Principal, SW Quality Eng

We are seeking a Principal, Software Quality Engineering professional to provide technical and quality leadership for Capital Markets Securities Finance. The role requires strong Securities Finance domain knowledge combined with end-to-end testing strategy, automation engineering, data/API validation, performance testing and quality governance. The individual will partner with Product Owners, Business Analysts, Architects, Developers and global technology teams to drive scalable, risk-based quality engineering across complex Securities Finance platforms and integrated workflows. Key Differentiators • Deep Securities Finance expertise: strong understanding of the securities lending and financing lifecycle, including trade capture, inventory/availability, collateral, pricing, settlement, recalls/returns, corporate actions and downstream processing. • Principal-level quality leadership: ability to define end-to-end test strategy, quality standards, governance, risk-based coverage and release-readiness criteria across complex programs. • Engineering-led automation: technical ownership of reusable automation frameworks, regression suites, data validation and CI/CD-integrated quality checks. • Complex integration testing: ability to validate front-to-back workflows spanning applications, APIs, messaging, data pipelines and downstream platforms. 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 meaningful quality metrics and provide clear 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. Required Skills • Securities Finance domain knowledge: strong functional understanding of securities lending/borrowing or financing workflows and associated lifecycle events. • Quality engineering strategy: demonstrated experience designing and governing end-to-end test strategies for large, integrated financial systems. • Test automation: expertise building and extending scalable automation frameworks using modern programming/scripting languages such as Java, Python, JavaScript and SQL. • Automation frameworks and practices: experience with BDD/TDD approaches and tools such as Cucumber and Selenium or comparable modern automation technologies. • CI/CD: experience integrating automated quality checks with Jenkins, Azure DevOps or comparable delivery pipelines. • Data testing: strong SQL skills and experience validating relational/analytical databases, data warehouses, ETL/ELT processing and complex data flows. • API and microservices testing: strong experience validating service interfaces, integration flows and data-layer behavior. • Performance testing: experience planning and executing performance, scalability and resiliency testing at application or program level. • Analytical leadership: ability to understand complex business logic, diagnose systemic defects and recommend strategic quality improvements. • Communication and influence: proven ability to communicate quality risk, technical decisions and delivery status to technical and non-technical stakeholders. • Financial services experience: substantial experience delivering quality engineering for capital markets or other complex financial platforms. Preferred Qualifications • 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 is a plus. Experience • 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. Success Profile • Self-motivated, proactive and comfortable operating in a fast-paced environment with multiple platforms, architectures and delivery teams. • Able to move between detailed technical analysis and broader program-level quality risk assessment. • Balances hands-on engineering depth with strategic leadership, stakeholder influence and delivery accountability. Salary Range: $114,700 - 194,900 USD Salary range is a good faith estimate of base pay. Northern Trust provides a 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. Northern Trust also provides a discretionary bonus program that may include an equity component.