Founding Account Executive (California)

Smarkets

CFTC-Regulated Business Unit (DCO and DCM) Location: Chicago, IL. Fully remote to start, transitioning to 3 days/week in office. ABOUT SMARKETS Smarkets is a prediction market exchange for sports and political trading that has handled over $50 billion in volume since 2010. We are upending the sports betting industry by growing a platform that offers the best value for traders, with not only the fairest prices but also the best technology, alongside a superior customer experience. We believe the foundation to our success is attracting the best people to our organisation and creating a high-performance environment where they can thrive. We are searching for an atypical candidate with a wealth of regulated business experience to support the development of our CFTC business. THE ROLE This is a senior finance role sitting within our CFTC-regulated business unit, working across the Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) and Designated Contract Market (DCM). You will own budgeting, liquidity planning, financial controls, and capital adequacy, ensuring the DCM and DCO meet all Part 39 and Part 38 requirements. As the business will be only offering fully collateralized trades, margin requirements are not expected to be a material part of the role. This is a founding build: our licensing applications are in-flight and you will stand up the finance function and controls through to go-live, then operate and scale them as the business grows. Given the business unit's integration with a UK-based parent, you will also ensure accurate cost allocation, intercompany accounting, and resource tracking across jurisdictions while preserving regulatory independence. ABOUT YOU * Senior finance leader with 5+ years of senior-level financial management experience, ideally within a CFTC-regulated business. * Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in good standing with a U.S. State Board of Accountancy. * Deep expertise in US GAAP, financial forecasting, and internal financial controls. * Familiarity with DCO and DCM financial compliance obligations. * Demonstrated ability to maintain regulatory financial-resources adequacy, including operating-cost coverage, resource liquidity, and financial forecasting. * A clean regulatory record, with no history of financial misconduct, enforcement actions, or regulatory infractions. * Excellent reporting and communication skills for executive, board, and regulatory audiences. RESPONSIBILITIES * Own all financial operations of the DCO and DCM entities, including budgeting, accounting, financial reporting, and liquidity management. * Ensure the DCO and DCM maintain sufficient financial resources to satisfy capital adequacy and operating cost coverage. * Support and manage the delivery of quarterly financial statements and annual audited accounts. * Maintain internal controls and accounting systems that support the integrity and auditability of financial records. * Lead financial forecasting, stress testing, and capital planning, aligned with the DCO and DCM's risk profile and operational footprint. * Prepare and submit timely, accurate regulatory financial filings to the CFTC and support audits and inquiries. * Coordinate with external auditors, legal counsel, and regulators to ensure full financial compliance. * Partner closely with the COO, General Counsel, and Risk teams to assess financial risk and resource implications. * Track and allocate financial resources across the US entity and the UK-based parent where shared services exist, preserving regulatory independence. * Provide executive-level financial insight to the board or governing body of the DCM. DESIRABLE ATTRIBUTES * Personal interest in sports, exchanges, or trading * Experience in exchange, clearing, or other market infrastructure finance. * Familiarity with event contracts, prediction markets, or similar novel futures products. * Experience operating across US and UK finance and tax environments. OUR VALUES * Push to win * Make others better * Give a shit * Be a pro * Bring the energy Our values are at the heart of everything that we do. We believe these are the fundamentals to ensure we are delivering what's expected of us in the best way possible for ourselves and for those around us. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS Base salary range: $100,000 to $170,000 USD per year. The actual offer within this range will depend on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors. We have designed our benefits offering around Health, Wealth, Lifestyle and Development. From day one, you will receive: * 25 days' annual leave, plus public holidays. * 401(k) plan: Smarkets matches 100% of employee contributions up to the first 6% of salary. Participation is voluntary, with automatic enrolment at a default contribution rate of 6% unless you select an alternative rate or choose to opt out. * Private medical insurance: a monthly reimbursement towards the private health insurance plan of your choice. * Performance bonus of up to 25% of base salary. * Equity via share options scheme. * Annual professional development budget of $1,000 for conferences, training, courses, books, and other learning opportunities. * Work From Anywhere: up to 20 days per year (pro-rated) to work remotely from locations around the world. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION * This role is offered subject to satisfactory background screening and, where applicable, CFTC fitness and eligibility requirements. * We use Ashby, our applicant tracking system, to manage applications, and AI-assisted tools may be used to support parts of our recruitment process. Applications are reviewed by our team, and hiring decisions are made by people rather than by automated tools.

Smarkets

Chief Risk Officer CFTC-Regulated Business Unit Location: Chicago, IL. Fully remote to start, transitioning to 3 days/week in office. About Smarkets Smarkets is a prediction market exchange for sports and political trading that has handled over $50 billion in volume since 2010. We are upending the sports betting industry by growing a platform that offers the best value for traders, with not only the fairest prices but also the best technology, alongside a superior customer experience. We believe the foundation to our success is attracting the best people to our organisation and creating a high-performance environment where they can thrive. We are searching for an atypical candidate with a wealth of regulated business experience to support the development of our CFTC business. THE ROLE This is a senior leadership role sitting within our CFTC-regulated business unit, with responsibility for the enterprise risk management function across our Designated Contract Market (DCM) and Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO). You will be the most senior risk voice in the business, owning the identification, assessment, and mitigation of every risk facing the entity. This is a founding build: our licensing applications are in-flight and you will stand up the risk management framework from the ground up through to go-live, then operate and mature it as the business scales. You will work directly with the CEO and board, with the support of the Smarkets UK team behind you. ABOUT YOU * Senior risk leader with 7+ years of senior experience in risk management, ideally within derivatives markets, exchanges, clearinghouses, or other financial infrastructure providers. * 4+ years of hands-on experience owning enterprise or operational risk within a DCM, DCO, or comparable regulated market infrastructure in the United States, with direct responsibility for risk and system safeguards, not advisory or supporting experience. * Entrepreneurial mindset with a proven track record working in a small scale fast-paced creative work environment. * Deep understanding of the CFTC's risk and system safeguards expectations, including Core Principle 20 (System Safeguards), stress testing, and operational resilience requirements. * Strong background identifying and analysing technology risk, counterparty exposures, and internal control weaknesses, and translating them into a defensible, audit-ready risk framework. * Proficiency with established risk assessment frameworks (COSO ERM, ISO 31000) and control testing, applied across financial, operational, and systemic risk. CFA or FRM certification is desirable. * Experience partnering with the CEO and board on risk strategy, board-level governance, and risk reporting, including engagement with regulators at an institutional level. RESPONSIBILITIES * Own the end-to-end enterprise risk management programme for Smarkets Board of Trade (DCM): policies, controls, monitoring, stress testing and reporting, ready for go-live. * Establish and maintain risk assessment processes across market volatility and trading disruptions, technology failures and cyber threats, vendor and third-party dependencies, and compliance and internal control weaknesses. * Own Core Principle 20 (System Safeguards): embed system safeguards testing, cyber resilience, business continuity and recovery planning into day-to-day operations. * Oversee or conduct stress testing and backtesting relevant to market and technology risk, and maintain the risk register with clear escalation of significant events to the CEO and regulatory authorities. * Develop risk mitigation strategies and monitor risk indicators across all business units, including those operating across jurisdictions (for example, engineering in the UK). * Work in coordination with the CISO and Compliance to ensure regulatory and operational risk is fully embedded across the business. * Report on risk exposures and mitigation plans to the CEO, board, and designated risk committees, ensuring documentation, dashboards and controls are audit-ready and CFTC-compliant. * Contribute to incident response and recovery planning, with a focus on risk impact analysis and controls testing. DESIRABLE ATTRIBUTES * Personal interest in sports, exchanges, or trading * Experience with system safeguards testing, cybersecurity risk, and business continuity and disaster recovery planning in a regulated trading environment. * Experience engaging with self-regulatory organisations (SROs) such as the NFA, and participating in industry working groups. * Prior experience at the CFTC as a staff member or examiner, subsequently transitioning to industry, this background is highly valued. * Familiarity with event contracts, prediction markets, or similar novel futures products and their treatment under the CFTC framework. OUR VALUES * Push to win * Make others better * Give a shit * Be a pro * Bring the energy Our values are at the heart of everything that we do. We believe these are the fundamentals to ensure we are delivering what's expected of us in the best way possible for ourselves and for those around us. BENEFITS We offer a competitive salary package and benefits, along with a dynamic and collaborative work environment. Your work with us will make an impact and your voice will be heard. We are a diverse team with a strong work ethic and plenty of hunger to win. We have designed our benefits offering around Health, Wealth, Lifestyle and Development.

Smarkets

CFTC-Regulated Business Unit (DCM) Location: Chicago, IL. Fully remote to start, transitioning to 3 days/week in office. ABOUT SMARKETS Smarkets is a prediction market exchange for sports and political trading that has handled over $50 billion in volume since 2010. We are upending the sports betting industry by growing a platform that offers the best value for traders, with not only the fairest prices but also the best technology, alongside a superior customer experience. We believe the foundation to our success is attracting the best people to our organisation and creating a high-performance environment where they can thrive. We are searching for an atypical candidate with a wealth of regulated business experience to support the development of our CFTC business. THE ROLE This is a senior security leadership role sitting within our CFTC-regulated business unit, responsible for the information security, cybersecurity, and operational resilience of our Designated Contract Market (DCM). You will design and enforce the policies and controls that protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our critical systems and data, in alignment with Core Principle 20 (System Safeguards) under 17 CFR § 38.1050 et seq. This is a founding build: our licensing applications are in-flight and you will stand up the security programme through to go-live, then operate and mature it as the business scales. You will lead efforts to identify and mitigate cyber and physical threats, coordinate incident response, and ensure the DCM can continue operating under stress, working closely with engineering, risk, and compliance, including our UK-based teams, to embed security across the software development life cycle and infrastructure. You will work directly with the CEO and senior management, with the support of the Smarkets UK team behind you. ABOUT YOU * Senior security leader with 7+ years of senior-level information security experience, ideally within financial services, exchange infrastructure, or critical regulated systems. * Demonstrated leadership in implementing cybersecurity, compliance, and resilience programmes in high-risk environments. * Deep familiarity with CFTC expectations around system safeguards, including Core Principle 20 and 17 CFR § 38.1050 et seq. * Direct experience with security and risk assessments, incident response planning and execution, cybersecurity compliance audits (internal or regulatory), and disaster recovery and business continuity programmes. * Experience managing or working with geographically distributed engineering and infrastructure teams. * Strong understanding of security frameworks and secure software development practices. * Excellent communication and reporting skills, including for executive and regulatory audiences. RESPONSIBILITIES * Define and implement the DCM's information security vision, strategy, and programme, consistent with CFTC Core Principle 20 and industry-aligned best practice. * Lead risk identification, vulnerability management, and cyber threat mitigation across all DCM technology assets. * Ensure the design and enforcement of security controls across infrastructure, software development, vendor relationships, and end-user operations. * Own the incident response framework, including procedures for detection, containment, reporting, recovery, and root cause analysis. * Direct the business continuity and disaster recovery programmes, ensuring systems and teams can operate during disruption. * Prepare and maintain system safeguards documentation, audit logs, penetration tests, and other evidence for CFTC oversight and examinations. * Serve as the executive lead for cybersecurity audits, control testing, and CFTC technology compliance. * Collaborate with engineering, DevOps, product, and risk to ensure secure-by-design development and deployment, including across UK-based teams. * Regularly brief the CEO and senior management on security posture, threats, incidents, and risk levels. DESIRABLE ATTRIBUTES * Personal interest in sports, exchanges, or trading * Experience securing exchange, clearing, or trading infrastructure. * Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CISM, or equivalent. * Familiarity with event contracts, prediction markets, or similar novel futures products and their treatment under the CFTC framework. * Experience engaging directly with regulators or examiners on technology and system safeguards. OUR VALUES * Push to win * Make others better * Give a shit * Be a pro * Bring the energy Our values are at the heart of everything that we do. We believe these are the fundamentals to ensure we are delivering what's expected of us in the best way possible for ourselves and for those around us. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS Base salary range: $130,000 to $200,000 USD per year. The actual offer within this range will depend on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors. We have designed our benefits offering around Health, Wealth, Lifestyle and Development. From day one you will receive: * 25 days' annual leave, plus public holidays. * 401(k) plan: Smarkets matches 100% of employee contributions up to the first 6% of salary. Participation is voluntary, with automatic enrolment at a default contribution rate of 6% unless you select an alternative rate or choose to opt out. * Private medical insurance: a monthly reimbursement towards the private health insurance plan of your choice. * Performance bonus of up to 25% of base salary. * Equity via share options scheme. * Annual professional development budget of $1,000 for conferences, training, courses, books, and other learning opportunities. * Work From Anywhere: up to 20 days per year (pro-rated) to work remotely from locations around the world. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION * This role is offered subject to satisfactory background screening and, where applicable, CFTC fitness and eligibility requirements. * We use Ashby, our applicant tracking system, to manage applications, and AI-assisted tools may be used to support parts of our recruitment process. Applications are reviewed by our team, and hiring decisions are made by people rather than by automated tools.