This firm is competing with banks to hire data analysts, developers and even ex-traders

Would you work for a clearing house? Options Clearing Corp. (OCC), the largest equity derivatives clearing house in the world (with 14 U.S. equity options exchanges and 115 clearing member firms) is hiring. It added 56 positions this year, largely in technology but is about to start recruiting for data analytics, application development and business process management.

“Experience in regulated and process-driven environments is very helpful as individuals who come from these environments are able to understand the nuances of not only the technical work but the need for documentation and control,” said Tracy Raben, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at OCC.

There are a good number of former traders working at the clearing house. But while prior experience in the financial services industry is nice to have, it’s not a must-have to get hired by OCC.

“We have physicists, people from banking, insurance and a number of other industries,” she said. “Traders with experience in financial markets who have sought a different career path have been successful here as well.”

Raben expects OCC to remain at about the same total headcount as in 2016, with a continued focus on information technology, audit and risk management roles when the firm does make hires.

“Application developers, systems analysts and risk management professionals will be our top priorities,” Raben said. “Based on what we are seeing in the financial services industry, cybersecurity professionals, data scientists, data analysts and business process analysts will be in demand. We are seeing candidate salary expectations in these areas increasing, which is a sign of high demand,” she said.

Raben looks to add personnel to support its 14 owner and partner exchanges, which include the NYSE, Nasdaq and the Chicago Board Options Exchange, as well as the 115 clearing member firms that transact the equity options contracts that OCC clears.

Lead photo credit: Henk Badenhorst/GettyImages; photo of Raben courtesy of OCC