Data Management - Exploration, Team Lead

DRW is a diversified trading firm with over 3 decades of experience bringing sophisticated technology and exceptional people together to operate in markets around the world. We value autonomy and the ability to quickly pivot to capture opportunities, so we operate using our own capital and trading at our own risk.

Headquartered in Chicago with offices throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia, we trade a variety of asset classes including Fixed Income, ETFs, Equities, FX, Commodities and Energy across all major global markets. We have also leveraged our expertise and technology to expand into three non-traditional strategies: real estate, venture capital and cryptoassets.

We operate with respect, curiosity and open minds. The people who thrive here share our belief that it’s not just what we do that matters–it’s how we do it. DRW is a place of high expectations, integrity, innovation and a willingness to challenge consensus.

UP (Unified Platform) consolidates data and technologies into a comprehensive solution, accelerating time to market. Optimizing decision-making and research, our platform simplifies implementing new ideas, enhancing our competitive edge. We work from high-level requirements where data analysts and programmers are expected to gain an intimate understanding of the business. We strive for an environment where we have the autonomy to pursue business solutions without arbitrary management constraints. We are a group of polyglots and technologists always seeking to find the right tool for each problem.

The Data Management teams broadly collaborates with business users and other technologists to design, build and manage data products. DRW continually identifies opportunities in new markets, strategies and asset types. Team members are expected to develop broad domain expertise to deliver data solutions to solve a diversity of business problems. Examples include:

• Instrumentation – continual growth and refinement of historical financial instrumentation across asset classes, creating a ubiquitous domain throughout the trade lifecycle, from research to post-trade.
• Valuation – design, configuration and quality control of firm-wide valuation processes.
• Research Datasets – 3rd party and alternative datasets used for signal generation.

As a Team Lead of the Data Management - Exploration team, you will lead a team that drives the data analysis, content design, implementation and management of data products. The team’s closest collaborators include platform engineers and front office users. The team’s primary focus is the interoperability of data sets, reducing friction and overhead costs for the trade lifecycle. This role encompasses people leadership, technical leadership, project ownership, and hands-on data analysis and support activities.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of data analysts with a variety of skill sets, fostering a culture of excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Use strong leadership skills in mentoring, coaching, feedback, development, negotiation, and conflict management to enhance team performance.
• Lean on product leadership experience to plan, design, build and data products with vision and purpose.
• Drive project ownership, including defining requirements, resource allocation, and ensuring timely delivery of projects.
• Contribute to product design discussions, challenging ideas and actively participating in the new feature development.
• Support data products during European business hours, engaging with user questions and data processes.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience using data analysis tools such as pandas, Polars, or PySpark.
• 7+ years of data analysis experience in a financial markets firm. Multiple asset class experience required.
• 5+ years supporting production data products or pipelines.
• 4+ years of experience leading people, with a strong emphasis on mentoring and team development.
• Ability to own projects, define requirements, and lead individual analyst contributions and support initiatives.

Desirable Qualifications

• Strong domain knowledge experience supporting the trading lifecycle of derivatives.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, capable of fostering collaboration and effective teamwork across global locations.