Mainframe Infrastructure Test Lead

About Northern Trust:

Northern Trust, a Fortune 500 company, is a globally recognized, award-winning financial institution that has been in continuous operation since 1889.

Northern Trust is proud to provide innovative financial services and guidance to the world's most successful individuals, families, and institutions by remaining true to our enduring principles of service, expertise, and integrity. With more than 130 years of financial experience and over 22,000 partners, we serve the world's most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service.

Job Title: Mainframe Infrastructure Test Lead

Job Overview:

This position carries distinct responsibilities for overseeing quality management related to mainframe infrastructure projects and modifications, including Production Temporary Fixes, upgrades, integrations, and emergency fixes.

Key Responsibilities

• Accountable for infrastructure test delivery concerning mainframe changes and projects by leveraging test automation and collaborating effectively with application testers and IT leadership.
• Cultivates and sustains productive working relationships, encompassing planning, execution, monitoring, testing, and project closure to ensure high-quality delivery in infrastructure management and operations initiatives.
• Evaluates mainframe change schedules in partnership with engineering teams to devise robust test strategies and plan comprehensive coverage and scenarios.
• Leads and manages quality assurance of mainframe changes to mitigate business impact, efficiently resolving incidents, defects, and issues.
• Responsible for advancing quality efficiencies through automated solutions for mainframe changes, optimizing the testing lifecycle and change process using ITIL methodologies and tools such as ServiceNow.
• Demonstrates flexibility in work hours, including weekends and evenings, to support company infrastructure change schedules.
• Develops and implements robust automation test strategies to enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and coverage of mainframe infrastructure testing. This includes identifying opportunities for automation across the test lifecycle.
• Designs, coordinates, and executes comprehensive disaster recovery test strategies tailored for mainframe environments.

Required Skills:

• Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology or a related field, or equivalent experience required.
• At least 10 years of experience in infrastructure change testing and quality leadership.
• Technical proficiency in z/OS operating system and storage constructs (file systems, datasets), TSO, ISPF, z/OS UNIX interfaces
• Understanding of batch jobs using JCL and SDSF

• Networking concepts: TCP/IP, SNA/SNA-IP; security principles on z/OS

• Strong experience in testing mainframe products such as JCL, JES2/JES3, Syncsort, various IBM utilities, CICS, DB2, IMS databases, Mainframe MQ (Messaging), AS400 / iSeries Infrastructure

• Proficient use of Microsoft tools including Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint
• Understanding of patching, upgrades, and deployment via DEVOPS pipelines (Dev/Test/UAT/Prod)
• Application of ITIL service management and tools such as ServiceNow (incident, problem, change, release management)
• Extensive knowledge of testing methodologies (manual, automated, performance, security) and tools (e.g., SNOW/ADO)
• Strong capabilities in designing test plans for mainframe infrastructure changes to safeguard business operations

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with routine maintenance (IPL, DR exercises, consoles, online regions, batch processing, data mirroring)
• Automation skills: Python programming, Unix Shell scripting, Selenium, Java
• Operation of monitoring and optimization tools (BMC Mainview, XRC, DYNATRACE, Watchdog, etc.)

Functional Responsibilities:

Test Management and Strategy:

• Formulate comprehensive test strategies, plans, and schedules aligned with project objectives and timelines.

• Manage the entire test lifecycle, from requirements analysis to defect resolution.

• Define infrastructure testing approaches for change requests.

• Possess a thorough understanding of IT systems, infrastructure, and application architecture to identify dependencies within the testing landscape.
• Comprehend technical aspects of diverse applications and their integration within the ITSM environment.
• Exhibit experience across the test lifecycle to deliver superior infrastructure changes with minimal impact (planning, scenario development, execution, issue management, metric reporting).
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies (Scrum/Kanban) and project management platforms such as ADO (Azure DEVOPS).
• Establish and uphold testing standards, enabling application teams to validate infrastructure changes through automated assets.

Coordination and Communication:

• Serve as the central contact for all testing activities, facilitating clear communication and collaboration among development teams, testers, stakeholders, and end-users.
• Lead meetings, resolve concerns, and manage stakeholder expectations.
• Demonstrate strong teamwork skills to achieve multidisciplinary team goals.
• Organize disaster recovery exercises in coordination with BCP and support teams.
• Collaborate with application and change management teams to resolve issues during infrastructure updates and provide ongoing support.

Project Management and Leadership:

• Plan, delegate, and monitor testing tasks to ensure compliance with deadlines and budgets.
• Inspire and guide testing teams, address challenges, and lead risk identification and mitigation efforts.
• Mentor others and nurture beneficial relationships with stakeholders.
• Exhibit advanced analytical and logical reasoning abilities.
• Drive timely escalations using established models to achieve prompt issue resolution.

ITIL Knowledge and Process:

• Understand ITIL processes and governance to ensure testing aligns with broader service management frameworks.
• Maintain knowledge of incident, problem, change, and release management as they pertain to testing.
• Use ITIL tools like ServiceNow to inform decisions and report progress.

Problem-solving and Adaptability:

• Identify and address issues during testing promptly and effectively.
• Remain adaptable to evolving requirements, timelines, and technological advancements.
• Prioritize tasks efficiently, even under pressure.
• Manage major incidents with clear communication to businesses and stakeholders.
• Exhibit proactivity, resilience, quick decision-making, and flexibility regarding weekend work.
• Conduct root cause analyses to drive continuous improvement and production stability in infrastructure test delivery programs.

Working with Us:

As a Northern Trust partner, greater achievements await. You will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture in an organization where financial strength and stability is an asset that emboldens us to explore new ideas.

Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company committed to assisting the communities we serve Join a workplace with a greater purpose.

We'd love to learn more about how your interests and experience could be a fit with one of the world's most admired and sustainable companies Build your career with us and apply today. #MadeForGreater

Reasonable accommodation

Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at

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We hope you're excited about the role and the opportunity to work with us. We value an inclusive workplace and understand flexibility means different things to different people.

Apply today and talk to us about your flexible working requirements and together we can achieve greater.

About Our Pune Office

The Northern Trust Pune office, established in 2016, is now home to over 3,000 employees. The office handles various functions, including Operations for Asset Servicing and Wealth Management, as well as delivering critical technology solutions that support business operations across the globe.

Our Pune team takes our commitment to service to heart. In 2024, they volunteered more than 10,000+ hours into the communities where they live and work.

Learn more.