Product Specialist
Role
The Product Specialist will be a credible, experienced financial industry professional with excellent communication skills. They should have deep product knowledge in Cleared OTC and Exchange Traded Derivatives (ETD), including CCP margining frameworks, with a strong interest in expanding their expertise across the cleared derivatives trade lifecycle. They will deepen their understanding of pricing and modelling for these products, while collaborating closely with internal teams and clients.
Key Responsibilities
Product:
- Implement new margin models and risk analytics for Cleared OTC and ETD products.
- Develop deep expertise in Cleared OTC and ETD margin methodologies, including CCP SPAN, SPAN2, PRISMA, and VaR-based models, and assist in defining the requirements for implementing new models or updating existing ones.
- Support the Cassini Support team in validating results and resolving discrepancies, including those related to market inputs, pricing issues, and assumptions.
- Maintain a deep understanding of risk and effectively communicate complex concepts to both internal and external stakeholders.
- Participate in relevant industry working groups to stay up-to-date and maintain subject matter expert (SME) knowledge.
- Support the implementation of new models and risk analytics by:
- Developing prototypes in Excel or Python to assist with model design and testing.
- Collaborating with product owners to define and communicate model requirements for successful implementation.
Client-Facing:
- Provide SME guidance and support to the Client Delivery team for all client implementations within their area of expertise.
- Offer SME assistance to Pre-Sales and Sales teams during prospect demos and presentations.
- Identify client challenges and translate them into potential future Cassini solutions through pre-sales calls, quarterly business reviews, or working groups with existing clients.
- Engage regularly with clients to explain and enhance their understanding of pricing and margin methodologies.
Relevant Experience
A successful candidate will have the following experience:
- Experience working in Cleared OTC or ETD Derivatives, ideally at a CCP, clearing member, or buy-side firm with significant cleared activity.
- Strong knowledge of Cleared OTC and ETD products across asset classes and levels of complexity (linear and non-linear), including familiarity with major CCPs (e.g. LCH, CME, Eurex).
- Familiarity with Present Value (PV) calculations and differences between product types and markets.
- Expertise in CCP Initial Margin methodologies such as SPAN, SPAN2, PRISMA, or other VaR/risk-based cleared margin models.
- Understanding of the post-trade software solution landscape.
- Experience participating in industry working groups.
Requirements
- Strong quantitative, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
- Exceptional written and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to effectively engage with both internal teams and clients.
- Strong presentation and public speaking abilities, with experience addressing clients directly.
- A Russell Group university degree (2.1 or above) in a relevant field.
- At least 5 years of experience in the financial services industry, specifically in Cleared OTC and/or ETD Derivatives.
Reporting Line
The Product Specialist will report to the Head of Product Delivery.
