Middle Office Specialist

Riva Recruiting; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Riva Recruiting presents an opportunity with a top buy-side firm in Chicago for a Futures Middle Office / Operations Analyst. You will work close to investment teams, owning processes from start to finish and shaping scalable platforms.

This role is ideal for a futures operations professional seeking greater visibility, ownership, and a hands-on team still building. You will reconcile trades, manage lifecycle events, and optimize billing with brokers and clearing firms, while supporting

Qualifications

• 2–7 years of futures operations or middle office experience.
• Strong understanding of futures brokerage, give-ups, and billing.
• Excellent communication with traders and senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Own daily trade, position, and valuation reconciliations with clearing firms and brokers.
• Manage the full trade lifecycle in futures and options, including expirations and exercises.
• Oversee brokerage, give-up, and billing processes and ensure fee accuracy.

Skills

Attention to detail

Ownership mentality

Communication with traders

Problem spotting

Tools

CME ClearPort

WebICE

FIA Tech Atlantis

DOCS

Job description

Title: Futures Middle Office / Operations Analyst – Top Buy-Side Firm (Chicago)

About the opportunity

A top-tier global buy-side firm is expanding its futures business, one of its fastest-growing profit centers. The firm is adding new markets, products, and people around the world, and the Middle Office/Operations team is central to that growth.

This isn’t a back-office processing seat. You’ll sit close to the investment teams, own processes from start to finish, and help shape how the platform scales. If you’re a futures operations professional who wants more visibility, more ownership, and a team that’s still building, this is worth a conversation.

• Own daily trade, position, and valuation reconciliations with clearing firms (FCMs), executing brokers, prime brokers, and fund administrators
• Manage the full trade lifecycle in futures and options, including expirations, exercises/assignments, and physical deliveries
• Oversee brokerage, give-up, and billing processes, and make sure fees and commissions reconcile accurately
• Support investment teams with analysis and reporting, and become the go-to expert on the firm’s in-house trade capture and reporting tools
• Build and maintain strong day-to-day relationships with counterparties and clearing houses
• Find gaps across front-to-back workflows and fix them through automation, new technology, and smarter processes
• Contribute to onboarding new markets and exchanges as the business expands globally
• 2-7 years of futures operations or middle office experience at a hedge fund, prop trading firm, FCM, or bank
• Hands-on experience with FCM reconciliations, including same-day trade recs and next-day total equity recs
• Solid understanding of futures brokerage, give-ups, and billing
• Working knowledge of exchange and industry platforms such as CME ClearPort, WebICE, and FIA Tech tools (Atlantis, DOCS); FCR experience is a plus
• A sharp eye for detail and an instinct to spot problems before they become problems
• Ownership mentality: you take on a process and make it better without being asked
• Strong communication skills and comfort working with traders, brokers, and senior stakeholders

Why this role

• Real exposure to the front office and trading
• A growing business where you can take on stretch projects and broader responsibility quickly
• A team culture that rewards initiative, people who wear multiple hats, and long tenure
• Investment in technology and in continual process improvement