Job Summary:
We are seeking an experienced Cognos Developer to lead the consolidation and optimization of our Cognos reporting environment. This role involves analyzing, redesigning, and consolidating over 900+ reports to improve performance, eliminate redundancies, and build a scalable reporting infrastructure supporting various business functions including Underwriting, Claims, Finance, and Risk.
Key Responsibilities:
Analyze existing Cognos reports (developed using Framework Manager packages and direct SQL) to identify duplication and inefficiencies.
Categorize reports (Simple, Medium, Complex) based on logic, queries, and structure.
Consolidate reports with overlapping logic or outputs into optimized versions.
Work with business stakeholders to prioritize consolidation efforts based on usage, complexity, and business impact.
Redesign reports for efficiency, scalability, and maintainability.
Perform unit testing, QA, and regression testing on newly developed reports.
Support user acceptance testing (UAT) and coordinate sign-offs.
Collaborate with the Analytics and Reporting (AW) team to implement signed-off reports into the production environment.
Document report analysis, design changes, validation results, and any identified issues or risks.
Ensure consistency and accuracy of data across all consolidated reports.
Required Skills & Experience:
5+ years of experience in Cognos development (Cognos 10 or 11 preferred).
Strong experience with Cognos Framework Manager and Report Studio.
Proficiency in writing and optimizing complex SQL queries.
Proven experience in analyzing and consolidating large sets of reports.
Understanding of data warehousing concepts and reporting best practices.
Experience in testing lifecycle – unit, QA, regression, and UAT support.
Strong documentation skills and attention to detail.
Ability to work independently and as part of a cross-functional team.
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
Nice to Have:
Experience in performance tuning of Cognos reports.
Exposure to data governance and metadata management.
Familiarity with agile or iterative development methodologies.
Deliverables:
Consolidation and optimization of 900+ existing Cognos reports.
Detailed analysis and documentation for each consolidated report.
Fully tested and validated reports ready for production deployment.
Final documentation summarizing changes, validations, and recommendations.
Requirements
Education & Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Analytics, or a related field.
Relevant certifications in Cognos BI or similar technologies (preferred but not mandatory).
Technical Skills:
Cognos BI Tools:
Strong hands-on experience with Cognos Report Studio, Query Studio, and Workspace Advanced.
Proficiency in Cognos Framework Manager (FM) – building and modifying models/packages.
SQL & Database:
Advanced skills in SQL development and optimization.
Ability to understand and work with complex queries and stored procedures.
Experience working with relational databases (e.g., Oracle, SQL Server, DB2, or similar).
Report Optimization & Consolidation:
Demonstrated experience in analyzing and consolidating reports in large reporting environments (900+ reports or similar scale).
Ability to identify and eliminate redundancy in reporting logic and design.
Data & Reporting Concepts:
Solid understanding of data modeling, ETL workflows, and data warehousing concepts.
Familiarity with report categorization based on complexity (simple, medium, complex).
Testing & Validation:
Experience in unit testing, QA, regression testing, and user acceptance testing (UAT) support.
Strong data validation and troubleshooting skills.
Soft Skills:
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Excellent documentation skills – able to clearly articulate report changes, logic, and findings.
Effective communication and stakeholder management abilities.
Ability to work independently and manage tasks with minimal supervision.
Team-oriented, collaborative, and proactive approach.
Preferred Experience:
Experience working in insurance, finance, or regulated industries is a plus.
Familiarity with report usage analysis and business impact assessments.
Exposure to agile methodologies or similar iterative development environments.
