Position Title: Sr. Futures Trader / Desk Lead
 
Location: Chicago, IL, New York or Remote (U.S.-based) / Amsterdam, London, or Singapore (Amsterdam on-site preferred for international traders)

Employment Type: Full-Time

Compensation: Highly Competitive PnL split with guaranteed base structured to trading performance, plus benefits package.
 
Overview
Retained search for a senior futures trader to lead or join a high-performing desk at a globally positioned proprietary trading firm. The firm is expanding its footprint across global listed futures markets with a focus on scalable, alpha-generating strategies in rates, energy / commodities, and equity index products.  The ideal candidate is coming from a top proprietary firm or trading desk and will bring an entrepreneurial mindset and a proven track
record of monetizing proprietary trading models to build a new team. This is a rare opportunity to gain autonomy and resource support within a high-performing trading environment.
 
About the Firm
This opportunity is with a mid-sized, privately held proprietary trading firm with global reach headquartered in Chicago with a strong operational base in a top-tier European financial hub. For nearly 20 years, the firm has successfully traded its own capital across global futures and options markets, delivering consistent, high-performance results without outside investors. The firm combines institutional-grade infrastructure with the agility of
an elite trading team. It operates across all major global exchanges and offers world-class technology, risk management, and support enabling senior traders to deploy and scale strategies with full autonomy.

The environment is built for serious professionals: cutting edge technology infrastructure (i.e. ultra low latency software and hardware), performance-driven, low-ego, and designed to reward capital efficiency through a transparent PnL split with guaranteed base compensation. This is a rare platform for traders ready to step into meaningful scale with a partner, not a hierarchy.

Required Qualifications
●    Senior-level trader from a top proprietary firm or trading desk  with a production-based track record of $2M+ in annual net trading revenue, and demonstrated consistency and the ability to scale strategies
●    Deep strategy-level expertise in in certain listed derivatives and securities markets, including but not limited to:
 
○    Interest Rates (e.g., U.S. Treasuries, European sovereigns, short-term interest rate derivatives)
○    Equities (e.g., global index futures, sector-based indices, volatility futures, single name US equities and ETFs)
○    Commodities (e.g., energy, agricultural, precious/industrial metals)
 
●    Ability to effectively communicate trading model concepts to team members and stakeholders
●    Strong risk management profile, with discipline to adhere to model framework
●    Technology acumen for signal generation and analytics is a plus (examples: Scripting tools, Python, R, Matlab, etc.) 
●    Experience mentoring junior traders or working with shared technical resources is a plus
 
While onboarding is handled internally, the firm is open to hiring additional teammates if required to support the successful operation of a new desk. 
 
Responsibilities
●    Manage all facets of proprietary trading strategies, including trade decision making process and risk modelling
●    Collaborate with a team to scale and develop signal-driven or hybrid automated/discretionary algorithmic trading strategies.
●    Collaborate with quantitative developers  to optimize parameter sets, latencies and execution logic
●    Monitor and adjust to real-time market structure, liquidity, and volatility conditions
●    Contribute to portfolio construction and macro strategy discussions
●    Lead or co-lead desk initiatives including new product onboarding, infrastructure needs, and technical support requirements

Firm & Trading Environment
●    Privately held and highly profitable
●    Trades across CME, ICE US, ICE Europe, Eurex, EEX, JPX, CFE, BrokerTec, and others
●    Transparent and merit-based profit allocation with no cap on earnings potential
●    Institutional-grade support across trade lifecycle: engineering, risk, operations, compliance, and data
●    Infrastructure supports both low-latency trading and research-intensive strategies, including advanced hardware systems (e.g., FPGA, custom networking)
●    Entrepreneurial and flat organizational culture with room for innovation and product leadership
 
Compensation & Benefits
●    Highly competitive base salary with performance-linked upside based on desk performance and capital deployment
●    Full suite of benefits:
 
○    Medical (BlueCross BlueShield PPO/HMO)
○    HSA contributions with HDHP
○    Dental, Vision
○    401(k) with match
○    Life and disability insurance
○    PTO, commuter benefits
○    Complimentary meals and beverages (on-site)
○    Gym access
 
Interview Process
●    Confidential and efficient
●    Begins with retained search partner, followed by virtual or in-person interviews with senior leadership, traders, and technical stakeholders
●    Final round may include an onsite session (as appropriate by location)

 _________________________
Trader Screening Questions
1.    What is your average daily trading volume?
(Please specify units: contracts, shares, or notional value.)
 
2.    What is your average daily and yearly PnL (please note 2025 and confirm trades were in production not in test)?
  How would you describe your PnL profile?
(e.g., consistency, ratio of winning to losing days, streaks, volatility in results.)
 
3.    What does your worst daily drawdown look like compared to your best single-day PnL?
(Please provide specific figures or ratios if possible.)
 
4.    Do you have any latency requirements for your trading strategies?
(e.g., sub-millisecond, low-latency co-location, no latency sensitivity.)
 
5.    How much capital are you currently trading?
(Specify proprietary, institutional, or personal capital.)
 
6.    What are your typical trade hold times?
(e.g., seconds, minutes, hours, overnight.)
 
7.    What time(s) of day do you typically trade?
(e.g., U.S. market open, European hours, Asia session.)
 
8.    What type of trader are you (e.g., discretionary, systematic, quantitative), which markets or products do you trade, and what is your core strategy in brief?
 
9.    How would you describe your technical skills?
 
○    Do you use Python or other coding languages in your trading?
(Please describe your level of coding experience or automation skills.)
 
10.    Are you currently under a non-compete agreement or any restrictive covenants?
(Please clarify terms and expiration, if applicable.)