Associate Principal, Pricing & Margins

This role supports the performance of a broad array of Risk Management functions.

Responsibilities

• Perform analysis of market and theoretical valuation of all products cleared by OCC, eligible to be deposited as collateral, or that are part of an OCC supported process.
• Perform reconciliation of modeled output and update where appropriate using proprietary OCC tools/applications to identify and correct instances of price arbitrage and other pricing irregularities. Products include equity, index, government security, and derivative prices (e.g., options, futures, futures options) as well as all derivative price inputs (e.g., dividend, interest rates, exchange rates). Provide final approval and sign off for transmission to downstream processes (e.g., model calibration, theoretical computations, margin calculations).
• Perform evaluation of market data vendors and manage market data entitlements.
• Monitor intraday financial market performance and ensure that pricing and market data are accurately reflected. Correct issues as discovered or escalate to management for direction, while observing standards for accuracy and timeliness.
• Support and administer SEC and CFTC regulated programs related to customer margin/haircut calculations: evaluate products to ensure eligibility standards for inclusion are met and determine appropriate treatment (e.g., stress levels, allowed offsets) consistent with regulatory requirements; determine appropriate risk parameters, maintain, and develop parameter files for RBH/CPM and SPAN.
• Perform daily evaluation of rate performance and periodic recalibration of related parameters.
• Answer questions from and support Clearing Members, participating in OCC administered regulatory programs and the investing public. Provide detailed explanation of OCC’s risk management framework to external parties and guidance on supported regulatory programs and relevant SEC, FINRA, and CFTC regulations.
• Conduct miscellaneous studies and analysis for senior management, including trend analysis for derivative valuation and various risk analytics.
• Support system development from a business user perspective by coordinating with multiple departments (e.g., application developers, quantitative risk analysts) to enhance system performance and functionality. Recommend new and improved processes to enhance system performance and functionality.
• Develop and maintain written procedures for Pricing and Margins departmental processes.
• Assist in the training and onboarding of new Pricing & Margin team members.
• Occasional travel required.
• Review and approve analysis prepared by Associates and Senior Associates prior to submission or escalation.
• Lead process improvement and system enhancement initiatives from concept through implementation.
• Serve as subject matter expert and primary point of contact for a specific regulatory program or risk model.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• No direct reports; may provide work direction, guidance, and mentorship to Associates and Senior Associates within the department.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of securities and futures markets and derivative valuation, particularly option trading and pricing inputs.
• Understanding of statistical concepts (e.g., VaR, Expected Shortfall).
• Ability to generate and evaluate descriptive and performance metrics from large data sets and synthesize results for management.
• Comfortable performing data validation and reconciliation.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Comfortable working in a customer service-oriented environment and addressing questions from both OCC colleagues and the investing public.
• Good listening skills and ability to contribute to discussions with management from various departments.
• Self-directed and motivated to solve urgent problems by conducting ad hoc analysis and/or reaching out to other departments as necessary; ability to derive creative and adaptive solutions to problems.
• Ability to work both independently with little direction or oversight and in a team-oriented collaborative environment.
• Good organization skills; must be detail-oriented.
• Ability to work well under pressure with multiple priorities and time-sensitive deadlines, with emphasis placed on accuracy.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional projects and initiatives with minimal oversight, and to mentor and review the work of Associates and Senior Associates.
• Experience presenting analysis and recommendations directly to senior management, Clearing Members, or regulators.

Skills

• Strong PC skills; comfortable with Windows environment.
• Highly proficient in Microsoft Excel, including experience using lookups, pivot tables, and complex formulas.
• Comfortable performing data analysis and manipulation on large, complex sets of information with little oversight.
• Proficient in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint.
• Experience using Bloomberg and/or Refinitiv desktop client, and ability to connect these tools to Excel.
• Familiarity with relational databases and ability to execute SQL using appropriate query tools (e.g., Squirrel, TextPad, DB2 Connect); ability to modify SQL is a plus.
• Proficiency in Tableau, R Studio, Python, and Alteryx preferred.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, economics, or related field; Master’s degree or progress toward a CFA or FRM designation a plus.
• 5-7+ years of experience in back-office operations or risk management, including demonstrated experience operating in a senior or lead capacity.

Certificates or Licenses

None required; CFA, FRM, or Series 7/24 licensure a plus.

About Us

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization. Founded in 1973, OCC is dedicated to promoting stability and market integrity by delivering clearing and settlement services for options, futures, and securities lending transactions. As a Systemically Important Financial Market Utility (SIFMU), OCC operates under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. OCC has more than 100 clearing members and provides central counterparty (CCP) clearing and settlement services to 19 exchanges and trading platforms.

Benefits

• A hybrid work environment, up to 2 days per week of remote work.
• Tuition Reimbursement to support continued education.
• Student Loan Repayment Assistance.
• Technology Stipend allowing use of preferred devices to connect to the network while working remotely.
• Generous PTO and Parental leave.
• 401k Employer Match.
• Competitive health benefits including medical, dental, and vision.

Pay

Salary Range: $104,700.00 - $152,400.00

Incentive Range: 8% to 15% (annual discretionary incentive compensation award based on individual and company performance).