Options Clearing Specialist

Position Overview

Alpaca is seeking an experienced Options Clearing Specialist to manage the end-to-end options lifecycle for OCC-specific products. This role is crucial for building straight-through processing for Alpaca's self-clearing platform. You will be responsible for handling P&S, ACATS, OCC position reconciliation, assignment & exercise processing, corporate actions processing, and required regulatory and firm reporting.

Responsibilities

• Manage the complete post-trade lifecycle for listed options—clearing, reconciliation, and settlement—using OCC’s ENCORE platform.
• Process daily OCC activity, including trades, exercises/assignments, expiration events, and position reconciliations.
• Monitor real-time position reconciliation to confirm that long and short contracts align internally and externally.
• Monitor and resolve trade breaks, unmatched activity, and clearing discrepancies in coordination with counterparties and clearing firms.
• Reconcile firm and customer option positions against OCC records to ensure alignment.
• Confirm that corporate actions, accelerated options, cash-in-lieu processing, and like corporate events are processed promptly.
• Collaborate across departments for margin requirement funding, including pledging equities to reduce daily OCC requirement needs.
• Help fully automate ACATS, CMTAs, Spread file delivery, and LOPR reporting.
• Collaborate with operations, technology, and compliance teams to maintain and improve straight-through processing and exception handling.
• Stay on top of OCC notices, market events, and rule changes, and ensure relevant impacts are assessed and addressed operationally.

Requirements (Must-Haves)

• 3–5 years of hands-on experience working with OCC ENCORE in a clearing capacity.
• Deep understanding of the listed options clearing lifecycle, including trade capture, assignment, expiration, and reconciliation.
• Familiarity with OCC file types and processing cycles (e.g., E&A files, CMR, position files).
• Strong attention to detail and a track record of resolving operational breakdowns with accuracy and urgency.
• Proficiency with Excel or Google Sheets (pivots, lookups, etc.).
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to work cross-functionally under tight deadlines.
• Comfortable working in a regulated, high-volume environment with a focus on controls and process integrity.
• Possess a FINRA SIE or obtain one within the first 180 days of employment.
• Must be able to follow the company tenets:
  • Stay Curious
  • Have Empathy
  • Be Accountable

Who We Are

Alpaca is a US California headquartered brokerage infrastructure technology company and self-clearing broker-dealer, delivering execution and custody solutions for Stocks, ETFs, Options, Cryptocurrencies, and more, and has raised over $170 million in funding. Amongst our subsidiaries, Alpaca is a licensed financial services company in multiple countries, and we serve hundreds of financial institutions globally such as broker-dealers, investment advisors, hedge funds, and crypto exchanges.

Alpaca’s globally distributed team members bring in diverse experiences such as engineers, traders, and brokerage professionals to achieve our Mission of opening financial services to everyone on the planet. We are also deeply committed to open-source contributions and fostering a vibrant community. We will continue to enhance and improve our award-winning developer-friendly API and the infrastructure behind it.

Our Team Members

We’re a team of 200+ globally distributed members who love working from our favorite places worldwide. Our team spans the USA, Canada, Japan, Hungary, Nigeria, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and more!

We’re looking for candidates eager to join Alpaca’s growing organization, who are excited about our Mission of “Open financial services to everyone on the planet and share our Values of “Stay Curious,” “Have Empathy,” and “Be Accountable.”

Company Information

• Headquarters: US California
• Industry: Brokerage Infrastructure Technology
• Services: Execution and custody solutions for Stocks, ETFs, Options, Cryptocurrencies, and more.
• Funding: Over $170 million raised.
• Global Presence: Licensed financial services company in multiple countries, serving hundreds of financial institutions globally.
• Team Size: 200+ globally distributed members.
• Mission: Open financial services to everyone on the planet.
• Values: Stay Curious, Have Empathy, Be Accountable.

Employment Type

• [Employment Type information not provided]

Location Type

• [Location Type information not provided]

Salary

• [Salary information not provided]

Application Instructions

• [Application Instructions information not provided]