Location: Basel, Switzerland
Employment Type: Full-Time
About the Role
Swiss Himmel GmbH is seeking a highly experienced and driven Lead Application Support Engineer to support and manage business-critical applications within a global banking environment. This full-time position is based in Basel, Switzerland, and is ideal for a professional with close to two decades of experience in IT services, including deep expertise in banking systems, SAP technologies, and modern cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure.
The successful candidate will play a key role in ensuring the stability, security, and continuous availability of Tier-1 financial applications while leading operational excellence, automation initiatives, and cross-functional collaboration across global teams.
Key Responsibilities
Application Operations & Support
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Provide expert 24×5.5 production support for Tier-1, business-critical applications within the Data and Reconciliations domain.
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Diagnose and resolve complex application, infrastructure, and data-related incidents across a distributed technology landscape.
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Ensure uninterrupted operations for systems supporting Group Operations, Risk, Global Finance, Legal & Compliance, and Wealth Management functions.
IT Service Management & Compliance
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Lead and govern Incident, Problem, and Change Management processes in a global, multi-stream environment using tools such as ServiceNow and Jira.
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Act as a production gatekeeper, ensuring disciplined release management through Pre-Release Checklists (PRCs) and established governance processes.
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Plan, coordinate, and execute Business Continuity Management (BCM) and Disaster Recovery (DR) testing in line with regulatory and audit requirements.
Cloud & Technology Integration
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Serve as a key technical contributor for cloud migration initiatives, supporting the transition of multiple applications to Microsoft Azure.
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Manage and troubleshoot application components deployed across Azure services, including Azure Data Factory, ADLS, Databricks, and Kubernetes.
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Support platform and database migration activities involving UNIX/Linux, Oracle, and PostgreSQL environments.
Automation & Continuous Improvement
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Drive SRE and automation initiatives through scripting and tooling (Python, Shell).
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Implement proactive monitoring, alerting, and observability solutions using AppDynamics, Splunk, and related APM tools.
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Lead continuous improvement initiatives using Agile practices, including sprint planning, retrospectives, and operational dashboards.
Required Skills & Qualifications
Experience
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18+ years of overall experience in Technology Services.
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10+ years of hands-on experience in the Banking and Financial Services domain with large global institutions.
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Approximately 10 years of SAP experience, including:
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SAP NetWeaver
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SAP NetWeaver Portal
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SAP Fiori
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ABAP
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Functional exposure to SAP HR, Finance, and Payroll integrations.
Technical Expertise
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Strong hands-on experience with Unix/Linux, shell scripting, and database technologies (Oracle, PostgreSQL, SQL).
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Solid experience with Microsoft Azure, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and cloud-native services.
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Working knowledge of Python, Java, or JavaScript.
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Experience with ETL tools (e.g., Informatica) and middleware technologies (MQ, ORCA).
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Proficiency in job scheduling tools such as Autosys and Crontab.
Domain Knowledge
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Strong understanding of banking applications, particularly in Reference Data and Reconciliations (e.g., TLM, CTC, Intellimatch, ETD).
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Experience supporting Investment Banking operations, including client onboarding, trade processing, and settlements.
Leadership & Soft Skills
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Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to engage senior business and operations leaders.
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Proven leadership capabilities, including mentoring teams and driving high-performance delivery in complex environments.
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Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
Education
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Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical discipline.