Topstep

Director of Trading & Platform Operations

Chicago, United StatesFull timeDirectorPosted 21 days ago
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Summary The Director of Trading & Platform Operations oversees the daily execution of high-stakes, real-time activities across the Trade Desk and Platform Support Desk, ensuring operations are efficient, compliant, and scalable. This role provides front-line supervisory oversight over live market risk and the proprietary platform customer experience. By driving process improvement and strengthening cross-departmental communication, this leader ensures consistent, high-quality service under NFA and CFTC standards. Key Responsibilities Oversee Daily Trading & Desk Operations Drive real-time execution for the Trade Desk and Platform Support Desk, ensuring timely, accurate, and compliant service delivery. Drive operational efficiency across critical retail client workflows, including payment processing (failed cards/Cosmos), user funding/withdrawals, and KYC/onboarding documentation approvals. Manage high-volume client escalation queues and enforce standard operating procedures for dynamic customer communications. Maintain a consistent operational rhythm through fast-paced issue resolution, coverage schedules, and escalation tracking. Identify process bottlenecks and recommend technology or workflow improvements to increase execution speed and efficiency. Platform & System Management Act as the primary operational owner for the proprietary trading platform’s customer support experience and technical queues. Partner directly with Engineering, Product, and Technology teams to triage, escalate, and resolve proprietary platform bugs, outages, and system errors affecting users. Provide operational input into enterprise-level initiatives, prioritizing platform scalability, automation, and user experience enhancements. Risk & Controls Act as the ultimate operational escalation point for real-time trading issues, complex execution concerns, and automated or manual liquidations. Collaborate with the Director of Risk to monitor and enforce margin, liquidation, and order-rejection parameters. Maintain contingency and communication plans for platform outages, margin changes, and wide-scale issues (WSIs). Participate in post-incident reviews and recommend rapid process or control improvements to prevent recurrence. Supervision & Compliance Ensure rigorous adherence to NFA and CFTC operational and record-keeping standards (e.g., CFTC Rule 1.31 retention requirements). Escalate supervisory issues, customer complaints, and trading exceptions appropriately. Assist the Head of Brokerage with audits, evidence packs, and regulatory reviews. Strategic & FCM Support Execute daily operational processes involving FCM and clearing partners (e.g., Plus500), including margin updates, trade-error resolution, and workflow coordination. Implement FCM-directed process or system changes that directly impact live Trade and Support Desk operations. Maintain clear, authoritative communication channels with FCM counterparts; escalate exceptions or service iss...