release management, change control, disaster recovery, business continuity, audit readiness, and operational continuity.
- Lead governance initiatives involving Core Banking administration, production changes, release readiness, support procedures, automation standards, and operational controls.
- Provide coaching, mentoring, technical guidance, and knowledge transfer to analysts, administrators, and cross-functional teams.
- Support workforce development, succession planning, and capability building through training, documentation, peer review, and structured knowledge-sharing.
Additional Responsibilities- Participate in leadership-level incident response, after-hours support, planned maintenance, and on-call rotations to support 24x7x365 system availability.
- Maintain awareness of emerging technologies, cybersecurity trends, Core Banking platform capabilities, banking regulations, and industry best practices.
- Support strategic planning, technology assessments, operational risk reviews, and enterprise initiatives as assigned.
Soft skills include, but are not limited to the following:
- Demonstrates senior-level judgment, accountability, and ownership when leading or supporting mission-critical Core Banking systems and enterprise technology initiatives.
- Communicates effectively with executives, business leaders, vendors, auditors, technology teams, and cross-functional stakeholders.
- Translates complex technical issues, operational risks, and system impacts into clear recommendations, decision points, and action plans.
- Leads through influence by setting standards, mentoring others, promoting accountability, and supporting a culture of operational excellence.
- Maintains expert-level awareness of financial institution operations, regulatory expectations, cybersecurity considerations, technology trends, and Core Banking platform capabilities.
- Champions documentation discipline, risk management, compliance, process improvement, innovation, and continuous learning.
Requirements:
Education- Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration, or a related field required.
- Equivalent combination of education, technical training, certifications, and relevant experience may be considered.
Experience- Minimum of 8-12 years of experience in IT Operations, Core Banking Systems Administration, enterprise application support, systems engineering, or a related technology role within a financial institution or similarly regulated environment.
- Minimum of 5+ years of hands-on experience supporting Symitar/Episys or a comparable Core Banking platform.
- Proven experience leading complex technology projects, enterprise implementations, system upgrades, release management activities, integration initiatives, automation efforts, and production support escalations.
- Demonstrated experience managing enterprise job scheduling and workload automation platforms, preferably OpCon.
- Experience working directly with vendors, service providers, auditors, cross-functional business teams, and technology leadership.
- Prior experience mentoring technical staff, leading workstreams, establishing standards, and influencing technology decisions without direct supervisory authority.
Technical Knowledge & Skills- Advanced knowledge of Symitar/Episys Core Banking System administration, operations, configuration, release support, integration points, and production processing.
- Advanced knowledge of OpCon automation, job scheduling strategy, workflow orchestration, event-driven processing, dependency management, exception handling, and monitoring.
- Strong knowledge of SymXchange, Axway SecureTransport, IPSWITCH/MOVEit, Secure FTP transmissions, online banking/digital banking integrations, system integration concepts, APIs, database/query concepts, enterprise monitoring, and operational reporting.
- Working knowledge of IBM AIX, VIOS, HMC, backup/recovery technologies, server administration, disaster recovery, business continuity, information security controls, and financial institution technology environments.
- Strong understanding of change management, release management, incident management, root cause analysis, risk management, regulatory compliance, audit support, and operational governance.
Leadership & Project Management- Demonstrated ability to lead large-scale technology initiatives from planning through implementation and post-implementation stabilization.
- Ability to manage competing priorities, assess risk, influence decisions, communicate with executives and business leaders, and drive outcomes in a high-volume operational environment.
- Strong vendor management, stakeholder relationship, facilitation, documentation, communication, mentoring, and coaching skills.
- Ability to establish standards, lead governance activities, strengthen operational controls, and improve team capability through knowledge transfer and structured documentation.
Why Youll Love Working Here:The pay range for this position is between $106,300-165,000 annually. Actual base pay offered may vary depending on a number of factors such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and location. Employees in this position may also be eligible for a discretionary bonus, 401(k) with an 6% employer match per pay period. Benefits for this position include Medical, vision, dental, life, and disability insurance, flexible paid time off and 11 paid holid
