Overlay Trading Automation Analyst

Kestra Financial•Austin, TX

60d

About The Position

As a member of the Overlay Trading Team at Kestra Financial, the Trading Automation Analyst will support the execution, scaling, and continuous improvement of trading and portfolio implementation workflows across UMAPlus, Kestra's premier advisory program. This role combines hands-on involvement in managed account trading operations with a strong emphasis on building practical automation, tooling, and reporting solutions that improve scale and operational consistency. The ideal candidate is analytically sharp, technically capable, and operationally minded—someone comfortable using Python, SQL, Excel, and workflow tools to solve business problems while also developing a strong foundation in UMA trading, overlay strategies, and portfolio implementation. This role is well suited for someone who wants to sit at the intersection of trading, operations, data, and technology and grow into a high-impact contributor on a modern trading desk.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Business, Information Systems, Data Analytics, or a related field required.
1–3 years of experience in trading operations, investment operations, business analytics, financial technology, or a similar role preferred.
Candidates with stronger technical skills and less direct industry experience will also be considered.
Strong problem-solving ability with a practical mindset and excellent attention to detail.
Proficiency in Python for scripting, automation, data transformation, and internal tooling.
Proficiency in SQL for querying, validating, and analyzing operational and portfolio data.
Comfort working in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment with multiple priorities and evolving business needs.
Ability to translate operational and business pain points into technical solutions.
Strong organizational skills and ability to document workflows clearly and thoroughly.
Strong communication and collaboration skills across trading, operations, portfolio management, and external partners.
Curiosity and drive to learn investment operations, managed account structures, and trading workflows.
Ability to work independently on structured tasks while also collaborating closely with stakeholders.
FINRA Series 7 and 66 (or 63/65 equivalent), or ability to obtain within 90 days of hire.

Responsibilities

Support the execution and review of trades across client accounts using single-sleeve and multi-sleeve UMA models, in accordance with product guidelines and firm policies.
Build, maintain, and improve internal tools, automations, and reporting solutions that support trading, rebalancing, portfolio implementation, and operational workflows.
Use Python, SQL, Excel, and related tools to automate recurring processes, reconcile data, identify exceptions, and reduce manual effort.
Review portfolio data to identify outliers, discrepancies, and drift versus targets; escalate findings and recommend adjustments.
Monitor and support cash management, allocation tracking, exposure monitoring, and tax considerations (e.g., realized gains/losses) to improve efficiency and outcomes.
Partner with traders, analysts, and operations teams to understand workflow pain points and translate them into scalable process improvements.
Support the creation of dashboards, reports, and monitoring tools for portfolio drift, cash movements, account exceptions, trade status, and implementation activity.
Analyze portfolio and operational data to identify inconsistencies, inefficiencies, and opportunities for automation.
Assist in designing and documenting business processes, data flows, and operating procedures for trading-related workflows.
Help improve controls around data integrity, process consistency, and operational risk by introducing validation checks and exception handling.
Support current and legacy managed account programs through automation, workflow support, and process optimization initiatives.
Contribute to special projects related to trading technology, internal process redesign, and operational transformation.