Jobs › Northern Trust

Sr. Lead, SW Support

Northern Trust · Chicago, IL · $95,600–$162,400 a year · Full time

Posted Aug 13, 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 application support you have done for accounting or fund administration systems. What did a typical issue look like?

What they are checking: Whether they understand the business impact of production issues in fund accounting, where deadlines are tight.

Tell me about a complex production problem you solved that others could not. How did you approach it?

What they are checking: Whether they have the persistence and method to solve hard problems across distributed systems.

What would you do

You support production across AMRS, APAC and EMEA. How do you hand off an open issue across regions so nothing is lost?

What they are checking: Whether they can run follow-the-sun support with clear handoffs and ownership.

A nightly ETL job failed and fund prices are due to clients in two hours. What do you do?

What they are checking: Whether they can act fast, communicate with Operations and recover data safely under a hard deadline.

How do you decide whether to fix data directly in production or wait for a code fix?

What they are checking: Whether they understand the controls and risk around data fixes in a regulated accounting environment.

How do you keep Operations stakeholders informed during a long-running issue?

What they are checking: Whether they provide steady, clear updates that help the business plan around the problem.

About the work

How would you investigate a slow-running Oracle query that is delaying a batch process?

What they are checking: Whether they have real SQL and Oracle tuning skills like reading execution plans and checking indexes.

Walk me through how you work within ITSM processes like incident, problem and change management.

What they are checking: Whether they are comfortable with formal IT Service Management, which the posting names directly.

What would you do to improve system availability rather than just respond to incidents?

What they are checking: Whether they think proactively about monitoring, automation and removing recurring causes.

How do you document known issues and fixes so the global team benefits?

What they are checking: Whether they build shared knowledge that makes the whole team faster.

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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. The Senior Lead, Software Support is part of the global Accounting and Fund Administration Production Assurance team and is responsible for supporting the production environment across AMRS, APAC and EMEA. The role provides high quality service to Operations and Business stakeholders, ensuring system availability, service continuity and timely resolution of production issues. This role requires strong experience in application support across distributed and data technologies, including SQL, Oracle and ETL platforms. The individual should be confident operating within IT Service Management processes, able to solve complex problems, and committed to continuous improvement and professional development. Major Duties • Provide senior level production support for critical Accounting and Fund Administration applications, ensuring stability, availability and adherence to service level agreements. • Investigate, analyze and resolve complex production incidents, coordinating with business, technology, infrastructure, vendor and support teams as required. • Act as a subject matter expert for application support, providing technical guidance, consultation and leadership to team members and stakeholders. • Evaluate processes, tools and technologies to improve operational resilience, support efficiency and business outcomes. • Contribute to strategic planning and long-term direction for production support capabilities within the business function. • Advise how to develop, maintain and enhance scripts, utilities or application components where required to support production stability and operational improvement. • Oversee cross functional activities such as defect remediation, scheduling changes and service improvement actions, ensuring completion by the appropriate teams. • Manage priorities, organise team activity, monitor progress and ensure work is completed accurately and within agreed timelines. • Engage with management, committees and senior stakeholders to provide updates, recommendations and subject matter expertise. • Follow ITIL aligned incident, problem and change management processes, including appropriate escalation and documentation. • Participate in out-of-hour support on an occasional basis, including weekends, for high priority and critical production issues. Knowledge/Skills • Strong experience in application production support across mainframe, distributed and data platforms. • Excellent knowledge of enterprise communication, collaboration and automation tools such as Microsoft 365 and Power Platform. • Excellent understanding of IT Service Management, change management, incident management, ticket workflows and escalation practices. • Experience using ServiceNow for incident, problem and change management activities. • Practical knowledge of DataStage, ETL job support, investigation and remediation. • Working knowledge of SQL, preferably Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server, with the ability to troubleshoot common database issues. • Experience with Linux and Windows server environments, including scripting and operational support. • Ability to align technical solutions with business requirements in a practical and outcome focused manner. • Knowledge of scheduling tools such as Control M. • Understanding of engineering delivery pipelines, DevOps practices, continuous integration, continuous delivery and Agile ways of working. • Familiarity with containerized microservice architectures, Docker, Kubernetes and messaging platforms such as Kafka, RabbitMQ or Solace. • Working knowledge of cloud-based technologies and modern application support practices. • Ability to identify automation opportunities and reduce repetitive operational activity. Personal Traits • Strong analytical and problem-solving capability. • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to engage confidently with senior business stakeholders. • Self-motivated, proactive and able to work effectively with minimal supervision. • Well organized, adaptable and able to manage changing priorities in a fast-paced environment. • Collaborative approach with the ability to build effective working relationships across teams and regions. • Commitment to continuous learning and ongoing improvement. • Willingness to work outside standard office hours when required to support critical production issues. Industry • Financial services domain knowledge is desirable, particularly in middle office operations, asset servicing, fund services or transfer agency. • Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience. Salary Range: $95,600 - 162,400 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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