Legal Counsel

Optiver; Singapore; On-site; SGD 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance-based bonus

Training and mentorship

Daily breakfast and lunch

Weekly chair massages

Corporate health insurance

Company social events

Job summary

Optiver Singapore seeks an experienced financial services lawyer to be the sole legal practitioner in Singapore, reporting to the APAC General Counsel. You will handle regulatory, corporate and commercial matters, including MAS-licensed entity initiatives and onboarding financial intermediaries to scale the business.

You will lead legal structuring, drafting and risk assessments, support OTC product expansion and cross-border governance with a global team, and advise local management on

Qualifications

• Singapore-qualified financial markets lawyer with 10+ years in top-tier law firm or in-house.
• Experience with ISDA documentation (Master, Schedule, CSA, netting opinions) in equity derivatives.
• Strong regulatory, corporate and commercial contracting capabilities.
• Ability to operate semi-independently within a distributed global team.

Responsibilities

• Provide regulatory advice and risk assessments for MAS-licensed entities and onboarding intermediaries.
• Lead contract drafting and negotiations for commercial, software, IT and market data agreements.
• Support OTC product expansion and execution, including equity options or related products.
• Advise on corporate, employment, IP and data privacy matters as needed.
• Develop governance, risk control frameworks and policy design with regional teams.

Skills

ISDA framework knowledge

Regulatory problem solving

Cross-border collaboration

Negotiation and drafting

Communication skills

Education

Singapore-qualified financial markets lawyer

Job description

An exciting opportunity exists for an experienced and self-starting financial services lawyer to join the Optiver team in Singapore as the organisation continues to grow and develop new trading opportunities. Singapore is a strategically important location and represents a key part of the Optiver business plan both regionally and globally. Optiver Singapore has a commercial remit to engage in cash, ETF equity derivatives, index, foreign exchange and commodity derivatives trading on Singapore and other Asian and global exchanges and trade directly with institutional counterparties.

WHO OPTIVER IS:

Optiver is a leading global electronic market making and proprietary trading business, focused on pricing, execution and risk management. We provide liquidity to financial markets using our own capital, at our own risk, trading a wide range of products.

The APAC region supports trading activities globally from our APAC offices in Sydney, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mumbai, Shanghai and Singapore.

Optiver is proud of its unique organisational culture, which is highly focused on performance and innovation. Optiver has undergone rapid growth in the last 5 years and is now seeking to integrate a globally aligned business model whilst continuing to explore opportunities in new products, new markets and with new counterparties. It is increasingly expanding its capabilities beyond listed trading and into OTC derivatives and the institutional trading space, which leans heavily upon legal support.

WHO LEGAL IS:

The global legal function consists of approximately 30 lawyers, operations specialists and paralegals based variously in Europe, the US and APAC.

Legal has evolved to become a key business partner and advisory function, playing a unique role in both business enablement and risk management.

It supports all first line Trading and Technology business objectives as well as to second line functions such as Compliance, Risk and HR. It advises management on risk and governance and it also provides Company Secretarial services to relevant legal entities.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

As the primary legal adviser in Singapore, you will join the APAC Legal team, a team of 10 professionals in the region (including lawyers and corporate secretarial and legal operations specialists). In this role, reporting to the APAC General Counsel (based in Sydney) you will be working with Legal colleagues globally and with the local Singapore management team as well as with local and regional colleagues such as Corporate Strategy, Trading, Compliance and Risk teams.

• Legal structuring, risk assessments, regulatory advice, product approvals, contract negotiation/drafting and execution, particularly in respect of the MAS Licensed Singapore trading entity initiatives. This may include onboarding financial intermediaries (clearers/brokers) and counterparties to scale the business.
• Commercial contracting, including software contracts, IT supply contracts and market data contracts.
• Support OTC Product expansion and execution. This may typically include equity options or total return swaps, with a range of underlyings.
• Other strategic business initiatives (such as financing arrangements) to support capital efficiency and scaling.
• Regulatory advisory (working with Compliance teams on interpretation, scoping and risk assessments).
• Ad hoc advice to local management teams and other functions including Procurement, Business Operations, Tax and HR. This will include more general support from time to time on corporate and commercial matters such as employment, IP and data privacy.
• Working with Legal colleagues regionally and globally and contributing on know-how sharing and alignment initiatives, operational matters such as risk control frameworks, counsel engagement, document management, reporting, process improvements, policy-design and governance.

WHO YOU ARE:

• As the sole legal practitioner in Singapore, you will have the experience and maturity to be the key point of contact in the jurisdiction and handle a broad range of familiar financial, corporate and commercial legal topics but willing to grow with this role and test yourself in new areas.
• A Singapore qualified financial markets or financial services lawyer with at least 10 years’ experience in a top tier law firm and/or in-house (some previous in-house experience e.g. at an investment bank or buy-side is a strong preference).
• Strong interest in legal problem solving and using technology to create solutions
• Excellent communication skills; eagerness to learn; questioning disposition; attention to detail; agility and willingness to adapt to the needs of a rapidly expanding business
• Experience with the ISDA contractual framework, Master, Schedule, CSA, Master confirmations, netting opinions etc, in particular in equity derivatives products.
• Sound working knowledge of key financial services and regulatory principles and laws relevant to a markets business in Singapore
• Ability to operate semi-independently in the location but also as part of a distributed global legal team and work cross-border

WHAT YOU’LL GET:

You’ll join a culture of collaboration and excellence, where you’ll be surrounded by curious thinkers and creative problem solvers. Driven by a passion for continuous improvement, you’ll thrive in a supportive, high-performing environment alongside talented colleagues, working collectively to tackle some of the most complex problems in the financial markets.

• A performance-based bonus structure unmatched anywhere in the industry. We combine our profits across desks, teams and offices into a global profit pool, fostering a truly collaborative environment.
• The chance to work alongside diverse and intelligent peers in a rewarding environment.
• Training, mentorship and personal development opportunities.
• Daily breakfast and lunch.
• Weekly in-house chair massages.
• Corporate health insurance.
• Regular social events, including a company trip every two years.

Optiver is committed to diversity and inclusion.

We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, and welcome requests for reasonable adjustments during the process.

Questions? Get in touch with the recruitment team at [e-mail].