Brokerage Operations Associate I - ACATS
Your Role:
You’ll join Alpaca’s Brokerage Operations team and own critical ACATS and non-ACATS transfer workflows across our B2B partner ecosystem. As Alpaca expands its self-clearing capabilities, you’ll help build and operate the processes, controls, and tooling that support accurate and timely incoming and outgoing account transfers.
We're looking for someone who brings deep operational expertise in account transfers, thrives in a fast-paced and ever-evolving regulatory environment, and is excited to help build out our transfers function as we transition to self-clearing. Working collaboratively with internal and external partners, you'll play a key role in delivering accurate, timely, and compliant transfer processing while shaping the procedures and controls that support business continuity. The team is 100% distributed and remote.
Things You Get To Do:
Process daily incoming and outgoing ACATS within industry timelines, validating client information, contra accounts, and asset eligibility across the full transfer lifecycle
Process DTC / FOP (Free of Payment) transfers, ACATS Free Deliveries, Fail Reversals, and nonstandard transfer types (PTR, PTD, RCL, RCR, FRV, MFC, PTF)
Determine and execute appropriate rejection or exception-handling paths, documenting root cause and corrective action
Work directly with contra firms, transfer agents, and partner brokers to resolve rejects, reclaims, accelerations, documentation issues, and other transfer exceptions
Run mass account transfers and conversions, both internal and external
Partner with engineering to automate daily self-clearing workflows
Drive continuous operational improvement through root cause analysis, trend analysis, and updates to the control framework
Serve as the firm's Subject Matter Expert on transfers, acting as a referral point for policy-related queries
Prepare summary documentation for special projects and participate in cross-functional initiatives as assigned
Who You Are (Must-Haves):
2+ years of hands-on ACATS operations experience directly processing incoming and outgoing account transfers
Hands-on experience using ACATS/industry transfer platforms, with strong knowledge of the ACATS lifecycle, statuses, exceptions, and required processing timelines
Working knowledge of FINRA Rule 11870 and applicable NSCC/DTCC requirements
Experience identifying and resolving transfer rejects, documentation discrepancies, asset-eligibility issues, and other transfer exceptions
Working knowledge of U.S. broker-dealer back-office operations, including DTC settlements, FOP transfers, and Fund/SERV
Experience communicating directly with contra firms, custodians, transfer agents, or clearing firms to resolve transfer issues
Strong attention to detail and ability to operate independently under hard daily processing cutoffs
Ability to document procedures, identify root causes, and contribute to controls and process improvements
Ability to adapt to an evolving regulatory landscape and contribute to a self-clearing operational build-out, while embodying our tenets: Stay Curious, Have Empathy, Be Accountable
Possess the SIE and Series 99 (or higher securities license), or achieve a passing result on the Series 99 within the first 180 days of employment
Who You Might Be (Nice-to-Haves):
5+ years of brokerage operations experience, particularly in ACATS, transfers, cashiering, or securities operations
Series 7 or other additional FINRA registration
Direct experience processing ACATS through the DTCC portal as a receiving or delivering firm
Experience supporting a broker-dealer self-clearing conversion or operational build-out
Experience with mass account transfers/conversions
Experience with ACATS-Fund/SERV, options, annuities, UITs, or non-ACATS transfer-agent workflows
Experience supporting API-driven, correspondent, or B2B brokerage models