Derivatives Risk Oversight Lead

Skills

About the Role

You will lead independent oversight of derivatives trading risk by validating models, assessing exposures, and defining margin and counterparty frameworks. You will design and run stress tests and scenario analyses, prepare regulatory submissions, enhance capital and liquidity models, establish recurring risk assessment processes, and report findings with clear recommendations.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in financial risk management, ideally in a second line of defense capacity, with direct derivatives or market risk experience
• Excellent analytical skills and attention to detail with ability to independently test, recalculate, and challenge front-line risk metrics and product outputs
• Good understanding of the MiFID regulatory framework and prudential expectations relevant to derivatives
• Good knowledge of balance sheet components and drivers of income, including capital, liquidity, and P&L implications of leveraged derivatives activity
• Ability to operate independently and navigate ambiguity
• Effective communication and presentation skills with ability to challenge senior stakeholders using quantitative analysis
• Knowledge of the blockchain and virtual currency environment preferred
• Excellent English language skills, written and verbal

Responsibilities

• Implement and manage financial risk management programs for the Bitstamp Financial Services entity with focus on market, product, counterparty, margin, collateral, and liquidity risks for spot and derivatives activities
• Independently monitor risk exposures across financial and operational risks and escalate breaches of approved limits
• Review and validate risk models and assess exposure metrics across derivatives products and trading strategies
• Define and periodically review margin methodologies and assess adequacy of initial margin, maintenance margin, liquidation thresholds, collateral haircuts, and stressed close-out assumptions
• Define counterparty risk framework and limits and monitor exposures, concentration risk, and interconnected exposures
• Conduct stress testing and scenario analysis to assess impact of adverse market conditions and develop contingency plans
• Complete quarterly regulatory submissions required under the MiFID license, including ICAAP and quantitative reporting
• Build or enhance internal capital and liquidity models considering risks from derivatives trading, including perpetual swaps, leverage, funding mechanics, and liquidation events
• Develop key risk and early warning indicators and monitoring, and review risk appetites and escalation triggers
• Establish regular risk assessment processes covering daily monitoring, weekly and monthly deep dives, periodic model and margin review, exception tracking, and formal escalation governance
• Collaborate with process owners to manage and control material risks and act as a subject-matter expert on derivatives and trading risk
• Facilitate regulatory-required risk training and support clear ownership between first and second line of defense in risk identification, challenge, escalation, and remediation
• Report findings to management and regulatory authorities, highlighting key risk metrics, exposures, breaches, trends, and required management actions
• Collaborate with Product, Operations, Compliance, Legal, and Technology to integrate risk management into business processes, new product approval, control design, and risk tooling
• Independently conduct spot and derivatives risk assessments, including hedge effectiveness, basis risk, collateral sufficiency, concentration risk, and impact of extreme market moves
• Support scaling of the business by ensuring risk methodologies, controls, reporting, and governance remain robust as volumes and product complexity grow

Benefits

• Supplemental health insurance
• Ancillary insurance
• Mental health support programs
• Lifestyle wallet (employer-paid benefits spending account)
• Company holidays
• Paid time off
• Sick time
• Paid volunteer time off
• Parental leave
• Catered meals and office events
• Comfortable workspaces
• Monthly commuter stipend