VP, Mainframe Application Development

State Street is seeking a senior technology delivery leader to serve as a Mainframe Technology Lead for Project Diogene, a strategic initiative within the Custody Technology portfolio of Investment Services Technology. This role will provide end‑to‑end leadership for the delivery, stabilization, and modernization of core custody, cash processing platforms, with a strong emphasis on mainframe‑based systems that support global custody operations.

Project Diogene is a strategic transformation initiative within State Street’s Custody Technology landscape, aimed at strengthening the firm’s core custody platforms while positioning them for long‑term scalability, resiliency, and regulatory readiness.

The role acts as a critical connector between Custody business, Operations, and Technology, ensuring high system resiliency, operational accuracy, regulatory compliance, and controlled modernization of legacy platforms. The ideal candidate will bring 18+ years of experience in Financial Services IT, with deep expertise in custody domain processing, mainframe technology, and large‑scale transformation programs.

This position is intended to be a senior role (VP‑level). Final designation will depend on evaluation outcomes and overall fit.

As one of the GTS Delivery Leads, you will be responsible for:

• Providing end‑to‑end delivery leadership for Project Diogene, covering custody, corporate actions, cash processing with focus on application architecture, development, enhancements, regulatory changes, and production support

• Acting as the overall delivery owner for the assigned Custody technology portfolio and associated delivery teams

• Leading and scaling mainframe‑centric delivery teams supporting custody business functions such as asset servicing, settlement, safekeeping, corporate actions, reference data , corporate actions, cash movements & processing.

• Overseeing (and hands‑on supporting when required) requirements definition, functional & technical design, testing, UAT, and post‑release stabilization

• Ensuring high availability, processing accuracy, data integrity, and operational stability of custody platforms

• Driving modernization initiatives under Project Diogene, including:

  • Mainframe optimization and performance improvements

  • Legacy code and batch rationalization

  • Data and interface modernization

  • Integration with distributed and cloud‑based platforms

• Partnering closely with Custody business, Client Operations, Product, Risk, Compliance, and Production Support teams

• Establishing and monitoring an effective governance and oversight framework to ensure issues, risks, and dependencies are proactively managed and resolved

• Promoting a strong culture of risk excellence, ensuring teams anticipate, monitor, manage, and report technology and operational risks

• Leading people and talent management, including:

• Capability building and upskilling in custody and mainframe technologies

• Performance management, coaching, and succession planning

• Employee engagement, retention, and diversity hiring in partnership with HR

• Driving a culture of clear ownership and accountability across delivery teams

• Contributing to horizontal initiatives such as knowledge management, audit readiness, delivery excellence, and enterprise risk controls

• Working closely with global teams across the US and India, with flexibility to operate across time zones as needed

• Supporting hiring and leadership responsibilities beyond the immediate team, aligned with seniority and organizational needs

• Becoming a functional and technical SME for Project Diogene platforms, with deep understanding of custody business flows and underlying system architecture

• Hands‑on experience with AI, machine learning, and Agentic AI in enterprise environments; familiarity with mainframe technologies and integration patterns preferred

Core/Must have skills

• Strong understanding of Custody business processes, including:

  • Trade settlement, safe keeping, positions and asset servicing

  • Safekeeping and position management

  • Corporate actions processing

  • Client and regulatory reporting

  • Cash Processing, including balances, movements, funding, and reconciliations

• Familiarity with financial controls, regulatory requirements, and risk management

• Extensive hands on experience with mainframe technologies, including:

  • COBOL, JCL, CICS, DB2, IMS (or equivalent)

  • Large scale batch processing and scheduling frameworks

• Proven track record in mainframe application development, testing, and production support

• Experience integrating mainframe systems with distributed / cloud platforms

• Exposure to legacy modernization and transformation programs is highly desirable

• Extensive experience leading large, distributed delivery teams (employees and vendors)

• Proven track record of delivering large-scale, complex, and transformational programs

• Strong understanding of SDLC, Agile and hybrid delivery models

• Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and decision-making skills

• Ability to operate effectively in a matrixed global organization

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English

• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence across business and technology

• Ability to navigate and lead within cross-cultural, globally distributed teams

• Alignment with a flat, open, and transparent work culture

• Willingness to roll up sleeves and engage hands‑on when required, despite seniority

Education & Preferred Qualifications

• Engineering Degree, MCA or equivalent

• 18+ years of commercial software development, proficient in developing multi-tier solutions

• 10+ years of demonstrated ability to lead engineering teams/projects

• 10+ years of hands-on experience in mainframe technologies, including:

• COBOL, JCL, CICS, DB2, IMS (or equivalent)

• Batch processing, scheduling, and recovery frameworks

Work Schedule

Hybrid

Why this role is important to us

Our technology function, Global Technology Services (GTS), is vital to State Street and is the key enabler for our business to deliver data and insights to our clients. We’re driving the company’s digital transformation and expanding business capabilities using industry best practices and advanced technologies such as cloud, artificial intelligence and robotics process automation.

We offer a collaborative environment where technology skills and innovation are valued in a global organization. We’re looking for top technical talent to join our team and deliver creative technology solutions that help us become an end-to-end, next-generation financial services company.

Join us if you want to grow your technical skills, solve real problems and make your mark on our industry.