Associate, Financial Engineering, Research and Development

MSCI, Inc. seeks an Associate for Financial Engineering, Research and Development in Norman, OK.

About the role

Conduct analysis of pricing and risk models for exotic derivatives, fixed income asset classes, credit derivatives, securitized products, and portfolio optimization.

Responsibilities

• Perform portfolio-level risk analysis, including Value-at-Risk (VaR) methodologies.
• Design and automate validation frameworks using state-of-the-art technologies to support scalable and repeatable model validation.
• Develop and implement validation processes and procedures for industry-adopted financial instruments, statistics, stress tests, and reporting.
• Build, maintain, and extend independent validation tools to ensure the accuracy and consistency of outputs produced by analytics engines.
• Analyze and expand regression testing to ensure comprehensive coverage across asset types and analytics metrics.
• Collaborate closely with Risk Research and Analytics Development teams on a day-to-day basis to review discrepancies between manual and regression results, clarify specifications, and enhance test coverage.
• Ensure all daily testing processes run smoothly and work with development teams to investigate and resolve issues as they arise.
• Apply Barra factor models to analyze asset and portfolio risk under both normal market conditions and stress scenarios.
• Incorporate new factor research into existing models to improve risk attribution and exposure analysis.
• Produce and review Barra factor reports to assess portfolio exposures and support ongoing model validation and risk analysis efforts.
• Utilize risk methodologies, including stress testing, historical and Monte Carlo simulations, to evaluate market risk for equities, fixed income instruments, and futures and options derivatives.
• Perform automated testing of analytics engines, including building and maintaining Azure DevOps pipelines to automatically execute large-scale XML-based valuation and risk queries.
• Work with relational databases and datasets, including using SQL (Oracle and SQL Server) to query, analyze, and validate raw database records; understand data ingestion pipelines and support data import/export workflows.
• Liaise across teams to troubleshoot issues including analyzing discrepancies, evaluating root causes, and continuously extending analytical regression tests.

Requirements

• Master’s degree or foreign equivalent in Quantitative Finance or a related field.
• Three (3) years of experience in the job offered or related occupation, including:
  • Utilizing Matlab, Python, R, C++, and C# to design and develop validation tools for valuation and pricing models, stress testing frameworks, Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Expected Shortfall analysis, risk attribution, and factor-based risk analysis.
  • Working with financial pricing and risk models across asset classes, including Generic Bonds, Equities, Equity Options, FX Forwards, Interest Rate Swaps, Futures, funds, and Options, to price instruments and calculate comprehensive risk profiles for both cash and derivative products.
  • Utilizing Agile development and testing practices, including Git-based version control systems to manage regression test codebases and automated testing tools.
  • Regular updates of market data and performing automated testing of analytics engines.
  • Working with relational databases and SQL (Oracle and SQL Server) to query, analyze, and validate raw database records.

Benefits

• Salary range: $84,000 - $109,000 per year, plus eligibility for annual bonus.
• Transparent compensation schemes and comprehensive employee benefits tailored to your location.
• Flexible working arrangements, advanced technology, and collaborative workspaces.
• Global Orientation program and access to learning platforms (Learning@MSCI, AI Learning Center, LinkedIn Learning Pro) for ongoing skills development.
• Multi-directional career paths offering professional growth through new challenges, internal mobility, and expanded roles.
• Inclusive environment with eight Employee Resource Groups: All Abilities, Asian Support Network, Black Leadership Network, Climate Action Network, Hola! MSCI, Pride & Allies, Women in Tech, and Women’s Leadership Forum.

About MSCI

MSCI strengthens global markets by connecting participants across the financial ecosystem with a common language. Our research-based data, analytics, and indexes—supported by advanced technology—set standards for global investors and help clients understand risks and opportunities to make better decisions and unlock innovation. We serve asset managers and owners, private-market sponsors and investors, hedge funds, wealth managers, banks, insurers, and corporates.