Simplex Trading is seeking a motivated, analytically-minded Business Intelligence Analyst / Accountant to join our Finance team in our Chicago, Illinois office. This is a full-time, in-office position for a candidate who sits at the intersection of finance and technology — someone equally comfortable querying a trading database as closing the books. You will own day-to-day accounting responsibilities while also serving as a key driver of process automation initiatives and data-driven financial analysis across the firm’s proprietary databases. The ideal candidate has a strong accounting or finance foundation, hands-on SQL proficiency, and a genuine enthusiasm for replacing manual workflows with scalable, technology-driven solutions.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

General Ledger & Month-End Close

• Execute monthly and quarterly close processes including journal entries, accounts payable, account reconciliations, accruals, and variance analysis; submit completed entries to the Senior Accountant for review and approval.
• Own the accounts payable process end-to-end, including invoice coding, payment processing, vendor reconciliation, and aging report.
• Maintain the general ledger and ensure accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of all financial data.
• Assist in preparing monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements in accordance with GAAP.

Regulatory Reporting & Compliance

• Maintain working knowledge of applicable SEC and FINRA financial responsibility rules.
• Support the annual audit process by preparing audit schedules and supporting documentation.

Financial Analysis & Database Reporting

• Write, optimize, and maintain SQL queries to extract, transform, and analyze financial data from the firm’s trading and operational databases.
• Build and maintain dashboards and recurring reports that provide P&L drivers, position exposures, fee structures, and other key performance indicators for senior leadership.
• Conduct ad-hoc deep-dive analyses on trading financial data.

Technology & Process Improvement

• Administer the firm's credit card spend and expense reimbursement program, including transaction coding and reconciliation.
• Identify and eliminate manual, repetitive finance workflows – including close processes, reconciliations and management reporting –  through scripting, macros, or low-code/no-code tools, in close collaboration with the Senior Accountant.
• Contributing  to evaluations of new accounting and finance technology, providing requirements, testing, and implementation support.
• Stay current on emerging tools and technologies relevant to finance automation (e.g., Python, Claude, dbt, Airflow, RPA platforms) and proactively propose improvements.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Information Systems, or a related quantitative field.
• 3-5 years of experience in accounting, financial analysis, or a related finance role, ideally within a broker-dealer, proprietary trading firm, or regulated financial services environment.
• Willing to sit for FINRA licensing exams to ensure regulatory compliance with the scope of the role
• Hands-on proficiency with SQL; comfortable writing complex queries (joins, subqueries, window functions, CTEs) against large relational databases.
• Strong working knowledge of GAAP and financial reporting standards.
• Demonstrated experience identifying and implementing process automation or efficiency improvements in a finance context.

Preferred

• Experience with a data visualization or BI tool such as Power BI, Tableau, or Looker.
• Scripting experience in Python or VBA for finance automation use cases.
• Exposure to data engineering concepts (Extract, Transform, Load pipelines, data warehouses, dbt, or similar).
• Familiarity with options, derivatives, or equity securities accounting.
• Public accounting experience (Big 4 or regional firm) is a plus.

Simplex Trading is seeking a motivated, detail-oriented Senior Accountant to join our Finance team in our Chicago, Illinois office. This is a full-time, in-office position. The Senior Accountant will play a critical role in maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the firm’s financial records, supporting regulatory compliance, and driving process improvements across our accounting function. The ideal candidate has experience in a broker-dealer or financial services environment, a strong command of GAAP, and a proactive mindset for identifying and implementing efficiencies.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

General Ledger & Month-End Close

• Own and execute the monthly and quarterly close process, including journal entries, account payable, account reconciliations, and variance analysis
• Maintain the general ledger and ensure accuracy and completeness of all financial data
• Coordinate with Accountant, operations and trading teams to reconcile trade invoicing

Regulatory Reporting

• Maintain working knowledge of applicable SEC and FINRA financial responsibility rules,  including SEC Rules 15c3-1, and ensure the firm remains in compliance.  Prepare monthly and quarterly FINRA reporting in a timely and accurate manner.
• Liaise with external auditors, regulators, and compliance personnel as needed

Tax Preparation & Compliance

• Assist in the preparation of federal, state, and local tax returns and estimated tax payments
• Support the annual tax provision process and maintain tax-related workpapers and documentation
• Coordinate with external tax advisors on tax planning and compliance matters
• Monitor changes in tax legislation relevant to broker-dealers and proprietary trading operations

Financial Statements & Reporting

• Prepare accurate monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements in accordance with GAAP
• Support the preparation of management reports and financial analysis for senior leadership
• Assist in the annual audit process, serving as a primary contact for external auditors and preparing audit schedules and supporting documentation
• Ensure financial reports are completed accurately and on schedule

Technology & Process Improvement

• Own the firm's credit card spend and expense reimbursement program, including policy enforcement, employee communication and monthly reporting.
• Identify opportunities to streamline and automate accounting processes
• Participate in the evaluation and implementation of accounting systems and technology 
• Document accounting policies and procedures and recommend improvements to enhance internal controls
• Collaborate cross-functionally with technology and operations teams on finance-related system initiatives

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field
• 4-7 years of progressive accounting experience, preferably within a broker-dealer, proprietary trading firm, or regulated financial services environment
• Willing to sit for FINRA licensing exams to ensure regulatory compliance with the scope of the role
• Strong working knowledge of GAAP and financial reporting standards
• CPA license (active)

Preferred

• Experience with options, derivatives, or equity securities accounting, a plus
• Exposure to process automation tools or accounting system implementations such as Claude, NetSuite or Intacct
• Public accounting experience is a plus

We are seeking a Strategy and Operations Manager to manage firm-wide initiatives that improve operational efficiency, performance reporting, and strategic execution across trading, risk, and corporate functions. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a high-ownership environment, is highly analytical, and can translate messy business needs into structured solutions. Reporting directly into the CEO, you will partner with leadership and cross-functional teams to improve processes, build reporting visualizations and dashboards, and drive key initiatives that support growth.

What will you be doing?

• Manage high-priority projects from progress tracking to implementation
• Build structured analysis to support leadership decision-making
• Partner with cross-functional  teams to improve workflows, reduce manual processes, and identify operational bottlenecks and implement improvements
• Identify opportunities for, and drive automation and workflow improvements 
• Help build, maintain and improve reporting for performance, operational KPIs, and risk-related metrics using Excel, SQL, and/or BI tools
• Document processes and develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) for recurring workflows
• Support analysis of trading P&L drivers, costs, performance attribution, and operational trends
• Improve data integrity by identifying inconsistencies, gaps, and process failures

Skills and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university
• 3 - 5 years of experience in a highly analytical role managing deliverables
• SQL experience and comfort working directly with data
• Experience with Tableau, Power BI, Looker, or similar tools
• Experience implementing process automation and AI tools
• Strong analytical thinking and comfort working with ambiguity
• Ability to communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical teams
• The role requires handling sensitive executive and HR data, demanding a high level of discretion

Nice to have Skills:

• Experience in a proprietary trading firm or market maker environments
• Management consulting experience