VP / Director - Algorithmic & Electronic Trading Risk Management

Company Overview 

Jefferies is a U.S.-headquartered global full service, integrated investment banking and securities firm. Founded in 1962, we offer deep expertise across investment banking, equities, fixed income, asset and wealth management in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. 

Position Overview 

A Hong Kong-based VP / SVP, this role sits within the Global Algorithmic & Electronic  Trading Risk team with a local reporting line into Asia Risk.   The core mandate is delivering effective regional second-line oversight of our electronic executions and contributing to the global book of work — including cross-regional control enhancement initiatives. The successful candidate will bring deep knowledge of algorithmic trading and systems architecture, APAC market structure and exchange and ATS landscapes, and the regulatory frameworks governing algorithmic trading across the region. A minimum of 5 years' experience in electronic trading, algo risk, or market structure in an APAC context is required, at a seniority level commensurate with regional leadership in this space.   

Responsibilities 

Electronic Trading Risk Oversight 

• Lead daily second-line oversight of electronic trading activities across APAC markets including Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, India, and other regional venues. 
• Perform analysis of limit breaches, control rejections, exceptions, and connectivity events, with particular attention to market-open and auction-period risks across APAC trading sessions. 
• Assess algo behaviour and order flow in the context of APAC market structure complexities — including opening and closing auctions, intraday volatility mechanisms, circuit breakers, and exchange-specific order types — and proactively drive reviews within the team and with the business on the risk and execution implications of impending market structure and exchange rule changes before they land. 
• Work closely with the Trading, Quantitative Strategies, Compliance, Legal, Technology, and other controls function as a core part of day-to-day risk oversight and operational collaboration. 
• Support the identification of discrepancies and gaps in algo performance and design through Algos / eTrading Risk led read-across from APAC to global, contributing to a consistent global standard. 
• Contribute to control enhancement programmes focused on preventive controls, resilience, systems performance, and systematic comprehensive testing. 

Market Structure Risk Intelligence (Risk Team's Expert Remit) 

• Serve as the risk team's primary expert on APAC exchange and ATS market structure with a specific focus on what market structure means for algo risk controls and execution risk, distinct from compliance's regulatory obligations tracking. 
• Own the risk team's assessment of upcoming exchange and ATS changes — including new venue launches, rule changes, throughput and capacity limit updates, tick size changes, auction mechanism changes, and connectivity requirements — evaluating whether existing algo risk controls and parameters remain appropriate before effective dates land. 
• Represent the risk team's view in cross-functional reviews on market structure and exchange rule changes (e.g. monthly exchange rule change forums), ensuring risk implications are surfaced and acted on ahead of time rather than reactively. 
• Engage with the markets platform team on proposed algo behaviour changes to provide independent risk assessment — not designing the fix, but ensuring risk sign-off before changes go live. 
• Build and maintain relationships with exchange contacts and regional counterparts to ensure early visibility into developments from a risk perspective. 

Governance & Controls 

• Maintain and enhance the global governance framework, with specific ownership of APAC regulatory requirements. - Prepare materials for governance committees covering APAC algo and electronic trading risk.
• Lead reviews of controls versus APAC-specific regulatory frameworks including:    
  • Hong Kong: SFC Guidelines on Electronic Trading, SFC Circular on  Algorithmic Trading, HKEX trading rules and connectivity requirements. 
  • Japan: FSA Guidelines for Electronic Trading Systems, TSE/JPX market access rules, JGATE connectivity and co-location requirements.
  • Australia: ASIC Market Integrity Rules (Electronic Trading), ASIC RG241 and related guidance, ASX and Cboe Australia venue rules. 
  • India: SEBI Circular on Algorithmic Trading and Co-location, NSE/BSE algo registration and risk controls framework. 

Testing & Change Management 

• Review testing of algo releases and control changes, with focus on APAC-specific market conditions, order types, and session handling. 
• Review change logs and testing documentation for APAC-impacting releases. 
• Assess risk impact of exchange-driven changes (e.g. new auction mechanisms, tick size changes, order type updates, capacity limit changes) on existing algo strategies and controls. 

Operational Risk & Remediation 

• Assist Operational Risk in RCSA, scenario analysis from an Algos & eTrading Risk perspective for APAC. 
• Track risk-related remediation of audit or regulatory findings across the region. 
• Lead post-event analysis of algo and electronic trading incidents in APAC markets, engaging with internal and external stakeholders on the ground and driving remediation consistent with global standards. 

Requirements 

• Minimum 5 years' relevant experience in electronic trading, algo risk, or market structure in APAC markets; VP or SVP level commensurate with regional leadership experience in this space. 
• Deep knowledge of APAC exchange and ATS market structure, trading mechanisms, connectivity, and throughput and capacity requirements across at least two of: Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, India. 
• Working knowledge of algo systems architecture, order routing logic, trading infrastructure, order lifecycle, and microstructure in APAC market contexts. 
• Familiarity with APAC algo trading regulatory requirements (SFC, FSA, ASIC, SEBI) and demonstrated ability to track and interpret regulatory and exchange developments. 
• Exposure to FIX protocol, execution logs, and connectivity behaviour in APAC venue environments. 
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills; comfortable working with large order and execution data sets. 
• Strong working knowledge of SQL and Python. 
• Undergraduate STEM degree.