Surveillance and Data Quality Manager

Career Guide
A Surveillance and Data Quality Manager leads teams and processes that monitor activity for unusual patterns and ensure critical data is accurate, complete, and usable. The role sits at the intersection of compliance, risk, operations, and analytics, helping the organization detect issues early and make reliable decisions.

Key Responsibilities

  • Set the strategy for surveillance coverage and data quality priorities
  • Define and maintain monitoring rules and alert thresholds
  • Oversee daily alert review workflows and escalation paths
  • Investigate unusual activity and document findings clearly
  • Design and track data quality checks for key data sets
  • Create data quality dashboards and recurring reporting
  • Coordinate remediation with technology and business teams
  • Maintain policies, procedures, and audit ready evidence
  • Manage vendor tools for monitoring and data controls
  • Train analysts on investigations and data standards
  • Partner with compliance, risk, legal, and internal audit
  • Measure effectiveness using clear metrics and continuous improvement

Top Skills for Success

Stakeholder Management
Written Communication
Process Improvement
Risk Thinking
People Management
Data Quality Management
Data Governance
Issue Management
Investigation Management
Alert Triage
Monitoring Rule Design
Metric Design
SQL
Data Profiling
Regulatory Knowledge
Model Risk Awareness

Career Progression

Can Lead To
Senior Surveillance Manager
Head of Surveillance
Data Quality Lead
Data Governance Manager
Operational Risk Manager
Compliance Manager
Transition Opportunities
Financial Crime Risk Manager
Market Conduct Risk Manager
Risk Analytics Manager
Compliance Testing Manager
Internal Audit Manager
Product Controls Manager

Common Skill Gaps

Often Missing Skills
Clear metric definitionsRoot cause analysisData lineage documentationControl designAutomation planningCase management disciplineVendor tool evaluationExecutive storytelling
Development SuggestionsBuild a simple control library, standardize key metrics, and practice communicating findings in one page summaries. Strengthen technical depth with SQL and data profiling, and partner with technology teams to automate repetitive checks.

Salary & Demand

Median Salary Range
Entry LevelUSD 95,000 to 125,000
Mid LevelUSD 125,000 to 165,000
Senior LevelUSD 165,000 to 220,000
Growth Trend
Steady to strong demand, driven by increased regulatory expectations, higher data volume, and greater focus on operational risk and data governance.

Companies Hiring

Major Employers
JPMorgan ChaseBank of AmericaCitigroupWells FargoGoldman SachsMorgan StanleyCharles SchwabFidelityBlackRockVanguardPayPalStripe
Industry Sectors
Retail BankingInvestment BankingBrokerageAsset ManagementPaymentsInsuranceFintechCrypto and Digital AssetsRegulatory Technology

Recommended Next Steps

1
Create a portfolio example of an alert investigation summary and a data quality dashboard
2
Refresh SQL skills and practice writing checks for completeness, accuracy, and timeliness
3
Map the end to end data flow for one critical data set and document data owners
4
Define a small set of quality metrics and build a monthly reporting cadence
5
Review common regulatory expectations for monitoring, recordkeeping, and audit evidence
6
Strengthen escalation and documentation standards to improve audit readiness
7
Network with surveillance, compliance, and data governance leaders to understand tool stacks and priorities