Job Title Sr. Futures Trader / Desk Lead
Job Description

Ancilla Corporation (C) Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved




Position Title: Sr. Futures Trader / Desk Lead
Location: Chicago, IL (Class A Loop Office) 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 reward capital efficiency and 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 institutional mindset, proven capital deployment efficiency, and may bring or build a 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 headquartered in Chicago, with global reach and 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 futures trader from a top proprietary firm or trading desk ideally with a track record of $3M–$10M+ desk annual PnL, or with demonstrated consistency and the ability to scale strategies
  • Deep expertise and strategy-level ownership in one or more global listed futures asset classes, including but not limited to:

Rates (e.g., U.S. Treasuries, European sovereigns, interest rate derivatives)
Equity Index (e.g., global index futures, sector-based indices, volatility futures)
Commodities (e.g., energy, agricultural, precious/industrial metals)

  • Proven ability to scale strategies across regions, instruments, and time zones
  • Strong risk management profile, with documented drawdown limits, capital deployment logic, and exposure discipline
  • Technology acumen (e.g., Python or other scripting tools) for signal generation and analytics
  • 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. Candidates are encouraged to identify any key team members they’d look to bring with them.


Responsibilities

  • Manage execution and risk of proprietary strategies across listed futures products

  • Build and scale capital-efficient, signal-driven or hybrid discretionary/systematic strategies

  • Collaborate with internal engineering and quant teams to optimize latency, analytics, and execution

  • 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, B3, 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 (Chicago HQ)

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?

    • 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.)