Alpaca

Director of Market Risk Operations

United States

Not SpecifiedCompensation
Expert & Leadership (9+ years)Experience Level
Full TimeJob Type
UnknownVisa
Financial Services, Brokerage, FintechIndustries

Director of Market Risk Operations

Position Overview

The Director of Market Risk Operations will oversee market risk across a diverse range of products and asset classes, with a primary focus on initiatives within a regulated broker-dealer, including the design and oversight of a portfolio margin program. This cross-functional role will also support risk policy development across other lines of business, such as international brokerage entities and digital asset products.

Responsibilities

Portfolio Margin Risk Oversight

  • Lead the development and implementation of a portfolio margin program, including eligibility criteria, stress testing methodology, and escalation protocols.
  • Establish and maintain surveillance and risk monitoring procedures for accounts utilizing portfolio margin.

Cross-Product Market Risk Governance

  • Develop comprehensive market risk policies across equities, derivatives, and digital assets.
  • Ensure frameworks are aligned with regulatory expectations (e.g., FINRA Rule 4210) and internal risk appetite.
  • Coordinate across business units to ensure consistent application of risk controls across asset classes and regions.

Reporting & Risk Communication

  • Define the cadence and structure of market risk reporting to senior leadership, covering concentrations, sensitivities, and stress exposures.
  • Support business and product teams in interpreting and responding to risk signals.

Risk Modeling & Infrastructure

  • Guide the development of risk analytics and modeling tools to evaluate market exposures.
  • Work with engineering and data teams to ensure infrastructure supports real-time risk monitoring.

Requirements (Must-Haves)

  • Education: Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, Data Science, Statistics, or a related field.
  • Experience: 8+ years of experience in market or margin risk management across asset classes, with direct experience in a FINRA-regulated broker-dealer environment.
  • Licenses: FINRA Series 7 (or must be obtained within 3 months of employment).
  • Portfolio Margin: Proven track record of building or managing a portfolio margin program.
  • Market Risk Knowledge: Deep understanding of market risk drivers, including volatility, concentration risk, and liquidity.
  • Regulatory Familiarity: Familiarity with regulatory requirements including FINRA 4210 and SEC capital rules.
  • Collaboration: Experience collaborating across trading, compliance, product, and engineering teams.
  • Communication: Strong communication skills and ability to influence across organizational levels.
  • Financial Markets: Strong understanding of financial markets, trading operations, and brokerage services.
  • Ethics: High ethical standards and a commitment to maintaining confidentiality.

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: Raised over $170 million.
  • 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.

Application Instructions

  • [Specific application instructions would typically go here if provided.]

Employment Type

  • [Employment Type information would typically go here if provided.]

Location Type

  • [Location Type information would typically go here if provided.]

Salary

  • [Salary information would typically go here if provided.]

Skills

Market Risk
Portfolio Margin
Risk Policy
Broker-dealer
Financial Services
Operations Management

Alpaca

API-first brokerage for stock trading

About Alpaca

Alpaca Securities LLC operates in the stock brokerage industry by providing an API-first brokerage service that allows other businesses to create their own trading applications. This service enables companies to integrate stock trading functionality into their platforms without the need to become brokers themselves, saving them time and resources. Alpaca's API supports seamless trading experiences for users and includes features like Local Currency Trading, which allows international investors to trade US stocks in their local currency. Additionally, Alpaca offers crypto wallets and coin pair trading, expanding the financial services available to its clients. Unlike traditional brokers, Alpaca focuses on a business-to-business model, catering primarily to other companies that want to offer trading services to their customers. The goal of Alpaca is to simplify the trading process for businesses and their users while providing a secure and efficient platform for executing trades.

San Mateo, CaliforniaHeadquarters
2015Year Founded
$84.5MTotal Funding
CONVERTIBLECompany Stage
Fintech, Financial ServicesIndustries
201-500Employees

Benefits

Competitive salary & stock options
Medical, dental, & vision
Home office setup stipend
Monthly Brex Card stipend

Risks

Increased competition from fintech platforms like GUGU offering commission-free trading.
Potential regulatory challenges in international markets may complicate Alpaca's expansion.
Self-clearing transition introduces operational risks in managing settlement processes.

Differentiation

Alpaca offers API-first brokerage services, enabling businesses to build trading applications.
Alpaca supports local currency trading, simplifying US stock trading for international investors.
Alpaca provides crypto wallets and coin pair trading, expanding financial services for clients.

Upsides

Alpaca's self-clearing transition enhances asset transfers and securities lending opportunities.
Partnership with Derayah Financial accelerates Middle Eastern business expansion for Alpaca.
Alpaca's limit orders and extended hours trading for fractional shares lead retail trading.

Land your dream remote job 3x faster with AI