Settlement SME _Test Lead in NYC, NY

Role: Settlement SME _Test Lead

Location: New York (US)

Duration: 12+ months

Responsibilities

• Serve as the settlements subject matter expert across the legacy of SAFE and modern GSP environments, covering transaction processing, system dependencies, and production / non-production behavior.
• Lead front-to-back (F2B) and UAT testing, enabling end-to-end validation, issue triage, and coordinated testing execution for Legacy Modernization initiatives across Settlements and dependent platforms.
• Coordinate go-live validation and post-release monitoring activities for settlement platform changes.
• Act as the primary onshore liaison with the client’s Engineering, Release, and Operations stakeholders, coordinating during critical release of windows and incident scenarios.
• Support rapid analysis, triage, and resolution of issues impacting settlement flows, acting as a key point of reference during incidents to minimize disruption.
• Define testing scope, readiness criteria, and acceptance criteria; support deliverable sign-off in line with project documentation.
• Establish testing readiness processes for new market flows and coordinate execution across new and existing flows.
• Translate settlement domain knowledge into requirements and test scenarios for the offshore automation team, ensuring coverage of business-critical flows.
• Provide direction and prioritization to the offshore engineers, ensuring follow-the-sun continuity across time zones.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor''s degree in finance, Computer Science, Engineering, or related discipline.
• Extensive experience in securities settlements / post-trade operations or settlements technology, at a Manager / Senior Manager level within capital markets or investment banking.
• Strong functional knowledge of settlement workflows, the transaction lifecycle, and system dependencies across front-to-back processing.
• Demonstrated experience leading F2B and UAT testing for complex, multi-system environments.
• Proven track record coordinating release readiness and supporting production incidents.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills across Business, Technology, and Operations teams.
• Ability to work onshore in close coordination with client stakeholders and to direct an offshore delivery team.

Preferred Qualifications / Skills

• Experience with legacy modernization or platform migration in settlements or post-trade.
• Experience working with global settlement operations across multiple markets (US, EMEA, APAC)
• Familiarity with settlement platforms, including legacy mainframe / SAFE-type systems and modern microservices-based platforms.
• Working knowledge of test automation and quality gating concepts (enough to partner effectively with SDET teams).
• Familiarity with test and defect management tools (e.g., JIRA, qTest, Zephyr).
• Understanding of securities products, clearing, and settlement across multiple markets