Operations Associate, Clearance & Settlement

Operations Associate, Clearance and Settlement

Experience: 3-5 Years Location: [New York, NY / Remote] Reporting To: Director of Operations

Company Overview:

RQD* is a modern clearing firm that offers clearing, custody, and execution solutions designed to meet the needs of today's dynamic market participants. Built entirely on cloud-native, real-time technology, RQD can quickly and seamlessly enhance its platform, adapt to regulatory changes, and offer a more efficient implementation that scales as clients grow. In addition to portfolio margin, RQD supports U.S. equities, options, ETFs, and other securities, catering to broker-dealers and FinTechs, including RIAs, that service retail, institutional, and active traders, foreign financial institutions, and proprietary trading firms. RQD Clearing is proud to be backed by our current investors, ABN AMRO Bank and Nyca Partners, and we are currently in the process of finalizing our Series B round of funding.

This is an opportunity to work for a fintech start-up and to be an integral part of growing a broker-dealer from the ground up. As a small, hardworking team, we pride ourselves on our entrepreneurial culture and cross-team collaboration.

Position Overview:

We are seeking an Operations Associate to join our Operations team, with responsibility for daily clearance and settlement, reconciliations, and asset servicing across our correspondent clearing platform.

Key Responsibilities:

Manage daily clearance and settlement activity at DTC and NSCC (CNS and non-CNS), including trade-for-trade, deliver orders, night cycle/day cycle processing, and exception resolution

Monitor and resolve fails to deliver and fails to receive, including Reg SHO Rule 204 close-out obligations and buy-in processing

Identify, track, and resolve possession and control, segregation, and margin deficits in coordination with Compliance and Risk

Perform daily cash and position reconciliations between internal books and records, DTC, NSCC, and bank accounts; investigate and clear breaks in a timely manner

Process the full lifecycle of corporate actions (mandatory and voluntary), including announcements, entitlements, elections, allocations to correspondents and customers, and post-event reconciliation

Support correspondent broker-dealers with settlement, reconciliation, and asset servicing inquiries, delivering timely and accurate responses

Support regulatory reporting, audits, and examinations as they relate to operations functions

Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Business, or a related field

3–5 years of experience in clearing and settlement operations at a broker-dealer, clearing firm, or custodian

Strong working knowledge of DTC and NSCC systems and processes (CNS, settlement, position management), and familiarity with corporate actions processing

Experience with reconciliations, fails management, buy-ins, and deficit resolution

Understanding of relevant regulatory requirements (e.g., Reg SHO, SEC Rules 15c3-3)

Strong attention to detail with the ability to process high volumes with accuracy under daily deadlines

Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills

Proficiency in Excel; SQL experience a plus

Series 99 or 7 a plus

Why RQD?

We're changing the clearing and custody space for the better, and we're always seeking driven, talented individuals who can help us on that journey. Working alongside our team of clearing professionals means you'll advance your career while helping some of the world's foremost financial institutions transact more efficiently. Best of all, you'll join a firm that is deeply committed to its people, its clients, and the industry at large.

Benefits:

UnitedHealthcare medical coverage (multiple plan tiers, including HDHP options) — company covers 90% of premium costs, effective your first day of employment. Dental and Vision included.

Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options

Paid Time Off — 20 accrued vacation days/yr, 6 sick days/yr (with carryover), 2 personal days/yr, and 1 volunteering day/yr

401(k) with a strong employer match — 100% match on the first 4% of employee contributions, immediately vested

The salary range for this position is $75,000 – $90,000. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors. The role is eligible for an annual discretionary performance bonus and equity compensation.

Salary Range $75,000 — $90,000 USD

RQD is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a team with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.