Associate Principal Business Analyst, Transparency Services

FINRA•Rockville, MD

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) is the largest independent regulator of securities firms doing business in the United States. Our mission is to protect investors and ensure market integrity through effective and efficient regulation. We oversee approximately 3,400 brokerage firms, 152,000 branch offices, and nearly 624,000 registered securities representatives. At FINRA, you'll join a team of dedicated professionals committed to safeguarding the financial system and empowering investors. The Opportunity Do you thrive at the intersection of business analysis, securities markets, and technology? As an Associate Principal Business Analyst on the Transparency Services team, you'll play a vital role in building and maintaining the systems that power FINRA's market surveillance and regulatory oversight. This isn't just requirements documentation—it's detective work, problem-solving, and collaboration that directly supports fair and transparent markets. You'll work alongside senior analysts to translate complex regulatory needs into technical solutions, bridging the gap between market surveillance teams, technology developers, and FINRA member firms. From gathering requirements for new surveillance capabilities to testing critical system enhancements and training users on powerful analytical tools, your work ensures that FINRA's technology infrastructure keeps pace with rapidly evolving markets. If you're analytical, detail-oriented, and excited to learn the inner workings of securities trading systems while contributing to investor protection, this role offers an exceptional opportunity to grow your business analysis career in a mission-driven environment.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business, Information Technology, or related field
Minimum of four (4) years of related experience in business analysis, financial services technology, or securities operations
General understanding of fixed income and/or equity order management or trade reporting systems
Working knowledge of application design and analysis
Excellent organizational skills with ability to manage changing priorities in a fast-paced environment
Strong written and verbal communication skills—you can translate technical concepts for diverse audiences
Ability to work effectively within established guidelines and procedures while adapting to evolving needs

Nice To Haves

Experience with securities industry processing, including knowledge of FINRA member firm order and trade reporting systems or exchange-based systems
Familiarity with market surveillance concepts or regulatory technology environments
Hands-on experience with business analysis tools such as Miro, JIRA, Confluence, or similar platforms
Background in quality assurance, user acceptance testing
Understanding of data collection and reference data management in financial services

Responsibilities

Collaborate with senior analysts to gather, draft, and refine business requirements, technical specifications, user guides, procedures, and technical notices to member firms—ensuring developers have clear direction and users have the guidance they need.
Work closely with Market Operations, Market Regulation, Office of General Counsel, and technology teams to ensure systems integrate seamlessly into real-time and post-market surveillance environments.
Assist in identifying milestones, maintaining project plans, tracking user feedback, and managing backlogs using tools like Miro, JIRA, Excel, and PowerPoint—keeping initiatives organized and on track.
Respond to inquiries from internal teams and member firms regarding data and system issues, troubleshoot problems, and escalate complex matters to senior analysts when needed.
Participate in requirements reviews with stakeholders, identify and write user stories and test scripts, and actively engage in application testing to ensure quality and functionality.
Create clear user documentation and training materials, and deliver end-user training that helps teams leverage FINRA's surveillance systems effectively.
Contribute to quality assurance processes through software reviews and release testing, protecting the integrity of FINRA's critical processing environments.
Collaborate both in-person and virtually to advance investor protection and market integrity in all that you do.

Benefits

competitive compensation
comprehensive benefits
professional development opportunities
discretionary bonus
overtime pay
comprehensive health, dental and vision insurance
basic life, accidental death and dismemberment, supplemental life, spouse/domestic partner and dependent life, and spouse/domestic partner and dependent accidental death and dismemberment, short- and long-term disability, long-term care, business travel accident, disability and legal insurance
immediate participation and vesting in a 401(k) plan with company match
eligibility for participation in an additional FINRA-funded retirement contribution
tuition reimbursement
commuter benefits
adoption assistance
backup family care
surrogacy benefits
employee assistance
wellness programs
15 days of paid time off
5 personal days
9 sick days
two volunteer service days
military leave
jury duty leave
bereavement leave
voting and election official leave
care of a family member leave
childbirth and parental leave
nine paid holidays