Test Planning Lead - Mainframe Product Migration

Req ID: 390887

Competitive salary | UK: hybrid: Sheffield OR London + remote

At NTT DATA, we know that with the right people on board, anything is possible. The quality, integrity, and commitment of our employees are key factors in our company’s growth, market presence and our ability to help our clients stay a step ahead of the competition. By hiring the best people and helping them grow both professionally and personally, we ensure a bright future for NTT DATA and for the people who work here.

NTT DATA is currently looking for a Test Planning Lead - Mainframe Product Migration on a hybrid work model (Sheffield or London + remote) for our growing team in the UK.

Role purpose : Own and drive the end-to-end test planning for a mainframe product migration programme, ensuring a robust, risk-based, and audit-ready test approach across all test phases and stakeholders (delivery teams, vendors, operations, and business).

Key responsibilities

• Define and maintain the overall test strategy and master test plan (phases, entry/exit criteria, environments, data, tooling, defect management, reporting).
• Build and manage an integrated test schedule aligned to programme milestones, cutover, and release plans.
• Lead risk-based test planning (scope, prioritisation, coverage, non-functional testing) with clear traceability to requirements and migration risks.
• Coordinate test phases: SIT, System/Integration, Regression, UAT support, Performance/Volume, Resilience/DR, Security (as applicable), Dress rehearsals / cutover testing .
• Define and govern test data approach (masked production-like data, synthetic data, data refresh cycles, reconciliation needs).
• Plan and coordinate environment readiness (mainframe regions/LPARs, middleware, interfaces, batch windows, stubs/simulators).
• Establish defect triage cadence , severity model, and quality gates; ensure timely resolution and retest.
• Produce clear test reporting (progress, coverage, defects, risks/issues, go/no-go recommendations).
• Drive stakeholder alignment across dev, infrastructure, ops, business SMEs, and third parties; chair test planning and readiness forums.
• Ensure evidence and controls are in place for audit/compliance (test artefacts, approvals, sign-offs).
• Support migration assurance : parallel runs (if used), reconciliation testing, batch/control totals, and post-migration verification.

Deliverables (typical)

• Product Test Strategy & Master Test Plan
• Integrated test schedule and resourcing plan
• Test governance pack (RAID, RACI, comms cadence, quality gates)
• Environment & test data readiness plan
• Phase-level test plans (SIT/UAT/NFR/cutover rehearsals)
• Test execution dashboards and go/no-go criteria
• Test closure report and evidence catalogue

Required experience

• Proven test planning leadership on mainframe migrations (e.g. z/OS, COBOL, CICS, DB2, IMS, MQ, Batch/JCL) and complex interface landscapes.
• Strong understanding of batch cycles , end-of-day processing, data migration/reconciliation, and operational constraints.
• Track record creating risk-based test approaches and running test governance at programme scale.
• Comfortable working with multiple delivery teams and vendors; excellent stakeholder management.

Tools/skills

• Test management: JIRA and Zephyr
• Defect management and reporting: JIRA/ServiceNow/Confluence/Excel
• Familiarity with automation frameworks is a plus (not mandatory), and with performance tooling where relevant (LRE, TDM and SV)

Key skills & behaviours

• Structured planner, pragmatic and delivery-focused; strong dependency management
• Clear written communication and executive-level reporting
• Confident facilitator in forums; calm under pressure during dress rehearsals/cutover

Benefits

Our people are the most critical component of our long-term success and their health and wellbeing are our priority. You will enjoy a comprehensive, locally competitive benefits package.

About NTT DATA

NTT DATA is a $30 billion business and technology services leader, serving 75% of the Fortune Global 100. We are committed to accelerating client success and positively impacting society through responsible innovation. We are one of the world's leading AI and digital infrastructure providers, with unmatched capabilities in enterprise-scale AI, cloud, security, connectivity, data centers and application services. our consulting and Industry solutions help organizations and society move confidently and sustainably into the digital future. As a Global Top Employer, we have experts in more than 50 countries. We also offer clients access to a robust ecosystem of innovation centers as well as established and start-up partners. NTT DATA is a part of NTT Group, which invests over $3 billion each year in R&D.

Whenever possible, we hire locally to NTT DATA offices or client sites. This ensures we can provide timely and effective support tailored to each client’s needs. While many positions offer remote or hybrid work options, these arrangements are subject to change based on client requirements. For employees near an NTT DATA office or client site, in-office attendance may be required for meetings or events, depending on business needs. At NTT DATA, we are committed to staying flexible and meeting the evolving needs of both our clients and employees. NTT DATA recruiters will never ask for payment or banking information and will only use @nttdata.com, @nttdatafed.com and @talent.nttdataservices.com email addresses. If you are requested to provide payment or disclose banking information, please submit a contact us form, 

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