Trading Business Operations Lead

About the Trading Business Operations Lead role

At Anchorage Digital, we are building the world’s most advanced digital asset platform for institutions to participate in crypto. Anchorage Digital is a crypto platform that enables institutions to participate in digital assets through custody, staking, trading, governance, settlement, and the industry's leading security infrastructure. Home to Anchorage Digital Bank N.A., the first federally chartered crypto bank in the U.S., Anchorage Digital also serves institutions through Anchorage Digital Singapore, Porto by Anchorage Digital, and other offerings. The company is funded by leading institutions and has a Series D valuation over $3 billion. Founded in 2017 in San Francisco, California, Anchorage Digital has offices in New York, New York; Porto, Portugal; Singapore; and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

We are seeking an experienced and highly analytical and hands-on Trading Business Operations Lead to lead the operational and non-trading functions for Anchorage Digital Prime business.

Operational and Trade Lifecycle Management

• Complex Trade Vetting: Act as the orchestrator for non-standard, complex, or high-value trades (e.g., structured derivative products, non-vanilla financing arrangements) across all three desks.
• Process Design and Implementation: Collaborate with Front Office and Middle/Back Office to design, document, and implement robust, scalable, and efficient operational workflows for current as well as new products and markets.
• System Integration: Oversee the integration and optimization of trading, risk, and settlement systems to ensure data accuracy and seamless processing across strategies.
• Issue Resolution: Be the senior escalation point for trade breaks, settlement failures, reconciliation issues, and other operational delays, driving swift resolution.

Risk, Compliance, and Governance

• Compliance Alignment: Ensure all trading activities adhere to internal policies, regulatory requirements, and jurisdictional rules (e.g., MiFID II, Dodd-Frank, etc., as applicable).
• New Product Approval (NPC): Lead the internal New Product Committee process, conducting thorough due diligence on the operational, compliance, legal, and risk impact of proposed new trading strategies or products.
• Counterparty Management: Manage relationships and necessary documentation (e.g., ISDA, CSA, GMRA, MSLA) with prime brokers, custodians, and central clearing counterparties.
• Regulatory Reporting: Ensure timely and accurate submission of all required regulatory and management reports in coordination with the Compliance and Finance teams.

Business Strategy and Infrastructure

• Infrastructure Scaling: Partner with the Head of Technology to plan and execute infrastructure upgrades and capacity planning to support desk growth and evolving complexity.
• Vendor Management: Evaluate, onboard, and manage external technology and service providers critical to the trading and operations function.
• Performance Metrics: Develop and monitor operational KPIs to measure efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and service quality across all support functions impacting the desk.

Required Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, Economics, or a related quantitative field. An MBA or CFA is highly desirable.
• Experience: Minimum of 8-10 years of experience in a COO, Head of Operations, or senior Business Management role within a sell side trading business, asset manager/hedge fund, or proprietary trading firm.
• Product Knowledge: Mandatory deep functional understanding of the operational and risk implications of products across Spot/Cash Markets, Prime Finance (Securities Lending, Repo), and Derivatives (Swaps, Futures, Options).
• Crypto Exposure: Deep Understanding of the operational and risk challenges associated with trading and settling digital assets and related products (e.g., crypto futures, ETPs). Familiarity with custody solutions and the concept of on-chain vs. off-chain settlement across various protocols.
• Regulatory Acumen: Strong working knowledge of global financial market regulations and operational best practices.
• Soft Skills: Exceptional communication (written and verbal) and interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to bridge communication gaps between traders and operational specialists.

Desired Attributes

• Problem Solver: Demonstrates the ability to analyze a complex business problem (e.g., a non-standard trade) and quickly map out the necessary operational, compliance, and legal steps for successful execution.
• Proactive: Anticipates operational bottlenecks or regulatory changes that could impact trading activity.
• Leadership: Proven ability to manage cross-functional projects and influence stakeholders without direct reporting authority.

Key skills/competency

• Trading Operations
• Digital Assets
• Risk Management
• Regulatory Compliance
• Process Design
• System Integration
• Trade Lifecycle
• New Product Approval
• Counterparty Management
• Infrastructure Scaling