Automated Trading Risk Analyst

Who we are:

Optiver Chicago’s culture parallels the energetic city we’re immersed in. Home to the Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago Board Options Exchange, and Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Chicago has established itself as the trading capital of the US. Active on leading US exchanges, Optiver’s Chicago office trades a wide range of products from listed derivatives to cash equities, ETFs, bonds and foreign exchange.

What we are looking for:

Are you ready for the next step in your career in the field of Automated Trading Risk within a fast-paced, dynamic, and international trading company? We’re the place to be if you are interested in understanding the inner workings and the technology of financial markets, and in playing a fundamental role in making sure that we keep our Automated Trading Risks under control.
As an Automated Trading Risk Analyst, your mission will be to ensure the automated trading activities operate within the risk appetite established by the Management Board, identify and advise management where this is not the case.In this role, you will interact very closely with multiple departments – Trading, Tech, Market Risk, Credit Risk, Compliance. The content you manage is extremely dynamic, so it’s almost guaranteed that no day will be like the other.
You will be empowered to contribute directly, deliver your best work, and shape your role as you develop further. 

What you’ll do:

• You will be spending most of your time on the Trading floor, taking the pulse of the business and connecting the dots between what’s going on in the market, in our systems, and how our automated trading risk profile changes based on the activity.
• The team works in operational and project shifts. During operational shifts, you will monitor our ATR systems and make any configuration or input changes required to keep operations smooth and safe. You will flag issues and suggest improvements to our operating model;
• For external ATR controls, you will interface with the counterparties – Exchanges, DMA providers, and Clearing, and ensure proper management of the inputs and configurations;
• For internal ATR controls, you will you will interface with the Technology team and own the implementation, including project management aspects. You will raise and escalate issues, stay up to date with the status of the control and of new internal and external developments that can impact it, and drive relevant improvements;
• When ATR incidents occur, you will be the main driver  in the root cause analysis, and will identify and coordinate follow-up actions;
• You will define, schedule, and coordinate the execution of testing and assurance plans;
• When onboarding new products or markets, new business activities, or new technologies, you will ensure the emerging ATR risks are properly mitigated;
• You will regularly perform end to end risk reviews on specific ATR topics and report on findings and recommendations to relevant stakeholders and to senior management;
• You will regularly perform data analysis for various purposes and contribute to strengthening our data analysis tooling;
• You will contribute to increasing and improving the Automated Trading Risk and Control awareness within the organization;
• You will report regularly on all work streams to the relevant audiences.

What you’ll need:

• You enjoy an environment that’s moving fast, and taking decisions on the spot does not sound intimidating to you;
• You have strong interpersonal skills, and you communicate comfortably with various stakeholders including senior management;
• Experience in using Python and/or SQL;
• You’re eager to continuously improve and to help others improve;
• 2+ years of experience;
• You enjoy driving initiatives and managing projects;
• You have an academic degree in Mathematics, Engineering, Econometrics, Quantitative Finance, Computer Science, Physics, or similar.

What you’ll get:

• Work alongside best-in-class professionals from over 40 different countries.
• Performance based bonus structure that is unmatched anywhere in the industry. We combine our profits across desks, teams and offices into a global profit pool fostering a truly collaborative environment to work in.
• Ownership over initiatives that directly solve business problems.  

Alongside this you will get great other benefits such as 25 paid vacation days and market holidays, fully paid commuting expenses and health insurance, daily breakfast and lunch, training opportunities, 401(k) match up to 50% and charitable match opportunities, regular social events and clubs, and many more.