Trade Surveillance Specialist

G MASS Consulting; New York (NY); On-site; USD 148,000 - 203,000; Full time

Job summary

G MASS Consulting, based in New York, seeks a Trade Surveillance professional to join its Compliance and Surveillance team. The role blends hands-on surveillance with data transformation to enhance detection, data quality, and automation.

You will own end-to-end improvements, work with technology teams, and monitor alerts across asset classes, in a fast-paced, ownership-driven culture. This on-site role is in NYC, for 12 months with potential extension or conversion.

Qualifications

• Hands-on trade surveillance experience in hedge funds, banks, or asset managers.
• Strong data analysis and manipulation skills, including SQL.
• Ability to balance BAU surveillance with data transformation projects.
• Ownership mindset with ability to work with minimal supervision.
• Familiarity with SEC and FINRA frameworks is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Monitor and review daily surveillance alerts across client-facing and proprietary flows.
• Investigate market abuse, insider trading, and trading anomalies across asset classes.
• Conduct deep-dive analysis of trading activity underpinning alerts.
• Document investigation findings per compliance procedures.
• Refine alert parameters and tuning, and rewrite definitions as needed.
• Collaborate on designing internal tooling to streamline workflows.
• Work with technology teams to optimise data feeds and surveillance infrastructure.
• Lead process and data improvement initiatives end-to-end.
• Assist with periodic reviews, regulatory requests, and audit queries.
• Contribute to ongoing enhancements of the surveillance framework and data architecture.

Skills

Ownership mindset

Data analysis

Data manipulation

SQL

Regulatory knowledge

Tools

Actimise

SMARTS

Job description

G MASS Consulting are partnered with a leading Hedge Fund, as they seek a Trade Surveillance professional to join its Compliance and Surveillance team in New York.

This role is ideal for someone who combines hands‑on trade surveillance experience with strong data manipulation and transformation skills. The role has a combination of BAU surveillance responsibilities, as well as process and data transformation initiatives to enhance detection capabilities, data quality, and automation.

Equally important is mindset. The team is small, fast‑moving, and highly commercial, and the successful candidate will be someone who takes ownership from day one, works without hand‑holding, and actively looks for ways to make the surveillance framework better.

This position is based in the firm's New York office, five days per week on site.

Responsibilities:

• Monitor and review daily surveillance alerts across both client‑facing and proprietary business flows, ensuring timely and accurate disposition.
• Investigate potential market abuse, insider trading, and other trading anomalies across multiple asset classes, escalating issues where necessary.
• Conduct deep‑dive analysis of the trading activity underpinning alerts, synthesising transactional data, market data, market context, client risk profiles, execution timing, and other potential risk factors.
• Document investigation findings in line with compliance procedures.
• Feed into and drive change initiatives to refine alert parameters, tune detection logic, and where necessary rewrite alert definitions outright - covering risk while aggressively minimising noise.
• Collaborate on the design and development of internal tooling to streamline governance, automate operational workflows, and stand up auxiliary monitoring platforms.
• Work with technology teams to optimise the data feeds, logic, and infrastructure supporting surveillance tools.
• Take ownership of process and data improvement initiatives end to end, identifying opportunities proactively rather than waiting for direction.
• Assist with periodic reviews, regulatory requests, and audit queries.
• Contribute to ongoing enhancements of the surveillance framework and data architecture.

Requirements

• A genuine ownership mindset. The team is deliberately lean and does not operate with close supervision: you will be expected to identify what needs doing, drive it to completion, and hold yourself accountable end to end.
• Hands‑on experience in trade surveillance, compliance monitoring, or control functions at a hedge fund, investment bank, or asset manager.
• Understanding of US and global market abuse regulations and surveillance practices across asset classes, including familiarity with the SEC and FINRA regulatory framework.
• Strong data analysis and data manipulation capability, including SQL, with the ability to interrogate large datasets and turn findings into practical improvements.
• Demonstrated experience balancing BAU surveillance work with data transformation or enhancement projects.
• Comfortable operating as the bridge between compliance and technology - writing requirements, supporting UAT, and holding technology teams to account.
• Exposure to surveillance platforms such as Actimise or SMARTS, including scenario and rule design, alert calibration, and threshold tuning, is advantageous.
• Curiosity and a demonstrable track record of improving the processes you inherit rather than simply operating them.

Rate: up to $1100/d, dependent on experience

Length: 12 months, with the likelihood of extension or a strong permanent conversion pathway. Standout performers have a genuine route to permanent positions