COO Commodities

Chief Operating Officer – Commodities (Natural Gas)

Location: Houston, Texas

Experience: 10–15 years

Sector: Commodities / Energy Trading

The Opportunity

An established, technology-driven quantitative investment firm is seeking an experienced Chief Operating Officer (COO) to support its commodities business, with a particular focus on natural gas markets .

Based in Houston, this is an operationally focused leadership opportunity for an individual with deep experience across commodities trading operations and a strong understanding of the natural gas market.

The successful candidate will take ownership of key operational processes and infrastructure, working closely with portfolio managers, traders, technology teams and senior leadership to ensure robust controls, efficient workflows and scalable operations within a sophisticated trading environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Commodities Operations: Oversee the operational lifecycle of natural gas trading activities, including trade capture, trade management, confirmations, settlements and reconciliations.
• Gas Market Expertise: Apply detailed knowledge of natural gas markets, products and trading workflows, including the operational complexities of physical and financial gas trading.
• Operational Strategy: Develop and enhance processes, controls and procedures to support the growth and evolution of the commodities business.
• Risk & Controls: Strengthen operational risk frameworks, identify potential exposures and ensure effective escalation procedures.
• Front-Office Partnership: Work closely with traders and portfolio managers to resolve operational challenges and improve the efficiency of trading activities.
• Systems & Technology: Partner with technology teams to enhance trading systems, automate workflows and improve operational data flows.
• Business Management: Monitor operational performance, identify process improvements and support strategic initiatives across the commodities platform.
• Stakeholder Management: Provide senior operational oversight and communicate infrastructure requirements, risks and improvement opportunities to key stakeholders.

Candidate Requirements

• 10–15 years of experience in commodities trading operations, business management or a COO function within a trading environment.
• Strong specialist knowledge of natural gas markets, ideally gained within a hedge fund, proprietary trading firm, energy trading business, commodity trading house or investment bank.
• Understanding of physical and/or financial natural gas trading and the associated operational workflows.
• Experience managing complex trading operations, operational controls, reconciliations and settlement processes.
• A track record of improving operational processes, implementing controls and supporting business growth.
• Experience partnering with front-office trading teams and translating business requirements into operational and technological solutions.
• Strong understanding of trading systems, data flows and automation opportunities.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills and the ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, technology-led environment.

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will combine deep natural gas market expertise with strong operational leadership capabilities . They will be comfortable operating at the intersection of trading, operations and technology, taking ownership of critical processes while helping build a robust and scalable commodities platform.

This is an opportunity to join a sophisticated quantitative investment environment in Houston, taking on a senior operational role with significant exposure to front-office trading and business leadership.