Business Technology Specialist

New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) is the State’s affordable housing agency, with a mission to build, preserve, and protect affordable housing and increase homeownership throughout New York State.

Under the leadership of Governor Kathy Hochul and Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas, HCR is a vibrant, innovative agency that integrates and leverages New York State’s housing resources. We have offices in New York City, Albany, Buffalo and Syracuse, and employ a diverse workforce of professionals who are hard-working and committed to serving low and moderate income families. Our mission is far reaching, encompassing single and multifamily housing finance, home improvement, rent regulation, housing subsidies, and community development. We partner regularly with a variety of public and private stakeholders.

Achieving this mission requires a wide range of skills and backgrounds in public policy, administration, real estate, architecture, finance, law, and many other areas of expertise. We seek to provide a workplace environment that is productive, flexible, accountable, ethical, and caring. Our employees are empowered to make a difference where they live and work. We offer competitive pay and a comprehensive benefits package, including paid leave, health, dental, vision, retirement, and family-friendly policies.

The State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) is one of several HCR agencies. SONYMA’s programs provide mortgage financing to assist low- to moderate-income, first-time homebuyers in the purchase of a one-to-four-unit residences that are required to meet eligibility criteria established by the Agency and by applicable Federal law. This position will report to the Single Family Programs unit of SONYMA. The Single Family unit reports to HCR’s Homeownership and Community Development.

Job Summary:

To work with HCR IT and SONYMA on Single Family technology modernization initiative including the ongoing support of SONYMA Express®, and vetting and implementing a replacement for the Emphasys system. Additionally, to support program and policy development in areas impacted by the changes in technology, and to provide ongoing support to staff on existing systems during the transition. To provide support in the transition of SONYMA Express from a vendor-managed system to an internally managed system. To support SONYMA-Technology Business Analyst on continued system management, enhancement and development.

Essential Duties / Responsibilities:

The primary responsibilities of the position will be to:

SONYMA Express® System

• Perform rules writing for the SONYMA Express system.
• Make recommendations to improve system and user experience.
• Troubleshoot bugs/issues that arise from daily system use and new releases.
• Participation in weekly calls to update on ticket resolution and system enhancement progress.
• Participation in weekly user calls to update lenders on any training needs, bugs, etc.
• Timely tracking and resolution of outstanding tickets on JIRA system.
• Research and write technical specs for Developers.
• Present scope of work and timeline for proposed enhancements and provide regular updates on progress.
• Testing of tickets in multiple environments.
• PDF Form creation and specs for developers to build and map within system.
• Update user guide materials and help content.
• Troubleshoot and resolve system issues using SQL queries and XML editor
• Work with Vendor IT to resolve interface issues.
• Develop and maintain rules engine.

Other Systems

• Work with Single Family and SONYMA IT staff on improving/replacing other Single Family systems such as Emphasys, BlitzDocs, FileNet, TMPS, etc.
• Support testing new BlitzDocs updates and program support.
• Support in implementation, integration and rollout of the Emphasys replacement system.
• Perform system updates as underlying software upgrades become available.
• Other related duties as needed.

Requirements/Qualifications:

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required for this position:

• Bachelors degree ***
• 8 years of experience ***
• In depth knowledge of rules system and SONYMA Express
• Strong computer skills including Microsoft Office, SQL database queries, XML, HTML
• Strong problem analysis and problem solving skills
• Software testing experience (User Interface, API, and web service)
• Knowledge of basic UNIX commands
• Familiar with MISMO and DU data file format
• Experience with tools like PuTTY, SOAP UI, and WinSCP
• Strong communication skills.

*** Substitutions: four years of specialized experience or associate’s degree and two years of specialized experience may substitute for bachelor’s degree; J.D. or master’s degree may substitute for one year of specialized experience; Ph.D. may substitute for two years of specialized experience.

This job description is not intended to be all inclusive and employee will be expected to perform other reasonably related duties as assigned.