Jobs › Northern Trust

Sr Lead Support Engineer

Northern Trust · Chicago, IL · $114,500–$194,700 a year · Full time

Posted Aug 21, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about your current or most recent production support role. What systems did you support, and what was your on-call like?

What they are checking: Whether they truly have hands-on production support experience, which the posting says is required.

Tell me about a recurring issue you eliminated for good. How did you find the root cause?

What they are checking: Whether they go beyond restarting things and actually prevent the same failure from coming back.

Tell me about a time you had to handle an upset business user during an outage.

What they are checking: Whether they stay calm and client-focused, which this service delivery role depends on.

What would you do

This role has CIO visibility. How do you communicate during a major incident when senior executives are asking for updates?

What they are checking: Whether they can keep leadership informed clearly without slowing down the people fixing the problem.

The role requires 7x24 availability. How do you stay effective when you get paged at three in the morning?

What they are checking: Whether they are realistic about round-the-clock support and have habits that keep their judgment sharp.

A developer wants to push a fix straight to production during an outage. What do you do?

What they are checking: Whether they balance speed with change control, which matters in a client-centric financial environment.

About the work

Walk me through how you would triage a production issue where clients cannot see their account data.

What they are checking: Whether they have an ordered method to isolate the failing layer quickly under pressure.

What is the difference between incident management and problem management, and why does it matter?

What they are checking: Whether they know that restoring service and fixing root cause are separate jobs that both need follow-through.

How do you use monitoring and logs to catch problems before clients notice them?

What they are checking: Whether they work proactively with alerting and observability instead of waiting for tickets.

How do you write a runbook that someone else can follow at night without calling you?

What they are checking: Whether they document clearly enough to spread knowledge and reduce single points of failure.

Practice this interview out loud.

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The full job description

As published by Northern Trust.

About Northern Trust As a global leader in innovative wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking services, Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) is proud to guide the world’s most successful individuals, families, corporations and institutions. Since 1889, we have aligned our efforts with our three guiding Principles That Endure: Service, Expertise, and Integrity. Together, they reflect the three cornerstones of business conduct which we strive to instill in our employees, whom we call partners, and to provide to our clients and the communities we serve worldwide. With more than 135 years of financial experience and over 24,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service. REQ 108849 Production Support Engineer **** This is a Production Support role, and the candidate we hire must have prior /current SW Production Support experience. *****This is a highly visible role and will have CIO visibility and oversight.*******7x24 availability in a Service Delivery/Production Delivery Client Centric environment**** Description - WHO WE ARE Northern Trust provides innovative financial services and guidance to corporations, institutions and affluent families and individuals globally. With 130 years of financial experience and nearly 20,000 partners, we serve the world’s most sophisticated clients using leading technology and exceptional service. Today, we are going through a metamorphosis – starting with our Wealth Management business where we are embracing Agile ways of working and exploring new technologies like cloud, analytics, microservices architecture, etc. Last but not least, our advanced Digital design systems enable us to put our valued customers at the heart of our user experience. WHY US As a Northern Trust partner, you will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture, which has a strong history of financial strength and stability. Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company that is committed to strengthening the communities we serve. Our talented, driven and energetic people are truly changing the face of Northern Trust. The speed with which we work, the influence of each partner and the focus to positively change the client experience is our common passion. People are our greatest Wealth, so if you have a genuine desire to work in a fast-paced, Agile, inclusive environment which values teamwork, well-honed problem-solving skills, deadline management, ongoing and comprehensive communication, constant attention to detail, and a commitment to continuous improvement then seek no more! ROLE: This role will support our Wealth Management business, product , operations, partners and clients . As a support lead you will collaborate with Application Development teams to implement business solution through agile practice and manage production issues. The ideal candidates will possess excellent leadership and communication skills coupled with a solid understanding of modern cloud technologies preferably in the financial sector. Critical incident may require weekend and/or after hours support. PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES: Lead production stability effort by preventing production issue and improve production stability. • Familiar with ITIL Process and Project methodologies. Assist and drive Change /Incident/Problem Management process and Project releases • Identify measures to improve applications stability and availability, sustain and improve cost efficiencies and productivity gains. • Provide leadership and guidance to junior staff, fostering an environment that encourages employee participation, teamwork, and communication • Consult with business unit partners to determine the most effective computer utilization to solve business problems or address business needs. • Help direct systems projects, including project planning, management status reporting, systems specifications and implementation • Help ensure compliance with all audit requirements including change control procedures and data security • Manage and coordinate with onsite and offshore NT partners to Support applications and drive continuous improvement efforts. • Coordinate with various teams, including offshore staff, and raise support ticket for all issues, analyze root cause and assist in efficient resolution of production issues. • Responsible to attend on-call, after office hours including weekend to support High and Critical production issues. SKILLS / EXPERIENCE: Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future. Northern Trust will not sponsor applicants for U.S. work visa status for this opportunity (no sponsorship is available for H-1B, L-1, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, F-1, J-1, OPT, CPT or any other employment-based visa) • 5-8 plus years of application development /Support experience using modern technical frameworks and architecture, including experience collaborating with external technology teams. • Must have prior work experience supporting business applications on Java and database technologies. • Good to have past experience under DevOpps or SRE role. • Understanding of the Secure Software Development Lifecycle (SSDLC) and/or other methodologies • Experience working on projects in an Agile/XP environment.. • Experience using at least some of the following technologies: Java, J2EE, Pivotal Cloud Foundry, Cloud Computing (IaaS, PaaS and SaaS), RESTful interfaces, GIT, Gradle, Maven, NPM, Spring (Spring Batch and Spring Boot), Bootstrap, CSS3, HTML4, React.js, Node.js/JavaScript, Oracle PL/SQL • Strong communication and interpersonal skills, along with a solid technical background are essential as is the ability to multitask in a fast paced environment. The ideal candidate can explain technical issues in layman’s terms and translate business needs to technology teams and back. • Strong leadership and team player to work as part of a global support team, cross training and supporting multiple critical client facing applications. • Experience working effectively with diverse groups around the world, including IT management, technology staff, business partners, consultants, vendors and clients Salary Range: $114,500 - 194,700 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. Work Authorization Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future. Northern Trust will not sponsor applicants for U.S. work visa status for this opportunity (no sponsorship is available for H-1B, L-1, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, F-1, J-1, OPT, CPT or any other employment-based visa). Working with Us As a Northern Trust partner, you will be part of a flexible and collaborative work culture, which has a strong history of financial strength and stability. Movement within the organization is encouraged, senior leaders are accessible, and you can take pride in working for a company committed to an inclusive workplace and assisting the communities we serve. Philanthropy is deeply rooted in Northern Trust’s history and is an essential element of our culture. Employees around the world give their time and talent to work for the greater good of their communities. Reasonable Accommodation Northern Trust is committed to working with and providing adjustments to individuals with health conditions and disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please email our HR Service Center at MyHRHelp@ntrs.com , or alternatively you can discuss your individual requirements with the recruiter you are working with.

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