Alpha Implementation Functional Test Lead, Officer

State Street; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

State Street seeks a delivery-focused testing professional to lead end-to-end functional testing for Alpha implementations. You will partner with the Implementation Test Manager to plan, execute, and govern tests across Front Office, Middle Office, Back Office, or Data functions.

The role requires hands-on ownership of test strategy, detailed planning, defect management, and clear status reporting, influencing risk and milestone alignment across teams in a global program.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Technology, Finance, Management, or related disciplines.
• 10–15 years overall experience in functional testing for financial services or technology transformation programs.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the Implementation Test Manager to manage all aspects of test execution for an assigned function within a specific Alpha implementation.
• Own function-level test execution delivery, including: Test strategy and approach for the function.
• Detailed test planning and scheduling.
• Day-to-day execution management across test phases.
• Defect management, triage, and resolution tracking.
• Status reporting, risk identification, and issue escalation.
• Coordinate closely with business, technology, and integration teams to ensure functional scope, data readiness, and environments are aligned.

Skills

End-to-end test execution

Test leadership

Stakeholder communication

Agile delivery

Risk management

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in Technology, Finance, Management, or related disciplines

Tools

JIRA

Confluence

Job description

Who we are looking for

We are seeking a strong delivery-focused testing professional to serve as an Implementation Functional Test Lead within the Alpha Global Testing Practice. This role partners closely with the Implementation Test Manager and is accountable for managing end-to-end test execution for a specific function (e.g., Front Office, Middle Office, Back Office, or Data) within an Alpha implementation.The role requires hands‑on ownership of planning, execution, coordination, reporting and defect management to ensure high-quality, predictable delivery outcomes.

Why this role is important to us

Alpha implementations are complex, multi-functional programs spanning business processes, data, and technology across the investment lifecycle. Functional test execution must be tightly coordinated, well‑governed, and aligned with overall program milestones. The Functional Test Lead plays a critical role in ensuring function‑level testing is executed effectively, risks are surfaced early, and dependencies across teams are actively managed.

What you will be responsible for

• Partner with the Implementation Test Manager to manage all aspects of test execution for an assigned function within a specific Alpha implementation.
• Own function‑level test execution delivery, including: Test strategy and approach for the function
• Detailed test planning and scheduling
• Day‑to‑day execution management across test phases
• Defect management, triage, and resolution tracking
• Status reporting, risk identification, and issue escalation
• Provide strong project management discipline for the functional testing workstream, including dependency tracking and milestone alignment.
• Coordinate closely with business, technology, and integration teams to ensure functional scope, data readiness, and environments are aligned.
• Partner with the System Performance team to support planning and execution of performance testing activities relevant to the function.
• Partner with the Automation team to drive adoption and execution of automation, ensuring functional test coverage, reusability, and alignment with overall test strategy.
• Own end‑to‑end defect management for the assigned function, including defect identification, logging, triage, prioritization, tracking, and closure across test phases.
• Lead defect triage forums at the functional level, partnering with business, technology, and integration teams to drive timely resolution.
• Ensure defects are risk‑assessed, severity‑aligned, and impact‑aware, with clear traceability to business processes and test scenarios.
• Proactively identify defect trends, systemic issues, and quality risks, escalating to the Implementation Test Manager with clear mitigation recommendations.
• Maintain strong governance over defect SLAs, aging, leakage, and reopen rates, ensuring transparency and predictability in execution.
• Ensure accurate and disciplined use of defect management tools (e.g., JIRA), including reporting, dashboards, and audit‑ready documentation.
• Ensure adherence to testing standards, governance, and best practices across functional test cycles.
• Manage and guide functional test analysts and testers (FTEs and vendors), providing clear direction and execution oversight.
• Produce clear, concise test status reporting for the Test Manager and broader implementation leadership.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of functional testing approaches, assets, and execution models.
• Play an advisory role in projects facing challenges, providing direction, solution and stabilization support.
• Proactively drive initiatives, identify gaps and implement improvements across projects.

What we value

• Strong execution mindset with the ability to operate independently while aligning closely with broader program leadership.
• Experience leading functional testing within complex, client‑facing transformation or platform implementation programs.
• Ability to balance hands‑on test leadership with structured reporting and stakeholder communication.
• Strong collaboration skills across Testing, Performance, Automation, Technology, and Business teams.
• Commitment to quality, risk management, and delivery predictability.

These skills will help you succeed in this role:

• End‑to‑end test execution and delivery management
• Functional test planning and execution leadership
• Defect management and risk‑based decision making
• Experience leading defect triage and resolution governance
• Project and delivery coordination skills
• Experience with agile or hybrid delivery models (e.g., JIRA, Confluence)
• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills
• Ability to work effectively in a global, multi‑vendor environment
• Knowledge of front, middle, and back‑office workflows and data flows (preferred)

Education & Preferred Qualifications

Bachelor's degree or higher in Technology, Finance, Management, or related disciplines

10‑15 years overall experience, with strong experience in functional testing for financial services or technology transformation progr