IT Business Analyst

Baird; Milwaukee (WI); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Baird is seeking an IT Business Analyst for our Milwaukee office to support the Fixed Income Capital Markets portfolio. The BA will translate evolving business needs into actionable outcomes for delivery teams, developing domain expertise and acting as a trusted business proxy over time.

The role requires in-office collaboration at least 3 days per week and a proven ability to navigate complex, fast-moving environments while driving continuous improvement and strong stakeholder partnership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, MIS, Business Administration, Finance, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of professional experience, including 3+ years in Business Analysis.
• Diverse project experience; financial services this is a plus but not required.

Responsibilities

• Drive business analysis across initiatives including new capabilities, platform enhancements, operational improvements, and data/reporting solutions.
• Plan and execute discovery activities, identify stakeholders, clarify objectives, and articulate success measures.
• Translate business needs into artifacts such as business requirements, process flows, stakeholder maps, and user stories.
• Maintain focus on outcomes and value, ensuring work aligns with priorities and strategy.
• Lead requirements validation and acceptance to ensure solutions meet business intent.

Skills

Business Analysis

Stakeholder Management

Agile

SQL

Power BI

Data Visualization

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent (CS/MIS/BA/Finance)

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

About The Role

As we continue to grow our Baird technology team, we are currently seeking an IT Business Analyst for our Milwaukee office. The BA will support a diverse portfolio of initiatives for our Fixed Income Capital Markets (FICM) business. This role will require a business analyst who brings curiosity, creativity, and the judgment to operate effectively in a complex and fast‑moving environment.

The Business Analyst will function as a key partner between business and technology, translating evolving business needs into clear outcomes and actionable direction for delivery teams. Over time, this individual is expected to develop deep domain expertise and serve as a trusted business proxy, helping teams make informed decisions and maintain momentum even when direct business input is limited. In addition to delivery execution, this role will play an important part in strengthening team culture and continuous improvement in how we work.

The position requires working from our Milwaukee office a minimum of 3 days per week.

The Impact You'll Make

Business Analysis & Delivery Leadership

• Drive business analysis efforts across a wide range of initiatives, including new capabilities, platform enhancements, operational improvements, and data/reporting solutions.
• Plan and execute discovery activities for complex initiatives, identifying stakeholders, clarifying objectives, and helping clearly articulate success measures in environments with evolving or incomplete information.
• Translate business needs into high-quality artifacts such as documented business requirements, process flows, context diagrams, stakeholder maps, and user stories that enable efficient delivery and clear decision‑making.
• Maintain focus on outcomes and value, ensuring day‑to‑day work remains aligned to business priorities and strategic intent.
• Assess initiative complexity and guide teams in selecting and applying appropriate delivery approaches, balancing structure with flexibility to deliver value efficiently.
• Lead requirements validation and acceptance to ensure delivered solutions meet intended business outcomes.

Business Partnership & Domain Expertise

• Demonstrate strong curiosity and ownership in learning the Fixed Income Trading & Public Finance businesses, building a deep understanding of end‑to‑end workflows and client impacts over time.
• Function as a trusted partner and effective business proxy when appropriate, developing informed perspectives and making well‑reasoned decisions to keep delivery moving when direct business input is not immediately available.
• Proactively anticipate business questions, surface implications of decisions, and communicate impacts clearly across stakeholders.

Communication, Influence & Stakeholder Alignment

• Communicate effectively across a wide range of audiences, including senior business leaders, IT leadership, revenue producers, developers, and external partners.
• Tailor messaging to the audience, providing concise, outcome‑focused narratives for executives and detailed context for delivery teams.
• Build trust and credibility quickly through preparation, follow‑through, and sound judgment.
• Facilitate discussions and resolve misalignment across stakeholders, escalating when appropriate and with clear rationale.
• Demonstrate the courage to speak up when business partners or teammates may be deviating from agreed‑upon goals, priorities, or intended outcomes.
• Help facilitate solution discussions with architects, engineers, and product partners to evaluate options, clarify trade‑offs, and ensure business intent is clearly and accurately reflected in technical designs.
• Be familiar with and able to advise business partners on development best practices.

Team Leadership & Culture Building

• Over time, provide strong day‑to‑day leadership within delivery teams, fostering collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Contribute to the evolution of team and portfolio practices by sharing lessons learned, improving analysis approaches, and strengthening agile and delivery practices.
• Model a “hungry, humble, and smart” mindset, bringing energy and ownership to the work, remaining open to feedback, and demonstrating empathy and emotional intelligence in all interactions.
• Serve as a role model and engaged member of the Business Analysis community, helping shape standards, approaches, and development of business analysis capability across IT.

Adaptability & Comfort with Ambiguity

• Operate effectively in environments without a defined playbook, adapting approaches to fit the initiative and context.
• Identify priorities, clarify unknowns, and propose practical next steps even when information is incomplete or requirements are still emerging.

What You'll Bring To Baird

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, MIS, Business Administration, Finance, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of professional experience, including 3+ years in Business Analysis.
• Diverse project experience across multiple initiative types and business domains; financial services experience preferred (Fixed Income experience a plus but not required).
• Experience with SQL, Power BI, or other data visualization tools, a plus.
• Experience with Salesforce, including requirements gathering or configuration support on implementations, a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to quickly learn and deeply understand new business areas, translating complexity into clarity for diverse audiences.
• Proven experience working in agile or iterative delivery environments, with a solid understanding of agile principles and team practices.
• Exceptional communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills.
• High degree of self‑motivation, resilience, and emotional intelligence; comfortable receiving and applying feedback.
• Demonstrated curiosity and experience with AI tools to enhance business analysis, delivery efficiency, or decision‑making workflows. (e.g. M365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, Claude, ChatGPT, Snowflake Cortex, etc.)
• Relevant professional certifications are a plus but not required. We prioritize demonstrated skills, experience, and impact over credentials, and we support continued professional development as part of the role. (e.g. CBAP, IIBA‑AAC, PMI‑PBA, PMI‑ACP, CSM, CSPO, etc.)