Product Associate, Operations & Testing

KeyBank; United States; Hybrid; USD 69,000 - 105,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

In-office with flexible options

Job summary

KeyBank is seeking a Production Associate to oversee governance, testing, validation, and implementation of payment network releases across merchant services platforms and client-facing applications. You will coordinate with Product, Pricing, Operations, Networks, and processors to ensure production changes meet governance, risk, and compliance requirements.

The ideal candidate combines payments knowledge with release management, pricing validation, and regulatory compliance, backed by strong

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required in Business, Information Systems, Technology, Finance, or related field.
• Minimum 2 years in merchant acquiring or merchant services.
• Minimum 2+ years in payments, banking operations, production support, release management, or operational risk.
• Experience with payment card network rules and releases (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AmEx).
• Experience coordinating testing, UAT, and production deployments.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate release planning across Product, Technology, Operations, Risk, and partners.
• Develop testing schedules, deployment plans, and readiness reviews.
• Ensure timely implementation of network functionality, fee updates, and operating rule changes.
• Review vendor release documentation and track dependencies and risks.

Skills

Merchant pricing models

Interchange and assessments

Payment processing workflows

Change management methodologies

Operational risk controls

Analytical problem solving

PCI DSS knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Information Systems, Technology, Finance, or related field

Tools

Visa/Mastercard release rules

FISERV

FIS

Global Payments

Elavon

TSYS

Worldpay

Job description

Location

For Those Who Work At Home, Ohio

• General Location: Open on location within the United States
• Hybrid Requirement (if within specific cities): If the selected candidate resides in Cleveland, OH, Buffalo, NY, or Albany, NY, or near a KeyBank office (non-branch location), they are expected to work on-site 3 days per week at the nearest location.
• Remote work offered if outside of Key Bank footprint.

Job Summary

The Production Associate is responsible for the operational governance, testing, validation, and implementation of payment network releases, pricing changes, and production control processes across merchant services platforms and client-facing applications. This role serves as the primary coordination point between Product, Pricing, Operations, Networks and third-party processors to ensure production changes are implemented accurately, tested thoroughly, and aligned with governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) requirements. The ideal candidate combines strong payments industry knowledge with expertise in release management, operational risk controls, change management, pricing validation, and regulatory compliance.

Essential Functions

Network Release Oversight

• Coordinate release planning across Product, Technology, Operations, Risk, and external processing partners.
• Develop and maintain testing schedules, deployment plans, and production readiness reviews.
• Ensure timely implementation of new network functionality, compliance requirements, fee changes, and operating rule updates.
• Review vendor release documentation and implementation requirements.
• Track external dependencies and ensure partner readiness for production deployments.
• Track release deliverables, dependencies, risks, and issue remediation through deployment completion.

Pricing Change Testing & Validation

• Govern implementation of pricing, interchange, assessments, network fees, and processor fee changes.
• Develop testing and validation strategies for pricing changes across merchant-facing applications, billing systems, and operational workflows.
• Coordinate user acceptance testing (UAT), regression testing, and production validation activities.
• Investigate and resolve pricing discrepancies prior to production deployment.
• Partner with Pricing and Product teams to ensure pricing changes align with approved business requirements.

Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC)

• Maintain governance frameworks supporting production change management and operational controls.
• Ensure adherence to internal risk management policies, regulatory requirements, PCI standards, and network mandates.
• Maintain audit-ready documentation for change approvals, testing evidence, and implementation records.
• Monitor control effectiveness and identify opportunities for process improvements.
• Support internal audits, regulatory examinations, and risk reviews.

Production Operations & Change Management

• Lead production readiness and implementation reviews for high-impact changes.
• Establish deployment, rollback, and contingency procedures.
• Partner with Pricing teams on post-implementation performance and issue resolution activities.
• Develop operational metrics and reporting related to release quality, testing effectiveness, defects, and compliance.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Information Systems, Technology, Finance, or related field.

Work Experience

• Minimum 2 years merchant acquiring or merchant services
• Minimum 2+ years of experience in payments, banking operations, production support, release management, or operational risk.
• Experience with payment card network rules and releases (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express).
• Experience coordinating testing, UAT, and production deployments.
• Excellent project management and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience working with processors such as Fiserv, FIS, Global Payments, Elavon, TSYS, or Worldpay. (preferred)
• Experience supporting audits, risk assessments, and control testing. (preferred)

Skills

• Strong understanding of:
  • Merchant pricing models
  • Interchange and assessments
  • Payment processing workflows
  • Change management methodologies
  • Operational risk controls
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Knowledge of PCI DSS and card network operating regulations (preferred)

Core Competencies

• All KeyBank employees are expected to demonstrate Key’s Values and abide by Key’s Code of Conduct.

Physical Demands

• General Office - Prolonged sitting, ability to communicate face to face in person or on the phone with teammates and clients, frequent use of PC/laptop, occasional lifting/pushing/pulling of backpacks, computer bags up to 10 lbs.

Travel

• Occasional travel to include overnight stay.

Compensation And Benefits

This position is eligible to earn a base salary in the range of $69,000.00 - $105,000.00 annually. Placement within the pay range may differ based upon various factors, including but not limited to skills, experience and geographic location. Compensation for this role also includes eligibility for incentive compensation which may include production, commission, and/or discretionary incentives.

Key has implemented an approach to employee workspaces which prioritizes in-office presence, while providing flexible options in circumstances where roles can be performed effectively in a mobile environment.

KeyCorp is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to sustaining an inclusive culture. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, genetic information, pregnancy, disability, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

Qualified individuals with disabilities or disabled veterans who are unable or limited in their ability to apply on this site may request reasonable accommodations by emailing [e-mail].