SQL-Driven Technical Business Analyst — Data & Validation

Simon & Schuster; New York; Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Simon & Schuster is modernizing its order management and financial systems using .NET and SQL with AI-assisted insights. The Technical Business Analyst translates business needs into actionable specifications and acceptance criteria for developers, focusing on data validation and reconciliation.

You will own test data, run parallel-run comparisons, validate outputs, and coordinate UAT and cutover evidence with business stakeholders.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant technical business analysis, systems analysis, or data-focused QA experience.
• Strong SQL skills — independently write queries using joins, aggregation, and set comparisons; recognize data-grain, duplicate-record, missing-data, and timing issues that can distort reconciliation.
• Requirements and process analysis — translate stakeholder needs into process maps, functional and technical specifications, data definitions, and actionable acceptance criteria.
• Data-centric validation experience — investigate reports, batch processing, ETL/data pipelines, or migrations by comparing datasets and explaining discrepancies.
• Experience preparing test datasets, running established automated checks, coordinating UAT, and tracking issues through resolution.
• Clear communication with business users and engineers, supported by concise specifications, reproducible issue reports, and evidence-based conclusions.
• Experience using AI tools for analysis or testing, with the judgment to validate their output independently.

Responsibilities

• Define requirements and processes — Work with business stakeholders to document current and future workflows, business rules, reporting needs, change impacts, and testable acceptance criteria.
• Trace data and system behavior — Investigate batch processes, interfaces, SQL logic, and reports with developers and legacy specialists; document data mappings, dependencies, and exceptions.
• Reconcile replacement outputs — Run established parallel-run comparisons, investigate record-level differences, and distinguish defects from timing artifacts or intended changes.
• Prepare test data and repeatable checks — Maintain representative datasets, expected results, and comparison queries; work with developers to extend validation coverage and retain regression checks for resolved defects.
• Validate reports and interfaces — Check calculations, totals, completeness, and exchanged data against agreed requirements; provide reproducible findings and follow issues through retesting.
• Coordinate UAT and cutover evidence — Organize business testing, maintain requirements-to-test traceability, and summarize results and unresolved issues so business owners can make informed acceptance decisions.
• Use AI tooling critically — Apply AI-assisted analysis, SQL generation, and documentation while checking generated output against actual system behavior and approved business rules.

Skills

SQL queries

Requirements analysis

Data validation

Communication

AI tooling

ETL validation

C# / .NET

Tools

Microsoft SQL Server

Stored procedures

C# / .NET

Job description

Simon & Schuster is modernizing its order management and financial systems using .NET and SQL with AI-assisted insights. The Technical Business Analyst translates business needs into actionable specifications and acceptance criteria for developers, focusing on data validation and reconciliation.

You will own test data, run parallel-run comparisons, validate outputs, and coordinate UAT and cutover evidence with business stakeholders.