Derivatives Trader, Listed Volatility

The role

We are hiring a trader to manage volatility exposure across our equity index and rates books.

Northbridge trades exchange-listed options and futures, with positions that express views on the pricing of volatility rather than on the direction of the underlying market. Signal generation is systematic. The trader is accountable for the risk from the moment it goes on until it comes off, which is the part of the job that cannot be automated and the part we hire for.

This is a small firm. The person who takes this seat will work directly with research and with the risk function, will be expected to say when a model's output looks wrong, and will have the standing to act on that judgment within defined limits.

Responsibilities

• Manage exposure across strikes and expiries as the surface moves, keeping the book inside its assigned limits on net and gross greeks, concentration, and scenario loss
• Adjust hedges as the greeks change through the life of a position, and maintain the hedge structure through periods when the primary instruments become expensive to trade
• Execute through scheduled events and periods of reduced liquidity, with judgment about the execution path rather than mechanical adherence to a schedule
• Assess whether prevailing conditions still resemble those in which a strategy was validated, and reduce exposure when they do not
• Report risk clearly and early, including the positions that are working out badly

Requirements

• Working command of options pricing and risk, with genuine intuition for how delta, gamma, vega, and theta interact as a position ages and as volatility reprices
• Practical knowledge of the exchange-traded landscape, covering contract specifications, expiry and settlement mechanics, margin methodology, and the behavior of order books under stress
• Demonstrated discipline in adhering to risk limits, particularly in situations where you believe the limit is set incorrectly
• Sound quantitative reasoning and the willingness to interrogate a model's output rather than accept it
• Approximately three years or more in a derivatives trading, market making, or market risk function

Preferred qualifications

• Graduate training in mathematics, physics, statistics, engineering, or computer science
• Certified Futures and Options Analyst (CFOA) certification, or equivalent demonstrated grounding in listed options and futures
• Prior experience on a derivatives desk, in a clearing function, or in market risk
• Familiarity with a systematic trading environment, including the working relationship between a research function and a trading desk

Our reasoning on certifications is set out on the careers page. In short, a derivatives-specific certification covers the contract mechanics, settlement conventions, and margin methodology this desk uses daily, where generalist investment credentials cover portfolio construction and valuation across asset classes and are further from the work.

Regulatory and exchange registrations are sponsored by the firm where a seat requires them. Candidates are not expected to arrive holding them.

How to apply

Write to careers@northbridgecs.com with a curriculum vitae and a short note. A specific paragraph about a position you managed badly and what you changed afterward is more useful to us than a statement of interest.

We contact candidates we intend to take forward. We are not able to respond to every application.