MBS Trader

About the Role

Optimal Blue is a leading provider of innovative secondary market solutions and actionable data services that transform the mortgage and capital market industries. We are seeking an MBS Trader to join our Hedge Account Management team. This role involves assisting with fixed income analytics, risk management, and trading. You will learn to execute trading strategies for clients, implement tools to enhance client profitability, and contribute to developing our industry-leading technology.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the Hedge Account Management Team in evaluating, defining, and executing hedge strategies, deriving risk management analytics, and analyzing historical data.
• Execute hedge trades on behalf of clients, typically using forward-traded TBA or other market instruments, and trading loans using bulk, cash, co-issue, and other common or specialty executions.
• Collaborate with the Hedge Account Management Team to implement new tools, troubleshoot existing setups, and perform ad hoc analysis.
• Provide trading support for TBA and Specified Pool Securities to the overall trade desk.
• Assist with mortgage valuation analytics, report development, testing, and feedback.
• Monitor mortgage pipeline and/or servicing asset risk positions intraday and alert the appropriate account management team of policy limit exceptions.
• Support the Hedge Account Management Team by monitoring and reporting the performance of hedged positions as interest rates change, comparing actual performance to predicted value changes.
• Explain material deviations from projections through attribution analysis.
• Assist the Hedge Account Management Team in maintaining relationships with the Broker/Dealer community on behalf of clients, and provide client assistance in expanding credit availability.
• Maintain relationships with mortgage bankers, investors, servicing brokerage firms, and other firms that make a market in whole loans.
• May conduct miscellaneous research projects.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Bachelor’s degree or the equivalent combination of education, training, and work experience.
• Requires 0 – 3+ years of experience in fixed income mortgage trading, portfolio, or risk management.
• Working knowledge of company products, services, and capabilities.
• Excellent customer service skills in a high-stakes business-to-business environment.
• Ability to learn and comprehend the mortgage origination process, mortgage securities, and markets through on-the-job training.
• Knowledge of options theory, derivative markets and instruments, macroeconomics, and financial markets.
• Strong quantitative skills with a solid grounding in basic mathematical and statistical concepts.
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences at various organizational levels and externally.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with close attention to detail.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced team environment supporting multiple client requests and shifting priorities, with strong multitasking and time management skills.
• Positive outlook, strong work ethic, and responsiveness to internal and external customers and contacts.
• Hybrid work model: 2 days per week in the office.
• Location: Chevy Chase, MD.

Salary & Compensation

• Salary Range: USD $60,000 – $70,000 per year. (Note: This is based on the initial raw text; a later section states USD $63,000.00 - USD $77,000.00)
• Eligible for participation in a Company profit sharing bonus plan.

Benefits

• Full-time employees are eligible for enrollment in medical, dental, vision, basic life insurance, short/long term disability, and 401(k) participation (with company match).

Time Off

• A minimum of 10 days of vacation for new employees.
• Sick time based on state requirements.
• 8 Company-paid holidays and 2 personal holidays per year.