Senior Associate, Pricing & Margins

OCC • Dallas, TX

7d • $84,500 - $122,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Associate, Pricing & Margins supports OCC Risk Management functions, including the integrity of price data used for Risk Management and Core Clearing processes; SEC- and CFTC-regulated customer margin and haircut programs such as RBH/CPM and OFRA/SPAN; the establishment and periodic review of collateral and currency haircuts; and parameters used in risk modeling and the determination of Clearing Member margin requirements. The role performs market and theoretical valuation analysis across products cleared by OCC, products eligible as collateral, and products used in OCC-supported processes. It reconciles modeled outputs, investigates pricing irregularities using OCC tools, approves pricing data for transmission to downstream processes, and monitors market data and vendor entitlements.

The position also supports customer margin and haircut programs by evaluating product eligibility and treatment, setting and maintaining risk parameters and parameter files, and evaluating rate performance. It responds to Clearing Member and public inquiries, explains OCC's risk management framework and regulatory programs, conducts studies and analytics for senior management, and collaborates across departments on system enhancements. Additional duties include improving processes, maintaining written procedures, and training new team members. Occasional travel is required. The position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, or a related field.
• At least 3 years of experience in back-office operations or risk management.
• Strong understanding of securities and futures markets and derivative valuation, particularly option trading and pricing inputs.
• Understanding of statistical concepts such as VaR and Expected Shortfall.
• Ability to generate and evaluate descriptive and performance metrics from large data sets and synthesize results for management.
• Comfort with data validation and reconciliation.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work in a customer service-oriented environment and address questions from 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 through ad hoc analysis and collaboration across departments; able to develop creative and adaptive solutions.
• Ability to work independently with little direction or oversight and in a collaborative team environment.
• Good organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to work under pressure with multiple priorities and time-sensitive deadlines, emphasizing accuracy.
• Strong PC skills and comfort with the Windows environment.
• High proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including lookups, pivot tables, and complex formulas.
• Comfort analyzing and manipulating large, complex data sets with little oversight.
• Proficiency 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.

Nice To Haves

• Ability to modify SQL.
• Proficiency in Tableau.

Responsibilities

• Analyze market and theoretical valuations for products cleared by OCC, products eligible to be deposited as collateral, and products used in OCC-supported processes.
• Reconcile modeled output, investigate pricing arbitrage and irregularities using OCC tools, and update outputs where appropriate.
• Approve and sign off on price data transmissions to downstream processes, including model calibration, theoretical computations, and margin calculations.
• Evaluate market data vendors, manage market data entitlements, and monitor intraday financial market performance to ensure accurate pricing and market data.
• Correct pricing and data issues or escalate them to management, maintaining accuracy and timeliness.
• Administer SEC- and CFTC-regulated customer margin and haircut programs by evaluating product eligibility and treatment, and determining appropriate risk parameters.
• Maintain and develop parameter files for RBH/CPM and SPAN.
• Evaluate rate performance daily and periodically recalibrate related parameters.
• Answer questions from and support Clearing Members participating in OCC-administered regulatory programs and the investing public.
• Explain OCC's risk management framework to external parties and provide guidance on supported regulatory programs and relevant SEC, FINRA, and CFTC regulations.
• Conduct studies and analyses for senior management, including derivative valuation trends and risk analytics.
• Coordinate with application developers, quantitative risk analysts, and other departments on system development and enhancements.
• Recommend process improvements to enhance system performance and functionality.
• Develop and maintain written procedures for Pricing and Margins department processes.
• Assist with training and onboarding new Pricing & Margin team members.
• Travel occasionally as required.

Benefits

• Hybrid work environment with up to 2 days per week of remote work.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• Student loan repayment assistance.
• Technology stipend for connecting to the network while working remotely.
• Generous paid time off and parental leave.
• 401(k) employer match.
• Medical, dental, and vision benefits.
• Potential eligibility for a discretionary annual incentive compensation award with a target range of 6% to 10%.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior