Staff Product Data Analyst, Fraud & Surveillance

NinjaTrader; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 162,000 - 212,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous PTO

401k with company match

Health, Vision, Dental

Job summary

NinjaTrader is seeking a Staff Product Data Analyst to lead the in-house detection layer for fraud and market abuse across trading data. You will design rules, validate detections, and produce partner-ready surveillance reports while collaborating with eval and prop-firm partners.

Strong SQL, BigQuery/Athena experience, and 10+ years in data analytics are essential. The role sits in Chicago with hybrid work options and a comprehensive benefits package, including a 12% target bonus and 3.5%

Qualifications

• Deep trade-surveillance or market-risk experience with knowledge of market-abuse patterns (wash trading, hedging, reverse trading, collusion).
• Hands-on knowledge of futures/derivatives trading mechanics (fills, positions, P&L).
• Strong SQL and experience with a cloud data warehouse (BigQuery and Athena preferred).
• Ability to design detection rules or anomaly models with analytical defense of thresholds and validation.
• 10+ years in data analytics or data science, preferably in trading, fraud, risk, fintech, or market surveillance.
• Ability to translate technical findings into clear reporting for partners and executives.

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve detection models and rules flagging market abuse across trading data.
• Own partner-facing surveillance reporting end-to-end, from end-of-day reports to real-time monitoring.
• Collaborate with eval and prop-firm partners to validate true/false positives and tune rules.
• Translate fraud patterns into precise, tunable detection logic across criteria, thresholds, and scoring.
• Maintain data quality and hygiene across surveillance data used for detection and reporting.
• Investigate flagged cases end-to-end and produce evidence-backed findings for leadership.

Skills

Trade surveillance

Market risk

SQL

BigQuery

Athena

Data analytics

Fraud detection

Executive reporting

Education

Master's degree in analytics or related field

Tools

BigQuery

Athena

Python

Job description

Disclaimer: Please be advised that the most accurate and up-to-date information about our open roles---including job descriptions, compensation, and benefits---can only be guaranteed on our official job board. For the latest listings and details, please visit: https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/ninjatrader.

JOIN US ON OUR MISSION TO BECOME THE #1 RETAIL TRADING PLATFORM IN THE WORLD

Welcome to the dynamic world of NinjaTrader! As an industry-leading trading platform and futures broker, we're empowering traders to take control of their financial destiny. How do we do it? We provide cutting-edge products and services that enhance the trading journey. Whether a seasoned pro or just starting out, NinjaTrader equips traders with award-winning software and brokerage services to navigate the world's leading financial markets with confidence.

Our growth story is nothing short of exhilarating. Since 2003, NinjaTrader has been dedicated to understanding and supporting traders on their journey toward trading triumph. Through those efforts, our user base has grown to over 2 million users and we have become the number one rated futures brokerage worldwide.

But we're not stopping there. We're constantly evolving, pushing boundaries, and modernizing the futures industry. Our commitment to innovation means users will always have access to dynamic tools, real-time support, and a community of like-minded traders.

So, why work at NinjaTrader? Here, you're not just part of a team; you're part of a movement. We empower employees to reach new heights in their careers by providing a dynamic culture focused on social connection, professional development, and employee recognition initiatives. Sounds too good to be true? Take it from our employees.

Join us as we redefine what's possible in trading, advocate for our customers, and continue our journey toward becoming the world's top retail-focused trading platform in the world.

What you'll do:

NinjaTrader's Trade Surveillance team is being built to protect the integrity of our markets and our partners' programs by catching fraud and abuse before it costs anyone money. As a Staff Product Data Analyst, you'll own building and maintaining the in-house detection layer - the models and rules that flag wash trading, collusion, and eval/prop-firm fraud across our trading data - and the partner-facing surveillance reports built on top of them. Engineering builds the data pipeline; you define what runs through it, applying market-structure judgment to turn raw fills into defensible fraud findings that partners and leadership can act on.

In this role you will:

• Own and evolve the detection models and rules that flag market abuse - wash trading, hedging and reverse trading, collusion and coordinated accounts - across our trading data
• Own partner-facing surveillance reporting end to end, starting with standardized end-of-day reports and evolving toward real-time monitoring
• Work directly with eval and prop-firm partners to validate true and false positives, calibrate detection quality, and tune thresholds and rules
• Collaborate with partners on custom reporting and solution feasibility for partner requests
• Translate fraud patterns into precise, tunable detection logic across matching criteria, hold-time thresholds, recurrence windows, and P&L severity scoring
• Maintain data quality and hygiene across the surveillance data that feeds detection and reporting
• Investigate flagged cases end to end and produce clear, evidence-backed findings that partners and internal leadership can act on
• Reduce false positives continuously and surface new fraud patterns as bad actors adapt

What you'll need:

• Deep trade-surveillance or market-risk experience, including hands-on knowledge of market-abuse patterns such as wash trading, hedging, reverse trading, collusion, and copy trading, and how each can produce benign-looking lookalikes
• Working knowledge of futures/derivatives trading mechanics - fills, positions, and P&L - and what abusive trading looks like in practice
• Strong SQL and hands-on experience with a cloud data warehouse (BigQuery and Athena preferred), and comfort investigating large, messy transactional data
• Proven ability to design detection rules or anomaly models and defend them analytically - including precision/recall tradeoffs, thresholds, and validation - with domain judgment leading the analysis
• 10+ years in data analytics or data science, ideally in trading, fraud, risk, fintech, or market surveillance
• Ability to maintain data quality and turn technical findings into clear, concise reporting for partners and executives

Bonus Points for:

• Master's degree in analytics or a related quantitative field
• Prior prop-firm or brokerage experience
• Python or experience with fraud, AML, or surveillance tooling
• Experience building toward real-time or streaming detection

Compensation:

The salary range for this role will be $162,000.00 - $212,000.00 USD. In addition, this position will also receive an annual target bonus of 12%. Bonus pay at NinjaTrader is based on individual performance (50%) as well as company/team performance (50%).

Salary and bonus earnings are only two components of the total compensation package offered by NinjaTrader. NinjaTrader offers a 401(k) plan through ADP under which the company will match up to 3.5% of employee contributions. Annual paid time off allowance accrues at a rate of 23 days per year plus seven paid holidays.

Location:

This role is based in Chicago, IL. *There may be remote flexibility for exceptional candidates in the following states: California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington DC, Wisconsin.

Hybrid:

For Chicago-based employees, we follow a hybrid work schedule: In-office Tuesday through Thursday, with remote work on Mondays and Fridays. In addition to these weekly remote days, we offer:

• 20 additional flex remote days annually
• 6 Company Wide Office-Optional weeks tied to major holidays

Our Core Benefits Include:

• Generous PTO
• 7 Paid Holidays Annually + 5 Conditional Holidays Annually
• 1 Service Day Annually
• 401k with 3.5% Company Match
• Paid Parental Bonding Leave
• Health, Vision, Dental Coverage
• Life and Disability Insurance Covered 100% by NinjaTrader

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, or veteran status. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.