Application Analyst en Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, MA

About the Department

Purpose and Scope

The Application Analyst is responsible for performing system analysis, application administration, and application support activities for the MBTA’s enterprise transit scheduling and operations management platforms.

Position Duties

• Perform system analysis for the full software development lifecycle (SDLC) of the transit scheduling and operations management application, including requirements gathering, solution design, development, testing, implementation, and ongoing application support.
• Serve as SME for all functional and technical aspects of the application and associated technical components.
• Configure application functional components, perform the definition of foundational data elements, and ensure proper version control of data elements.
• Develop and maintain technical support documentation, including troubleshooting procedures, runbooks, and system configuration guides.
• Provide 3^rd level support for application issues, including issues with application functionality, environment configuration, and / or system integrations.
• Respond to and resolve, or escalate, application issues raised by end-users and / or system alerts, performing detailed documentation of troubleshooting steps and / or issue resolution.
• Escalate issues to internal IT teams (Server, Network, Database, etc.) and / or software vendor, as needed.
• Coordinate with software vendor for the resolution of application issues.
• Perform user access provisioning, including new user account establishment and access permission updates.
• Perform environment configuration and maintenance, including release installations, release promotions, and database refreshes.
• Schedule, monitor, and troubleshoot issues with batch processes.
• Write prepared statements / queries using common and propriety scripting languages.
• Perform ad-hoc data queries and generate ad-hoc reports.
• Provide content knowledge and clarifications to SQA team regarding designed behavior of application to facilitate the creation of test scripts.
• Handle sensitive and confidential information in an appropriate manner.
• Respond to each inquiry, whether from a customer, vendor, or co-worker, in a courteous and professional manner.
• Participate in the on-call support rotation, responding to emergencies on a twenty-four (24) hour, seven (7) day per week basis while on-call.
• Work any and all shifts and / or locations as assigned or directed, including occasional night and / or weekend work.
• Perform all other duties and projects that may be assigned.

Additional responsibilities may include focus on one or more departments or locations.   See applicable addendum for department or location specific functions. 

Physical Demands and Working Conditions

• The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Available to work all shifts and locations as assigned or directed.
• Available to work as per assignment by the MBTA twenty-four (24) hours per day, seven (7) days per week as directed by supervisory staff for severe weather conditions, emergencies or any other circumstances that may potentially impact service or the safety of service.
• Have the ability to work any and all shifts and/or locations assigned or directed.

Supervision

• No direct reports.

Minimum Qualifications

• Three (3) years of experience in system analysis, including enterprise application design, development, implementation, and support.
• Experience identifying and documenting business rules and technical requirements.
• Experience with enterprise system and / or application administration.
• Experience with IT service management / ticketing systems.
• Strong interpersonal skills to interact with stakeholders, vendors, team members, and end-users.
• Ability to work with many different types of professionals in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work effectively with a diverse workforce and end-user community.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Strong working knowledge of the Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Teams).
• Effective organizational, analytical, multi-tasking, time management, and documentation skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent customer service and conflict resolution skills.

Minimum Education 

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field.

Preferred Experience and Skills

• Experience with HASTUS or similar transit scheduling and operations management applications, such as Trapeze FX or Trapeze OPS.
• Experience with programing or scripting languages, such as C#, .NET, Python, or PowerShell.
• Experience or interest in the public transit or transportation industry.
• Experience or interest in public transit data.
• Experience with cloud platforms, such as AWS or Azure.
• Experience with industry-specific ERP applications.
• Experience with ServiceNow.

Other Qualifications

• A High School Diploma or GED with an additional seven (7) years of directly related experience substitutes for the bachelor’s degree requirement. 
• An associate’s degree from an accredited institution and an additional three (3) years of directly related experience substitutes for the bachelor’s degree requirement.
• A master’s degree in a related subject substitutes for two (2) years of general experience. 
• A nationally recognized certification, or statewide/professional certification in a related field substitutes for one (1) year of experience.

Job Conditions

• Adhere to rules, regulations, collective bargaining agreements (if applicable) and policies of the MBTA including the EEO, anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, and anti-retaliation policies.
• Ability to pass a Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) check, background screening, and the MBTA’s medical requirements, including a physical examination and drug and alcohol screening. 
• Have a satisfactory work record for the two (2) years immediately prior to the closing date of this posting, including overall employment, job performance, discipline, and safety records (infractions and/or offenses occurring after the closing of the posting and before the filling of a vacancy may preclude a candidate from consideration for selection). 

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and complexity of the work being performed by staff assigned to this job, and do not represent an exhaustive list of all duties, tasks, and responsibilities required of staff assigned to this position.

1. Safety Sensitive:  Incumbents will be subject to periodic physical examinations plus random drug and alcohol testing 
2. On-call 24/7:  Employee must be available to respond to page/text/call and report to work as determined by assigned department or the Authority  
3. Emergency Staff:  During declared “states of emergency,” employees working in this classification are required to report to work for their assigned work hours or as directed by management