Compliance Officer - Trade Conduct

POSITION OVERVIEW

We are seeking an experienced Trade Conduct Compliance Officer to serve as the firm's primary subject matter expert on trading surveillance, market conduct, and exchange-level compliance obligations. This individual will be responsible for monitoring, investigating, and escalating trading activity across the firm's proprietary trading operations and IB business to ensure adherence to CFTC regulations, NFA rules, and the rulebooks of applicable Designated Contract Markets (DCMs). This is a highly analytical, market-facing role requiring deep fluency in futures and derivatives trading mechanics.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Trade Surveillance & Market Conduct Monitoring

• Design, operate, and continuously enhance the firm's trade surveillance program, covering the full spectrum of manipulative and disruptive trading practices including spoofing, layering, wash trading, pre-arranged trading, and banging the close.
• Monitor proprietary trading and IB-introduced order flow for compliance with CFTC Regulation 180.1 (anti-manipulation), 180.2 (price manipulation), and applicable DCM rules.
• Conduct daily, weekly, and periodic reviews of trading alerts generated by surveillance systems; triage, investigate, and document findings with appropriate escalation.
• Maintain comprehensive surveillance logs and investigation records sufficient to demonstrate a robust supervisory system to NFA examiners.
• Liaise with FCM and other exchange surveillance departments in response to inquiries, trading halts, and audit trail requests.

Regulatory Compliance — Trading Operations

• Own compliance with audit trail, large trader reporting obligations and ongoing position monitoring.
• Monitor and ensure compliance with position limits established FCM across all products traded by the prop desk and IB customers.
• Oversee compliance with NFA requirements for trade record-keeping, including order ticket retention, time-stamping, and voice/electronic communication capture.

Best Execution & Order Handling

• Review IB order routing and execution quality to assess adherence to best execution standards and identify potential conflicts of interest or front-running risk.
• Monitor algorithmic and automated trading strategies deployed by the prop desk for compliance 
• Assess pre-trade and post-trade controls, working with the Risk and Technology teams to ensure kill switch functionality and other required risk controls are operational.

Investigations & Escalation

• Conduct thorough investigations of potential trading violations, preparing detailed investigation memoranda with factual findings and recommended disposition.
• Escalate significant findings to the CCO and, where required, support regulatory self-reporting determinations.
• Participate in NFA examinations and CFTC inquiries relating to trading conduct, preparing supporting documentation and presenting surveillance program capabilities.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with teams to deliver proactive compliance guidance on new strategies, markets, and instruments prior to deployment.
• Work closely with Business Conduct on shared regulatory matters, firm-wide training, and the annual compliance review.
• Collaborate with Technology and Risk on the build-out and ongoing calibration of automated surveillance tooling and alert logic.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• 5+ years of compliance, market regulation, or surveillance experience within a regulated environment (FCM, prop trading firm, IB, DCM market regulation, or DSRO).
• Strong technical understanding of futures and options on futures products, market microstructure, and trading mechanics across CME Group, ICE, and other major DCMs.
• Working knowledge of anti-manipulation rules, NFA Compliance Rules applicable to trading activity, and DCM Core Principles.
• Hands-on experience with trade surveillance systems and alert triage workflows.
• Familiarity with CAT reporting, Large Trader Reporting (CFTC Parts 17/18), and CFTC Form 40 obligations.
• Series 3 (National Commodity Futures Examination) — active registration required.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct and document trading investigations in a regulatory context.

Preferred

• Experience with algorithmic and high-frequency trading compliance, including review of automated strategies and pre-trade risk controls.
• Familiarity with swap dealer and compliance obligations.
• Experience with Python, SQL, or other data analysis tools for trade data review.
• Series 30 (Branch Manager) registration.