Trade Support Specialist

Job Description

Provide specialist technical and operational support for business-critical electronic trading and market-data platforms, ensuring availability, stability, performance and operational resilience. The role supports trading applications and associated infrastructure, market and exchange connectivity, production incidents, monitoring, releases, access and change, working closely with trading desks, internal technology teams, exchanges and external vendors.

Key Responsibilities

Trading systems support

• Provide L1/L2 technical and operational support for electronic trading and market-data platforms
• Troubleshoot complex production issues across application, server, database, network and integration layers
• Support trading desks with time-sensitive system, connectivity, order-flow, execution and market-data issues
• Own incidents from diagnosis and service restoration through root cause analysis and permanent resolution
• Coordinate major incidents across business, technology teams and vendors

Monitoring, automation and service improvement

• Maintain proactive monitoring, alerting, dashboards and operational health checks

• Identify stability, performance and monitoring gaps and implement preventative improvements

• Develop scripts and automation to reduce manual work and improve operational efficiency

• Maintain support playbooks, procedures and technical documentation, and drive recurring-issue remediation

Trading connectivity and platform administration

• Support exchange connectivity, FIX sessions, order routing, execution, market access and market-data services

• Troubleshoot integrations between trading platforms, exchanges, vendors and downstream systems

• Administer application access, entitlements, trading sessions, reference/static data and approved configuration

• Support exchange releases, certifications and mandatory market changes

Change, release and operational readiness

• Coordinate production and non-production changes, upgrades, patches and application releases
• Support UAT, regression testing, implementation and post-release validation Support new-platform onboarding, migrations and production stabilization
• Ensure monitoring, documentation, access, support processes and escalation arrangements are in place for new services
• Participate in disaster recovery, resilience and business-continuity testing

Risk, governance and vendor management

• Coordinate vendors and technology partners for incidents, defects, upgrades and service improvements
• Support technology risk, audit, regulatory and control requirements for supported platforms
• Maintain controls relating to access, production change and platform administration
• Identify and escalate operational, security and technology risks
• Collaborate with cybersecurity, infrastructure, network, database, architecture and development teams

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Finance or a related field

• 3-5 years' experience in a technology or production-support environment, ideally with exposure to trading systems or financial-markets technology

• Experience supporting business-critical enterprise applications and integrated technology environments

• Experience with incident, problem, change and release management Experience working with technology vendors and cross-functional technical teams

Technical and Functional Skills

• Electronic trading systems, financial markets and trade lifecycle

• Order routing, execution, market connectivity and market-data flows

• FIX protocol and electronic trading connectivity

• Linux/Unix, SQL, networking and application troubleshooting

• Scripting, automation, monitoring and alerting technologies

• Cloud platforms and infrastructure

• Access management, cybersecurity and operational controls

• Disaster recovery and operational resilience

Key Competencies

• Strong analytical and troubleshooting capability
• Ownership and problem-solving mindset
• Calm, effective delivery in time-sensitive trading environments
• Clear technical and business communication
• Stakeholder and vendor management
• Ability to balance BAU, incidents, change and project priorities
• Continuous-improvement and automation mindset
• Strong focus on operational risk, control and stability

Important Closing Date Note

Take note that applications will not be accepted on the below date and onwards, kindly submit applications ahead of the closing date indicated below.

All appointments will be made in line with FirstRand Group’s Employment Equity plan. The Bank supports the recruitment and advancement of individuals with disabilities. In order for us to fulfill this purpose, candidates can disclose their disability information on a voluntary basis. The Bank will keep this information confidential unless we are required by law to disclose this information to other parties.