Location: New York City
Compensation: $200,000 - $250,000 base, plus equity participation and benefits
Search Managed By: Tough Tech Solutions Corp.
Client: Confidential

Tough Tech Solutions Corp. is conducting a confidential search for a senior Registered Operations Principal / Director of Broker-Dealer Operations for a financial technology firm expanding its U.S. broker-dealer platform.

This is a foundational operations leadership role for a FINRA-approved broker-dealer preparing to operate a self-clearing securities business in the U.S. market. The selected candidate will help design, implement, supervise, and scale the firm’s broker-dealer operations infrastructure while working closely with executive leadership, Compliance, FINOP, Finance, Technology, and external service providers.

This opportunity is best suited for a hands-on operations leader who understands broker-dealer control environments, self-clearing workflows, fixed income settlement, account lifecycle processing, supervisory obligations, and the practical realities of building an operations function from the ground up.

• Lead the development and day-to-day oversight of broker-dealer operations for a self-clearing U.S. securities platform.
• Establish operating procedures, control routines, documentation standards, supervisory checkpoints, and escalation protocols.
• Build operational workflows covering account opening, client onboarding, account maintenance, transfers, payments, trading support, clearing, custody, reconciliation, and settlement.
• Supervise operational activity across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, options, and other approved products.
• Monitor settlement activity, trade breaks, exceptions, fails, buy-ins, asset movement, and related operational risk.
• Coordinate with clearing agencies, custodians, counterparties, transfer agents, vendors, and internal stakeholders.
• Support operational readiness around ACATS and non-ACATS transfers, corporate actions, dividends, asset servicing, and client account changes.
• Partner with Compliance and Technology to embed controls into digital workflows and proprietary platform infrastructure.
• Maintain strong supervisory evidence, including review logs, exception documentation, sample testing, and procedural updates.
• Assist with controls related to customer protection, books and records, possession and control, reserve calculations, regulatory inquiries, and exam preparation.
• Provide oversight for options-related operational processing, margin workflows, stock loan/borrow processes, and related control procedures where applicable.
• Collaborate with Finance and FINOP leadership on regulatory reporting, operational controls, tax reporting support, and financial control processes.
• Supervise operations personnel, conduct periodic reviews, and help shape future team structure.
• Serve as a key point of contact for operational vendors and third-party service providers.
• Support business continuity planning and operational incident response.

The ideal candidate is a senior broker-dealer operations professional who has operated in a self-clearing environment and understands both the regulatory framework and the operational mechanics required to run a compliant securities business.

This person should be capable of building procedures, managing risk, supervising staff, partnering with technology teams, and creating scalable processes rather than simply maintaining legacy workflows.

• 7–10+ years of broker-dealer operations experience.
• Prior supervisory experience within a regulated U.S. broker-dealer.
• Direct self-clearing broker-dealer experience.
• Strong knowledge of equities, fixed income, mutual funds, and related clearing and settlement processes.
• Experience with DTCC, NSCC, DTC, OCC, clearing, custody, reconciliation, and daily operational processing.
• Fixed income clearing and settlement experience.
• Experience designing or maintaining SOPs, supervisory controls, escalation procedures, and operational risk frameworks.
• Strong understanding of FINRA and SEC operational requirements.
• Ability to work closely with Compliance, FINOP, Finance, Technology, and executive leadership.
• Experience supervising operations personnel and working with external operational vendors.

Active FINRA registrations strongly preferred/required:

• Series 7
• Series 24
• Series 4

• Series 27 preferred.
• Series 99 helpful.
• Options operations experience preferred.
• Margin, stock loan, Reg T, options exercise/assignment, and OCC-related operational experience helpful.
• Experience with tax-advantaged account workflows, retirement accounts, trusts, donor-advised funds, and related account lifecycle controls helpful.
• Experience in fintech, wealthtech, digital brokerage, adviser technology, or proprietary platform environments preferred.
• Prior experience helping launch, scale, or restructure a broker-dealer operations team is highly valued.

This is an NYC-based leadership role tied to the buildout of a U.S. broker-dealer operations function. The company expects to grow a small local operations team, and this individual will have meaningful input into team design, process architecture, hiring priorities, and operating model development.

The environment will appeal to someone who wants to build intelligently, challenge outdated operational assumptions, and help create a modern, controlled, technology-enabled broker-dealer infrastructure.

Expected compensation includes:

$175,000 – $200,000 base salary, plus potential equity participation and a competitive benefits package.

Final compensation will depend on experience, licensing, product knowledge, and overall fit.

Target interview window: July 6 – July 22

This is a rare opportunity to join a broker-dealer buildout at a highly influential stage. The successful candidate will not simply inherit an existing operations department; they will help define how the U.S. operating model is built, supervised, documented, staffed, and scaled.

The role offers direct exposure to senior leadership, proprietary financial technology, regulatory infrastructure, self-clearing operations, and the opportunity to shape a modern broker-dealer platform from the inside.