Innovations Specialist Emerging Technologies

The Emerging Technologies Analyst supports the credit union’s strategic and operational goals by bridging business needs with technology solutions. This role analyzes business processes, evaluates system capabilities, translates requirements into technical specifications, and partners with IT, vendors, and business stakeholders to deliver efficient, member-focused solutions.

• Proactively learn and educate others about industry trends and emerging technologies related to digital banking, fintech, and member experience.
• Identify and evaluate opportunities to leverage new technologies to drive innovation and improve operational efficiency.
• Conduct extensive research on emerging financial technologies (e.g., AI, blockchain, digital payments) and market trends to identify opportunities and potential threats.
• Assess the performance, usability, security, and regulatory compliance of existing or new fintech solutions and products.
• Represent the credit union at industry events, fintech demos, and innovation forums.
• Build and maintain relationships with fintech partners, vendors, accelerators, and industry peers.
• Serve as a point of contact for inbound fintech inquiries and outbound discovery efforts.

• Gather, document, and prioritize business requirements for new initiatives, system enhancements, and process improvements.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders and peer groups to ensure alignment and successful execution of digital initiatives.
• Facilitate workshops, interviews, and meetings with business units to define needs and translate them into detailed functional and technical specifications.
• Create user stories, process flows, use cases, and acceptance criteria.
• Collect, process, and perform statistical analyses on large financial datasets to extract meaningful insights, create financial models, and support data-driven decision-making.

• Support API configuration and data mapping.
• Test and troubleshoot API integrations.

• Analyze existing systems (core banking, lending systems, digital banking, CRM, LOS, etc.) to identify gaps, inefficiencies, and opportunities for optimization.
• Support system configurations, data mapping, integration documentation, and troubleshooting.
• Manage testing activities, including test planning, test case development, and UAT facilitation.
• Working knowledge of IT governance frameworks, including CAB, ARB, and POC processes, with demonstrated ability to navigate approvals efficiently to accelerate delivery while maintaining risk and compliance standards.

• Serve as Product Owner or Product Lead for assigned fintech implementations from discovery through post-launch optimization.
• Own product backlogs, prioritize features based on business value and member impact, and manage trade-offs.
• Partner with vendors and internal teams to define roadmaps, success metrics, and release plans.
• Ensure solutions meet functional, security, compliance, and member experience requirements prior to launch.
• Collaborate with project managers to support project planning, timelines, and resource coordination.
• Assist with vendor management, reviewing technical documentation, SOWs, and system enhancement proposals.
• Monitor project progress and provide status updates to stakeholders.
• Support the implementation, integration, and management of digital systems, ensuring they operate efficiently and support the organization's digital goals.

• Perform data analysis to support decision-making, reporting requirements, and performance insights.
• Validate data accuracy across systems and support data integration, migration, and remediation efforts.
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