Trading Operations Specialist

Investment Operations Specialist II

Location: Charlotte, NC – Hybrid

Employment Type: W2 Contract

Schedule: 3 days onsite / 2 days remote

Calculated Hire is seeking an Investment Operations Specialist II to support a securities settlement operations team within a large financial institution. This role is focused on the timely and accurate settlement of securities transactions, resolution of trade exceptions and fails, and coordination with internal and external partners to ensure transactions settle within required market deadlines.

The ideal candidate will bring at least 2 years of hands-on experience in a core securities settlement role and a strong understanding of the securities trade lifecycle. Experience with DTC/DTCC settlements is highly preferred, while FED settlement, Broadridge, or directly transferable settlement experience across other products and platforms is also valuable.

Responsibilities

• Support the end-to-end settlement of securities transactions while ensuring trades are completed accurately and within required market cutoffs.
• Monitor settlement activity and identify, research, and resolve trade breaks, failed settlements, and other exceptions.
• Investigate discrepancies involving settlement instructions, positions, cash, counterparties, or transaction details.
• Coordinate with internal operations teams, brokers, custodians, counterparties, and other stakeholders to drive timely resolution of settlement issues.
• Perform reconciliations and support accurate books and records across settlement activity.
• Monitor time-sensitive transactions and appropriately escalate unresolved issues or settlement risk.
• Maintain clear documentation and follow established operational controls, procedures, and risk-management requirements.
• Identify opportunities to improve processes, reduce operational risk, and increase efficiency across settlement workflows.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of hands-on professional experience in securities settlement operations or a directly comparable core settlement function.
• Experience directly supporting securities settlements, including settlement exceptions, fails, reconciliations, and cutoff-driven processing.
• Strong understanding of the securities trade lifecycle and post-trade operations.
• DTC/DTCC settlement experience strongly preferred.
• FED settlement experience preferred.
• Broadridge or comparable settlement platform experience is a plus.
• Experience supporting fixed income, equities, government securities, or other institutional securities products is preferred.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to work accurately in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment.
• Strong communication, problem-solving, ownership, and follow-through skills.
• Ability to learn new processes and systems quickly and work effectively within a collaborative operations environment.