Automation Manager, Software Engineering

Unclassified - Chicago, IL

Full-time

Chicago, IL

10,001+ employees

About the position

Northern Trust is seeking a proactive and experienced Software Risk and Control officer to oversee our software development lifecycle, ensuring robust risk management practices, effective incident, problem, and change management, insightful incident data analysis, vulnerability management, disaster recovery (DR) planning, software capacity management, risk assessment, resilience planning, and continuous productivity improvements. As a pivotal member of our technology team, you will collaborate closely with software engineers, project managers, and stakeholders to maintain high standards of quality and reliability in our software products. In this role, you will develop and implement risk management strategies to identify, assess, and mitigate potential risks throughout the software development lifecycle. You will conduct regular risk assessments and audits to ensure compliance with internal policies, industry standards, and regulatory requirements. Establishing and maintaining effective controls and procedures to mitigate identified risks will be a key responsibility. You will lead the incident management process, ensuring timely resolution of software-related incidents and minimizing impact on operations. This includes coordinating incident response activities, performing root cause analysis, and conducting post-incident reviews. Additionally, you will manage the problem management process to identify underlying causes of recurring incidents and implement permanent resolutions, collaborating with cross-functional teams to prioritize and address critical problems impacting software performance and reliability. Your responsibilities will also include developing and overseeing change management processes to ensure controlled and efficient deployment of software changes and updates, managing vulnerability assessments and remediation efforts, and developing disaster recovery plans and procedures to ensure rapid recovery of software systems in the event of disruptions or disasters. You will monitor and analyze software capacity to ensure systems meet current and future performance demands, assess overall risk exposure related to software systems, and develop resilience strategies to ensure continuity of operations. Utilizing incident data to generate actionable insights and reports for stakeholders will be crucial, as will implementing metrics and KPIs to measure incident management effectiveness and track improvements over time. You will analyze software development processes and workflows to identify inefficiencies and opportunities for productivity gains, implementing initiatives such as automation and tooling enhancements to improve productivity and efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement risk management strategies to identify, assess, and mitigate potential risks throughout the software development lifecycle.
• Conduct regular risk assessments and audits to ensure compliance with internal policies, industry standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Establish and maintain effective controls and procedures to mitigate identified risks.
• Lead the incident management process, ensuring timely resolution of software-related incidents and minimizing impact on operations.
• Coordinate incident response activities, including root cause analysis and post-incident reviews.
• Perform incident data analysis to identify trends, patterns, and commonalities, facilitating proactive measures to prevent future incidents.
• Manage the problem management process to identify underlying causes of recurring incidents and implement permanent resolutions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to prioritize and address critical problems impacting software performance and reliability.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance system stability and minimize disruptions.
• Develop and oversee change management processes to ensure controlled and efficient deployment of software changes and updates.
• Implement change control mechanisms to assess the impact of changes on software functionality, security, and performance.
• Manage vulnerability assessments and remediation efforts to protect software systems from security threats and vulnerabilities.
• Coordinate with security teams to prioritize and address identified vulnerabilities in a timely manner.
• Develop and maintain disaster recovery plans and procedures to ensure rapid recovery of software systems in the event of disruptions or disasters.
• Conduct regular DR tests and exercises to validate the effectiveness of recovery strategies and refine plans as needed.
• Monitor and analyze software capacity to ensure systems meet current and future performance demands.
• Plan and implement capacity upgrades and optimizations based on performance metrics and forecasts.
• Assess overall risk exposure related to software systems and develop resilience strategies to ensure continuity of operations.
• Implement resilience measures to mitigate risks and maintain business continuity in the face of disruptions or crises.
• Utilize incident data to generate actionable insights and reports for stakeholders, highlighting areas for improvement in software design, development processes, and infrastructure.
• Implement metrics and KPIs to measure incident management effectiveness and track improvements over time.
• Analyze software development processes and workflows to identify inefficiencies and opportunities for productivity gains.
• Implement productivity improvement initiatives, such as automation, tooling enhancements, and streamlined workflows.
• Measure and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) related to productivity and efficiency improvements.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field. Advanced degree preferred.
• Proven experience in software risk management, incident management, problem management, change management, vulnerability management, DR planning, software capacity management, risk assessment, resilience planning, and incident data analysis within a technology-driven environment.
• Strong understanding of software development methodologies, quality assurance practices, and regulatory requirements (e.g., GDPR, ISO standards).
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with a meticulous attention to detail.
• Effective communication skills with the ability to influence and collaborate across teams.
• Relevant certifications (e.g., ITIL, PMP, CISSP) are a plus.

Benefits

• Flexible and collaborative work culture
• Opportunities for movement within the organization
• Access to senior leaders
• Commitment to assisting the communities we serve