FULL TIME: Director/Fixed Income Back Office QA/Capital Markets / Hybrid/Charlotte, NC

Position Summary:

SMBC is seeking a seasoned Director of Quality Assurance (QA) to lead the testing and validation efforts across its Fixed Income Back Office systems. This role demands deep subject matter expertise in clearing, settlement, regulatory reporting, and risk processes specific to the Fixed Income space. The ideal candidate will be both strategic and hands-on, capable of leading a QA team while working closely with technology, operations, and regulatory stakeholders to ensure robust, compliant, and scalable solutions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the QA strategy for Fixed Income back office applications, including trade capture, clearance, settlement, reconciliation, and regulatory reporting systems.
• Act as the subject matter expert (SME) on Fixed Income lifecycle events, including:
  • USTs, MBS, Agencies, Corporates
  • DTCC, FICC, Euroclear and other clearing venues
  • T+1 / T+2 settlement cycles
• Define and implement test plans, test cases, and automation frameworks that validate both functionality and compliance with regulatory mandates (e.g., TRACE, 15c3-3, CSDR).
• Manage and mentor a team of QA analysts and test engineers; promote best practices in test design, documentation, and execution.
• Collaborate with technology teams on development sprints, ensuring early QA involvement in requirements grooming and design discussions.
• Partner with operations, risk, and compliance to validate end-to-end workflows and mitigate downstream impact of software releases.
• Drive regression testing strategy across interconnected systems; ensure traceability from business requirements to test execution.
• Serve as the primary liaison with business stakeholders on QA delivery timelines, defect triaging, and release readiness.
• Oversee vendor QA deliverables for any third-party systems or integration partners.

Required Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in Capital Markets QA or Technology, with at least 5 years in a leadership or director role.
• Extensive knowledge of Fixed Income operations: trade capture, confirmation, allocation, clearance, and settlement.
• Strong familiarity with post-trade regulatory requirements (e.g., TRACE, CAT, SFTR, CSDR).
• Hands-on experience with QA tools such as JIRA, Quality Center, Selenium, Postman, or similar platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to write and review complex test scenarios, both manual and automated.
• Working knowledge of message formats (SWIFT, FIX, XML), and testing integration with custodians and clearing houses.
• Solid understanding of risk mitigation related to break management, fails, and exception processing.
• Strong communication and presentation skills; able to interface with senior leadership, compliance, and IT teams.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior experience with QA in a U.S. broker-dealer or international fixed income desk.
• Exposure to modern automation tools and CI/CD pipelines.
• Familiarity with settlement platforms like Broadridge, Murex, Calypso, or homegrown proprietary platforms.
• Understanding of trade enrichment, security master, and P&L attribution workflows.

Work Arrangement:

• This role is onsite 3 days per week in the Charlotte, NC office.