Senior SDET - Architect

001 The Northern Trust Company; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 96,000 - 162,000; Full time

Job summary

The Northern Trust Company is seeking a Senior SDET - Architect to lead enterprise-scale Azure IaC quality assurance, defining test strategies, automation frameworks, and security testing across cloud deployments.

You will partner with cloud, security, and operations teams to embed automated validation into CI/CD pipelines, drive drift detection, and maintain audit-ready documentation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• 14+ years of experience in cloud infrastructure engineering and automated testing, with 3+ years focused on Azure public cloud.
• Expertise in infrastructure automation using Terraform, ARM templates, and Bicep within Azure environments.
• Strong proficiency in Python or similar scripting languages for test automation design and data-driven tests.
• Experience architecting reusable test automation frameworks, quality gates, and reporting for cloud validation.
• Knowledge of security testing for cloud infrastructure, policy compliance, and RBAC validation.

Responsibilities

• Architect and evolve automated test strategies for Azure IaC, using Terraform, ARM/Bicep, and policy compliance.
• Define Python-based test utilities and orchestration scripts for test execution and infrastructure validation.
• Design automation reporting patterns, dashboards, and evidence models for IaC test coverage and drift.
• Integrate IaC quality gates into CI/CD systems (GitHub Actions, etc.) ensuring deployments pass tests and drift scans.
• Establish automated security testing practices for infrastructure deployments, including policy-as-code validation and vulnerability checks.
• Collaborate with architects, security, and operations teams to align test practices with governance and cloud tech.
• Maintain documentation on test coverage, drift findings, and corrective actions for auditability.

Skills

Azure

Terraform

Bicep

Python

CI/CD

Security testing

RBAC

Monitoring

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in CS/Engineering

Tools

Terraform

ARM templates

Bicep

Job description

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.

Job Description: Senior SDET - Architect

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Test Automation Architect to lead enterprise-scale Azure Infrastructure as Code (IaC) quality assurance initiatives. This role focuses on test strategy, automation framework design, security testing, compliance validation, and continuous quality practices for cloud infrastructure. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in test automation architecture, Azure IaC validation, DevOps quality gates, and security-focused testing. 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).

Role Overview

As a Test Automation Architect, you will be responsible for defining and implementing scalable quality engineering frameworks for Azure-based IaC solutions, embedding automated validation into CI/CD pipelines, and ensuring infrastructure reliability, security, compliance, and operational readiness across environments. You will lead test architecture decisions, establish reusable automation patterns, and partner with cloud, security, platform, and operations teams to strengthen the overall quality posture.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect and evolve comprehensive automated test strategies for Azure IaC, focusing on Terraform, ARM/Bicep, and policy compliance.
• Define and guide Python-based test automation utilities and orchestration scripts for test execution, resource validation, configuration checks, and infrastructure reporting.
• Design automation reporting patterns, quality dashboards, and test evidence models that provide visibility into IaC test coverage, drift management, policy adherence, and security posture.
• Integrate IaC quality gates into CI/CD systems such as GitHub Actions, ensuring all code deployments pass automated test suites and drift detection scans before promotion.
• Establish automated security testing practices for infrastructure deployments, including policy-as-code validation, vulnerability checks, secrets exposure detection, RBAC validation, network security controls, and compliance guardrails.
• Establish and refine frameworks for drift detection, root cause analysis, and remediation, leveraging both native Azure services and custom-developed solutions.
• Collaborate with architects, security specialists, and application developers to align infrastructure test practices with organizational goals, compliance requirements, and evolving cloud technologies.
• Promote best practices through code reviews, technical workshops, and documentation.
• Design, implement, and maintain comprehensive automated testing suites for Azure IaC using python.
• Develop, execute, and refine test cases to validate infrastructure modules, deployments, and policies in Azure environments.
• Partner with engineering teams to define requirements for supporting automation tools, dashboards, and reporting capabilities; hands‑on application development ownership is not required.
• Monitor, report, and remediate infrastructure drift, using tools and frameworks for continuous compliance and configuration management.
• Maintain detailed documentation on test coverage, drift findings, and corrective actions taken to ensure auditability and traceability.
• Conduct root cause analysis for infrastructure failures and propose solutions to improve test coverage and resilience.
• Stay up-to-date with Azure platform enhancements, test automation tools, cloud security testing practices, and industry trends in IaC quality and governance.

Required Skills & Qualifications

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).

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• 14+ years of experience in cloud infrastructure engineering and automated testing, with a minimum of 3 years focused on Azure public cloud.
• Expertise in infrastructure automation using Terraform, ARM templates, and Bicep within Azure environments.
• Strong proficiency in Python or similar scripting languages for test automation design, orchestration, validation logic, and data-driven test execution.
• Demonstrated ability to architect reusable test automation frameworks, quality gates, test data strategies, reporting models, and evidence capture approaches for cloud infrastructure validation.
• Required knowledge of security testing practices for cloud infrastructure, including policy compliance testing, identity and access validation, vulnerability scanning concepts, secrets management validation, network security verification, and secure configuration assessment.
• Hands‑on experience with configuration management, monitoring, and compliance tools native to Azure, as well as industry‑standard frameworks (e.g., Terratest, Pester).
• Track record of integrating infrastructure quality assurance into modern CI/CD pipelines.
• Excellent analytical, problem‑solving, and communication skills, with an emphasis on technical documentation and cross‑functional collaboration.
• Relevant Azure and DevOps certifications (AZ-104, AZ-305, DevOps Engineer Expert) are strongly preferred.
• Ability to collaborate with development teams on automation enablement and testability requirements; direct ownership of application development is not required.
• Extensive hands‑on experience with Azure‑native monitoring tools such as Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, and Application Insights enabling proactive detection and resolution of infrastructure issues.
• Proficiency in integrating monitoring frameworks with automated test suites and reporting dashboards ensuring visibility into resource health, compliance drift, and system performance.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with multi-cloud environments (AWS, GCP) and hybrid IaC strategies.
• Familiarity with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes/AKS) and microservices architectures.
• Background in building secure, compliant platforms within regulated industries.
• Experience with workflow automation, event‑driven validation, and test reporting solutions that support infrastructure quality and security assurance.
• Familiarity with security testing tools and practices such as SAST, DAST, dependency scanning, container image scanning, IaC scanning, and policy‑as‑code frameworks.
• Familiarity with CI/CD tools such as Jenkins, GitLab CI, or GitHub Actions.
• Understanding of secure engineering practices, including OWASP concepts, authentication and authorization controls, secrets management, least privilege, RBAC, and secure configuration baselines.
• Background in performance optimization, caching strategies, and application monitoring.
• Exposure to automated infrastructure, API, integration, regression, security, and compliance testing tools and frameworks.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and debugging skills.

Salary Range

Salary Range: $95,600 - 162,400 USD. Salary range is a good faith estimate of base pay.

Benefits

• 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 [e-mail], or alternatively you can discuss your individual requirements with the recruiter you are working with.

Looking for greater?

You found it. A global financial leader with more than 22,000 employees in 23 locations worldwide, Northern Trust empowers our employees to achieve more than just business goals. Our focus on work-life balance, career mobility and unique opportunities are just a few of the reasons we’ve been named one of the world’s most admired companies.

APAC/INDIA EEO STATEMENT

It is the policy and practice of Northern Trust to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants. Northern Trust does not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion or belief, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disability or age. All employment decisions will be made in a non-discriminatory manner in accordance with our obligations under the law and codes of practice. This includes human resources’ decisions relating to recruitment, terms and conditions of employment, transfers, promotions and access to learning and development.

Canada EEO STATEMENT

Northern Trust is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Hiring and other employment decisions at Northern Trust are made without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, ancestry, national origin, ethnic origin, age, disability, citizenship, veteran status, sexual orientation, record of offences, marital status, family status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, provincial, or local law, regulation, or ordinance.

EMEA EEO STATEMENT

It is the policy and practice of Northern Trust to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants. Northern Trust does not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion or belief, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disability or age. All employment decisions will be made in a non-discriminatory manner in accordance with our obligations under the law and codes of practice. This includes human resources’ decisions relating to recruitment, terms and conditions of employment, transfers, promotions and access to learning and development.

USA EEO STATEMENT

It is the policy of The Northern Trust Company to afford equal opportunity in all phases of employment without regard to an individual's age, race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, citizenship status, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic tests and information, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status or any other legally protected status.