Executive Director Platform Engineering — Chicago, IL

About the Organization

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization. Founded in 1973, we are dedicated to promoting stability and market integrity by delivering clearing and settlement services for options, futures, and securities lending transactions. As a Systemically Important Financial Market Utility (SIFMU), OCC operates under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. We serve more than 100 clearing members and provide central counterparty (CCP) clearing and settlement services to 19 exchanges and trading platforms.

About the Role

This executive-level position serves as the strategic anchor for Platform Engineering Governance, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), Cloud Strategy, and Metrics within the CARE organization. The role exists to scale a mature SRE practice, drive multi-year cloud architectural standards, and ensure the organization operates with clear, data-driven visibility into platform health and performance.

In this capacity, you will act as the Product Manager for FinOps and SecOps domains, owning the vision and prioritization for governance tooling while ensuring the platform adheres to rigorous compliance obligations. You will partner with engineering leaders to embed reliability principles into build and operate models, championing toil reduction through automation to redirect capacity toward higher-value capabilities. The ideal candidate brings deep technical credibility and executive communication skills, capable of translating complex architectural trade-offs into clear business decisions for senior leadership.

Hiring Process

To be considered for this position, applications and resumes are accepted only through our careers site by directly applying to the posted job. We do not accept unsolicited resumes or sales solicitations from staffing agencies. Any OCC employee wishing to submit a referral must do so through their Workday account. Any resume submitted outside of an active job posting will not be considered for employment.

Culture & Values

We foster a collaborative and supportive environment developed to encourage work-life balance and employee wellness. Our culture is consistent with CARE operating principles: automation-first, full-stack ownership, stability as a prerequisite for velocity, and transparency through tooling. We are committed to maintaining appropriate work/life balance within teams while upholding a high standard of delivery quality.

Equal Opportunity Employer

OCC is an equal opportunity employer. We consider qualified applicants regardless of background, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Work location

Work model: On-site

Monroe Harbor, 400, East Monroe Street, Jewelers Row, Loop, Chicago, South Chicago Township, Cook County, Illinois, 60603, United States

Chicago, Illinois

Key Responsibilities

check_circleLead the scaling and maturation of the SRE practice, establishing error budgets, SLOs, SLAs, and incident response frameworks
check_circleDefine and enforce reliability standards including on-call models, blameless postmortem processes, and corrective action tracking
check_circleEstablish and maintain a governance framework ensuring adherence to organizational standards across incidents and audit findings
check_circleDefine and execute the multi-year cloud architecture strategy aligned to business growth and regulatory compliance
check_circleOwn the platform metrics and reporting function, establishing frameworks for measuring platform health and engineering velocity
check_circleLead, develop, and retain a high-performing team of engineering managers and individual contributors
check_circleManage budget for areas of responsibility and ensure adherence to schedules, work plans, and performance requirements

Requirements

verifiedBachelor's degree in CS, Math, Engineering, or related field
verified15+ years progressive experience in cloud engineering or platform reliability
verified5+ years in senior engineering leadership
verifiedAWS Solutions Architect Associate Certification or higher
verifiedDeep knowledge of SRE tooling (Prometheus, Grafana, PagerDuty, Datadog)
verifiedExpert-level knowledge of AWS, Azure, or GCP
verifiedStrong working knowledge of cloud-native architecture and Infrastructure as Code
verifiedFamiliarity with Kubernetes, Kafka, and CI/CD tooling
verifiedExperience with metrics and reporting platforms
verifiedWorking knowledge of FinOps principles
verified

Nice to Have

Experience operating in a production change control process and working directly with audit and compliance functions in a regulated environment. Experience in financial services or similarly regulated industries with exposure to CIS, NIST, and related frameworks. Experience with GRC tooling or platforms used to manage risk, audit findings, and compliance obligations (e.g., ServiceNow, Archer, or equivalents). Depth and breadth of experience in a highly regulated industry such as financial services, with demonstrated understanding of applicable rules and regulatory frameworks. Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect, Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect, or equivalent certification. Relevant SRE or reliability-focused certifications. Multi-cloud or hybrid environment experience. Bachelor's degree in a technical discipline (Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering, or related field).

Benefits & Perks

check_circleHybrid work environment with up to 2 days of remote work per weekcheck_circleTuition Reimbursement for continued educationcheck_circleStudent Loan Repayment Assistancecheck_circleTechnology Stipend for remote work devicesGenerous Paid Time Off (PTO) and Parental leave

Skills, education and keywords

Skills: Sre, Finops, Secops, Kubernetes, Kafka, Aws, Azure, GCP, Prometheus, Grafana.

Education: Bachelor's degree in technical discipline or equivalent experience.

Frequently asked questions about Executive Director, Platform Governance & Strategy at The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC)

What does a Executive Director, Platform Governance & Strategy at The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) do?expand_more

Day-to-day, the Executive Director, Platform Governance & Strategy at The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) will lead the scaling and maturation of the sre practice, establishing error budgets, slos, slas, and incident response frameworks; define and enforce reliability standards including on-call models, blameless postmortem processes, and corrective action tracking; establish and maintain a governance framework ensuring adherence to organizational standards across incidents and audit findings; and define and execute the multi-year cloud architecture strategy aligned to business growth and regulatory compliance.

What are the requirements for this Executive Director, Platform Governance & Strategy role?expand_more

To qualify for the Executive Director, Platform Governance & Strategy at The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) position, applicants should have: Bachelor's degree in CS, Math, Engineering, or related field; 15+ years progressive experience in cloud engineering or platform reliability; 5+ years in senior engineering leadership; AWS Solutions Architect Associate Certification or higher; Deep knowledge of SRE tooling (Prometheus, Grafana, PagerDuty, Datadog); and Expert-level knowledge of AWS, Azure, or GCP.

Where is the Executive Director, Platform Governance & Strategy role at The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) located?expand_more

Executive Director, Platform Governance & Strategy at The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is based in Monroe Harbor, 400, East Monroe Street, Jewelers Row, Loop, Chicago, South Chicago Township, Cook County, Illinois, 60603, United States. This is a on-site role.

Is this Executive Director, Platform Governance & Strategy job remote, hybrid, or on-site?expand_more

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) has listed this Executive Director, Platform Governance & Strategy role as on-site.

How much experience is required for this Executive Director, Platform Governance & Strategy role?expand_more

Executive Director, Platform Governance & Strategy at The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) typically requires 15+ years of relevant experience at the executive level.

What skills do you need for the Executive Director, Platform Governance & Strategy role at The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC)?expand_more

Key skills for Executive Director, Platform Governance & Strategy at The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) include Sre; Finops; Secops; Kubernetes; Kafka; Aws; Azure; and GCP.

What education is required for Executive Director, Platform Governance & Strategy at The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC)?expand_more

Educational requirements for this role: Bachelor's degree in technical discipline or equivalent experience.

What category does the Executive Director, Platform Governance & Strategy role belong to?expand_more

Executive Director, Platform Governance & Strategy at The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) is part of the it job category on Recrutus.

Executive Director, Platform Governance & Strategy