Head of Derivatives Product, Dubai

Emerald Zebra; Dubai; On-site; AED 440,690 - 661,035; Full time

Job summary

Emerald Zebra, based in Dubai, is seeking a Head of Derivatives Product to lead the development of a crypto options trading platform. You will be responsible for the entire product vision, ensuring regulatory compliance and defining key trading rules.

The ideal candidate has 7+ years in derivatives management, specifically in options, and a strong understanding of crypto market structures. Responsibilities include defining product specifications and collaborating with engineering teams to deliver a user-friendly trading experience.

Qualifications

• 7 years in derivatives product management with 3 years specifically on options.
• Experience launching or scaling a derivatives product at an exchange.
• Deep knowledge of options mechanics, Greeks, and margin methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Define complete product specifications and trading rules.
• Own product roadmap from MVP through to v2.
• Collaborate with frontend engineering to enhance trader experience.

Skills

Derivatives product management

Options mechanics

Product specification writing

Crypto market structure understanding

API interaction

Job description

Head of Derivatives Product

Location: Dubai Reports to: CEO

About the Role

Our client is a well-established digital asset exchange and trading platform business that is building a crypto options trading platform (European-style cash-settled BTC/ETH options) to complement its existing offering. As Head of Derivatives Product you will own the end-to-end product vision from contract specifications and margin policy through to the trader-facing options chain experience and drive the platform from concept to live trading within six months.

Key Responsibilities

• Define the complete product specification for v1: instrument design (expiries strike intervals tick sizes contract multipliers settlement currency) trading rules and fee structure.
• Own the product roadmap from MVP (isolated margin weekly and monthly expiries) through v2 (portfolio margin multi-leg strategies combos and spreads).
• Translate the quant teams risk methodology (mark price IV surface liquidation logic) into clear publishable product documentation and trading rules.
• Design the trader experience in partnership with frontend engineering: options chain layout Greeks dashboards position management strategy builder.
• Benchmark continuously against leading crypto options venues; identify gaps and differentiation opportunities.
• Define settlement procedures expiry calendars and corporate-event handling (index disruptions exchange outages on reference venues).
• Work with the Market Maker Relationship Lead to shape maker/taker fee tiers block trade facilities and RFQ functionality.
• Own regulatory and compliance product requirements in coordination with legal counsel (jurisdictional eligibility KYC tiers position limits).
• Define and track success metrics: open interest daily volume bid-ask spreads active traders liquidation rates.
• Run beta programs with anchor clients; convert client feedback into a prioritized backlog.

Required Qualifications

• 7 years in derivatives product management with at least 3 years on options specifically (crypto or TradFi).
• Direct experience launching or significantly scaling a derivatives product at an exchange brokerage or trading platform.
• Deep working knowledge of options mechanics: Greeks IV moneyness margin methodologies (SPAN-style or portfolio margin) settlement and exercise conventions.
• Demonstrated ability to write precise product specifications that engineers and quants can build from without ambiguity.
• Experience working alongside market makers and understanding their requirements (API quality rate limits mass-quote cancel-on-disconnect).
• Strong understanding of crypto market structure: perpetuals funding rates index construction cross-exchange liquidity.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior role at a leading crypto options venue a major derivatives exchange or an options market-making firm.
• Experience with both retail and institutional product surfaces.
• Familiarity with derivatives regulation across key jurisdictions (EU/MiCA UAE/VARA Singapore/MAS).
• Hands‑on trading experience in options (personal or professional).

Success Looks Like (First 6 Months)

• Month 1: Complete v1 product specification signed off by CEO quant lead and engineering.
• Month 3: Testnet live with anchor client traders; trading rules and docs published.
• Month 6: Mainnet launch with 2 committed market makers and measurable daily volume.