UAT Lead

BMO U.S.; Naperville (IL); Hybrid; USD 74,000 - 138,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Tuition reimbursement

Life insurance

Retirement savings plans

Job summary

BMO Financial Group in Naperville is seeking an experienced UAT Lead to manage end-to-end testing for banking applications in a hybrid work environment. You will drive release governance, ensure regulatory compliance, and collaborate with business and tech stakeholders.

The role requires strong UAT strategy development, defect lifecycle management, and stakeholder communication to deliver audit-ready, risk-aligned outcomes.

Qualifications

• Solid SDLC knowledge and experience across Agile, Waterfall, and hybrid delivery.
• Hands-on experience developing UAT strategies, test plans and traceability matrices.
• Experience managing defect life cycles.
• Proficiency with Jira and HP ALM/Quality Center.
• Strong verbal and written communication, analytical and collaborative skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end UAT testing for banking applications authored to meet business and regulatory requirements.
• Develop and oversee the UAT test strategy, create test cases and ensure traceability.
• Coordinate UAT testers and manage priorities across multiple projects.
• Review test plans, track defects, and drive defect resolution meetings.
• Produce regular reports and dashboards on UAT progress and outcomes.
• Advise on risk-based testing and release governance with stakeholders.

Skills

UAT testing

SDLC understanding

Agile/hybrid delivery

Communication skills

Analytical thinking

Education

Post-secondary degree in related field

Tools

Jira

HP ALM/Quality Center

Job description

This is a hybrid role

Leads end to end user acceptance testing for banking applications, ensuring software releases meet business requirements and regulatory standards. Partners with senior business and technology stakeholders to drive release governance and testing excellence, engaging stakeholders to ensure risk aligned, audit ready delivery outcomes

• Acts as a trusted advisor to assigned business/group.
• Influences and negotiates to achieve business objectives.
• Assists in the development of strategic plans.
• Identifies emerging issues and trends to inform decision-making.
• Makes recommendations to the business/group and project team on the strategy, approach, and rigor of UAT required based on the Enterprise UAT Operating Guideline and Process and Industry best practices.
• May review the work of other UAT analysts to ensure quality of work.
• Supports the execution of strategic initiatives in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.
• Helps determine business priorities and best sequence for execution of business/group strategy.
• Conducts independent analysis and assessment to resolve strategic issues.
• Supports the UAT intake process by making decisions regarding the prioritization of work assignments based on project timelines and workload.
• Acts on behalf of the business and Accountable Executive.
• Develops/leads the strategy of UAT across various projects, typically for large & complex projects (Class A & B projects).
• Coordinates the management of databases; ensures alignment and integration of data in adherence with data governance standards.
• Monitors and tracks performance, and addresses any issues.
• Designs and produces regular and ad-hoc reports, and dashboards.
• Coordinates the work of UAT Testers and acts as a senior resource on the team and provides feedback on the tests plans.
• Builds change management plans of varying scope and type; leads or participates in a variety of change management activities including readiness assessments, planning, stakeholder management, execution, evaluation and sustainment of initiatives.
• Leads or participates in defining the communication plan designed to positively influence or change behaviour; develops tailored messaging; and identifies appropriate distribution channels.
• Manages significantly more business users to perform testing based on the complexity of the projects supported (e.g., 25+ business users).
• Directs the planning & implementation of operational programs and executes within required service level agreements and standards.
• Performs user acceptance testing for projects of various complexities, including but not limited to developing & managing the test strategy, creating & reviewing test cases to ensure traceability, executing test cases, escalating issues, logging outcomes, facilitating/participating in defect meetings, reviewing & validating defect resolutions and developing the exit report.
• Develops UAT solutions and makes recommendations based on an understanding of the business strategy and stakeholder needs.
• Provides advice and guidance to assigned business/group on implementation of UAT solutions.
• Develops and maintains in-depth knowledge of end to end business processes and project requirements through close partnership with business/group stakeholders.
• Coordinates the appropriate parties to execute the overall test plan for project; including identifying key participants to execute the plan, providing estimates on the UAT cycle, determining the UAT schedule, prioritizing test execution, monitoring the test progress, and escalating as required.
• Collaborates with internal & external stakeholders to provide business context in the design, develop and implementation of UAT solutions.
• Builds effective relationships with internal/external stakeholders.
• Leads or participates in change management activities of varying scope and type.
• Breaks down strategic problems, and analyses data and information to provide UAT insights and recommendations.
• Monitors and tracks UAT performance results and addresses any issues.
• Focus is primarily on business/group within BMO; may have broader, enterprise-wide focus.
• Provides specialized consulting, analytical and technical support.
• Exercises judgment to identify, diagnose, and solve problems within given rules.
• Works independently and regularly handles non-routine situations.
• Broader work or accountabilities may be assigned as needed.
• Take measured risks while protecting the bank by applying our Risk Management Framework in the execution of your role, in line with our Risk Culture and within our approved Risk Appetite, making sound and risk informed decisions that align to business strategy, protect assets, and adhere to applicable policy documents (Frameworks, Policies, Standards, Procedures and Supporting documents), laws and regulations.

Qualifications

• Typically between 5 - 7 years of relevant experience and post-secondary degree in related field of study or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Solid understanding of Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and experience working in Agile, Waterfall and hybrid delivery models.
• Hands on experience developing UAT test strategies, test plans, test cases and traceability matrices aligned to business requirements
• Experience managing defect life cycles
• Proficiency with test management tools such as Jira, HP AL/Quality Center
• Working knowledge of core banking products and processes
• Openness to adopting or evaluating emerging AI tools that improved test coverage and reduce manual efforts
• Verbal & written communication skills - In-depth.
• Collaboration & team skills - In-depth.
• Analytical and problem solving skills - In-depth.
• Influence skills - In-depth.
• Data driven decision making - In-depth.

Salary

$74,000.00 - $138,000.00

Pay Type

Salaried

The above represents BMO Financial Group’s pay range and type.

Salaries will vary based on factors such as location, skills, experience, education, and qualifications for the role, and may include a commission structure. Salaries for part-time roles will be pro-rated based on number of hours regularly worked. For commission roles, the salary listed above represents BMO Financial Group’s expected target for the first year in this position.

BMO Financial Group’s total compensation package will vary based on the pay type of the position and may include performance-based incentives, discretionary bonuses, as well as other perks and rewards. BMO also offers health insurance, tuition reimbursement, accident and life insurance, and retirement savings plans. To view more details of our benefits, please visit: https://jobs.bmo.com/global/en/Total-Rewards

About Us

At BMO we are driven by a shared Purpose: Boldly Grow the Good in business and life. It calls on us to create lasting, positive change for our customers, our communities and our people. By working together, innovating and pushing boundaries, we transform lives and businesses, and power economic growth around the world.

As a member of the BMO team you are valued, respected and heard, and you have more ways to grow and make an impact. We strive to help you make an impact from day one – for yourself and our customers. We’ll support you with the tools and resources you need to reach new milestones, as you help our customers reach theirs. From in-depth training and coaching, to manager support and network-building opportunities, we’ll help you gain valuable experience, and broaden your skillset.

To find out more visit us at https://jobs.bmo.com/us/en

BMO is proud to be an equal employment opportunity employer. We evaluate applicants without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or any other legally protected characteristics. We also consider applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law.

BMO is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment process, please send an e-mail to [e-mail] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information.

Note to Recruiters: BMO does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from a candidate. Any unsolicited resumes sent to BMO, directly or indirectly, will be considered BMO property. BMO will not pay a fee for any placement resulting from the receipt of an unsolicited resume. A recruiting agency must first have a valid, written and fully executed agency agreement contract for service to submit resumes.