Chief Operating Officer

Velox Clearing; Miami (FL); On-site; USD 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare

Dental

Vision

Life Insurance

Long-Term Disability

Job summary

Velox Clearing is seeking a hands-on Chief Operating Officer to lead and scale its clearing operations in Miami, overseeing clearing, settlement, custody, financing, and servicing of equity and listed-options activity.

The COO will drive operational resilience, regulatory readiness, and continuous improvement while partnering with the CEO, Finance, Compliance, Risk, and Technology to support growth and client service in a fast-paced market.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in broker-dealer or clearing operations.
• 5+ years of meaningful management responsibility.
• FINRA Series 7 and Series 24 licenses preferred.
• Bachelor's degree required.

Responsibilities

• Lead and scale clearing operations across equities, ETFs, listed options.
• Ensure operational resilience, regulatory readiness, and controls.
• Partner with CEO, Finance, Compliance, Risk, Technology and client teams.
• Develop operational KPIs, KRIs, dashboards, and reporting.
• Oversee daily clearing, settlement, and related processes.

Skills

Executive leadership

Broker-dealer operations

Regulatory compliance

Strategic planning

Risk management

People management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

SQL

Job description

Velox Clearing is a correspondent-clearing broker-dealer seeking an accomplished, hands‑on Chief Operating Officer (COO) to lead and scale its clearing operations. This executive will oversee the day‑to‑day operational infrastructure supporting the clearing, settlement, custody, financing, and servicing of equity and listed‑options activity.

The COO will be responsible for operational resilience, regulatory readiness, client service, controls, and continuous improvement across the firm. The ideal candidate will bring deep experience in U.S. broker‑dealer clearing operations and the ability to manage complex, time‑sensitive matters. This role partners closely with the CEO, Finance, Compliance, Risk Management, Technology, and client‑facing teams.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Lead and manage the Operations function, including staffing, workflows, supervision, training, business continuity, and succession planning.
• Establish and enhance operating procedures, supervisory controls, service standards, escalation protocols, and operational risk controls.
• Develop operational KPIs, KRIs, dashboards, and management reporting covering productivity, exceptions, client service, settlement exposure, and control effectiveness.
• Present operational performance, risks, capacity needs, and strategic initiatives to executive leadership.
• Promote a culture of ownership, urgency, accuracy, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Clearing & Settlement

• Oversee daily clearing and settlement operations for equities, ETFs, listed options, and related products.
• Manage core DTCC/NSCC/DTC processes, including trade comparison and reconciliation, CNS settlement, securities movements, fails management, stock‑record and position reconciliation, ACATS, and transfer activity.
• Oversee OCC clearing and settlement activities, including options reconciliation, exercise and assignment processing, expiration processing, margin‑related operations, collateral movements, and exception management.
• Ensure accurate and timely processing of IPO and new‑issue allocations, restricted securities workflows, and related securities movements, as applicable.
• Maintain operational readiness for market volatility, high‑volume days, corporate‑action events, settlement disruptions, and clearinghouse intraday requirements.
• Partner with Risk Management and Finance to oversee client margin calls, house and customer margin deficits, concentration‑related requirements, collateral eligibility, and intraday exposures.
• Monitor settlement obligations, clearing fund and margin requirements, collateral movements, financing needs, liquidity forecasting, and intraday funding requirements.
• Coordinate with Finance on cash management, bank balances, wire controls, payment approvals, settlement funding, and reconciliations.
• Oversee movement and pledge of firm collateral supporting regulatory capital, clearinghouse obligations, and operating liquidity.
• Escalate material settlement, margin, collateral, liquidity, customer debit, or concentration concerns to appropriate management and control functions.

Securities Lending & Corporate Actions

• Oversee securities lending and borrowing operations, including borrow availability, recalls, returns, marks, contract comparisons, collateral movements, and stock‑loan reconciliations.
• Partner with Compliance and Risk Management on Regulation SHO controls, close‑out requirements, locate processes, threshold securities monitoring, and related escalation.
• Oversee voluntary and mandatory corporate actions, including dividends, reorganizations, tender offers, mergers, conversions, rights offerings, spin‑offs, and option‑adjustment events.
• Ensure timely processing and communication of corporate‑action elections and entitlements.

Client & Market-Participant Management

• Serve as a senior operations contact for correspondent clients, execution venues, custodians, banks, clearing agencies, technology vendors, and other market participants.
• Strengthen client service through onboarding coordination, operational setup, issue resolution, reporting, settlement support, and escalation management.
• Work with execution venues and technology providers to resolve trade breaks, connectivity issues, market‑structure changes, and operational exceptions.
• Support implementation of new client‑facing and back‑office products, processes, reports, integrations, and workflow enhancements.

Regulatory & Control Environment

• Maintain strong knowledge of broker‑dealer operational requirements, including applicable FINRA, SEC, DTCC/NSCC/DTC, OCC, and exchange rules.
• Coordinate operational readiness for FINRA examinations, regulatory inquiries, clearing‑agency reviews, audits, and client due diligence.
• Partner with Compliance on operational components of books and records, customer protection, AML/KYC escalations, sanctions‑related holds, suspicious‑activity referrals, and regulatory reporting.
• Partner with Finance and Compliance on operational aspects of SEC Rule 15c3‑3, including reserve formula inputs, customer segregation, possession or control processes, securities deficits, and related reconciliations.
• Identify operational control gaps, perform root‑cause analysis on significant errors or breaks, and drive sustainable remediation.

Technology & Process Improvement

• Partner with Technology to improve automation, data quality, workflow controls, operational reporting, reconciliation tools, exception management, and business‑continuity capabilities.
• Translate operational requirements into clear business requirements, testing plans, control specifications, and implementation priorities.
• Improve straight‑through processing, reduce manual touchpoints, and strengthen exception‑based workflows without compromising controls.
• Support data‑driven decision‑making through SQL, relational databases, data extracts, operational dashboards, and analytical tools.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of relevant broker‑dealer, clearing, custody, or financial‑market‑infrastructure experience, including at least 5 years of meaningful management responsibility.
• Significant leadership experience in broker‑dealer clearing operations, correspondent clearing, prime brokerage, carrying brokerage, or a comparable clearing and custody environment.
• Deep working knowledge of U.S. equity and listed‑options clearing and settlement operations.
• Demonstrated experience with DTCC, NSCC, DTC, and OCC, including clearing, settlement, exercise/assignment, and margin‑related operations.
• Practical experience overseeing margin operations, settlement funding, collateral movements, cash management, securities lending, corporate actions, and trade/position reconciliation.
• Experience managing operational teams in a high‑volume, deadline‑driven, highly regulated environment.
• Experience working directly with FINRA, clearing agencies, banks, execution venues, vendors, auditors, and regulators.
• Ability to identify and appropriately escalat ... but the phrase is: operational, settlement, liquidity, credit, market, and regulatory risks.
• Strong record of improving workflows, controls, service levels, and operational scalability.
• Bachelor’s degree required; finance, business, accounting, economics, computer science, engineering, mathematics, or a related field preferred.
• FINRA Series 7 and Series 24 licenses required.
• Clean Form U4 and successful completion of applicable background checks required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a correspondent‑clearing or self‑clearing broker‑dealer environment.
• Knowledge of SEC Rule 15c3‑3, customer protection requirements, Regulation SHO, stock‑loan operations, ACATS, and securities transfer processes.
• Familiarity with AML/KYC operational controls, client onboarding, sanctions escalation, and suspicious‑activity referral processes.
• Experience with clearing platforms, reconciliation tools, market‑data systems, workflow automation, and operational reporting.
• Strong SQL skills or experience with relational databases, business‑intelligence tools, programming, automation, or systems analysis.
• Additional FINRA registrations, including Series 4 or Series 27, are a plus.

Core Competencies

• Exceptional operational judgment and attention to detail.
• Ability to operate calmly and decisively during market stress, settlement events, high‑volume days, and time‑sensitive exceptions.
• Strong people leadership, coaching, and organizational skills.
• Ability to balance client service, commercial objectives, regulatory obligations, and prudent risk management.
• Clear communication skills with the ability to explain complex operational matters to executives, regulators, clients, and technical teams.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving capabilities with an emphasis on root‑cause remediation.
• High integrity, sound judgment, and commitment to a strong compliance and risk culture.
• Full‑time, senior leadership role.
• Onsite – Miami, FL.
• Competitive compensation package commensurate with experience.
• Healthcare, dental, vision, life insurance, and long‑term disability benefits.
• Opportunity to help shape the operational strategy, infrastructure, and growth of a correspondent‑clearing broker‑dealer.