Lead Trade Strategy Analyst

Lead Trade Strategy Economic Analyst

Headquartered in Taylor, Mich., Atlas Oil is the inaugural Simon Group Holdings company. Since our founding in 1985, Atlas has grown through technological and operational innovation, all while maintaining our unwavering commitment to customer success. Atlas offers single-source solutions for fuel, transportation and logistics and is one of the largest fuel distributors in the country, delivering over 1 billion gallons of fuel annually to customers in 47 states. We also have an active Supply and Trade and real estate divisions.

Atlas Oil Company knows that culture is key to the success of a business, so our strong cultural values lead the way we build our team. Atlas focuses on collaboration and puts decisive, disruptive innovation at the top of the pyramid. We are passionate about what we do, and we’re always looking for talented individuals who are as motivated as we are.

If you are a passionate, solution-driven, out-of-the-box thinker that thrives on results, we’d love to hear from you. Atlas offers a welcoming, motivating environment where you’ll be surrounded by entrepreneurial-minded people who always give 110%.

Position Overview

The Lead Trade Strategy Economic Analyst will play a critical role in evaluating, modeling, and supporting the implementation of new commodity trade strategies, with a focus on gasoline, diesel, blend stocks, NGLs, and crude oil. This role blends commercial analysis with strategic planning and requires a deep understanding of market fundamentals, infrastructure dynamics, and economic modeling to support strategic growth and decision-making.

Key Functions and Responsibilities

- Strategic Trade Analysis:

Conduct economic analysis on proposed trade strategies and commercial opportunities, evaluating viability, return on investment (ROI), and risk exposure across time horizons.

- Fundamental Market Insight:

Develop new and maintain existing analytical tools to monitor refined product/crude oil supply, demand, pricing correlations, infrastructure changes, and trade flows—translating findings into actionable commercial strategies.

- Opportunity Identification:

Use data-driven methods to recognize shifts in market structure, infrastructure changes, and pricing anomalies that present potential commercial entry points or arbitrage opportunities.

- Scenario Modeling:

Build forecasting models and simulate trade outcomes under varying assumptions (e.g., margin compression, logistics constraints, basis volatility, etc.) to support trade strategy approval.

- Stakeholder Alignment:

Work closely with traders, schedulers, and senior leadership to align strategic proposals with operational capacity and risk appetite. Incorporate feedback into iterative analysis.

- Data Acquisition & Automation:

Aggregate and cleanse data from proprietary, third-party, and public sources. Leverage tools like SQL and Python to automate data collection and streamline analysis workflows.

- Performance Tracking & Feedback Loop:

Assist in tracking KPIs for executed trade strategies and provide post-mortem reviews to guide future strategy refinement.

- Cross-Functional Collaboration:

Partner with mid- and back-office teams to ensure that strategic evaluations align with risk, compliance, and operational frameworks. Support reconciliation and performance attribution efforts.

- Financial Modeling & Valuation:

Build and maintain dynamic financial models to assess the value of potential investments, acquisitions, or initiatives, and to determine appropriate purchase prices or investment thresholds.

- Deal Sourcing & Evaluation:

Identify and assess potential partnership opportunities. Analyze financial statements, operational performance, and strategic alignment with the company’s objectives.

- Cost-Benefit Analysis:

Conduct detailed cost-benefit analyses to evaluate the profitability and long-term value of prospective investments or business decisions.

- Reporting & Presentation:

Prepare clear, concise reports and executive-level presentations that outline key findings, financial impacts, and strategic recommendations for stakeholders and senior leadership.

- Post-Investment Analysis & Continuous Improvement:

Review the performance of prior investments to identify successes, gaps, and opportunities for refining financial models and investment strategies.

Preferred Capabilities

- Deep knowledge of gasoline/diesel blending, logistics, and scheduling dynamics

- Expertise in Excel (VBA, pivoting, statistical functions), SQL, and Python (automation/scraping)

- Experience building seasonal charts, histograms, regressions, and scenario-based projections

- Understanding of regulatory, infrastructure, and macroeconomic factors impacting refined products and crude oil

- Strong commercial intuition and ability to interpret trader perspectives into strategic analysis

- Demonstrated ability to analyze and interpret complex financial statements, apply advanced valuation techniques, and develop comprehensive financial models to support data-driven investment and business decisions.

- Thorough understanding of sector-specific dynamics, market trends, regulatory frameworks, and competitive forces, enabling strategic analysis and well-informed recommendations.

Education & Background

- Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Engineering, Economics, Accounting, or Computer Science

- 5+ years supporting commodity trading operations (refined products preferred)

- Demonstrated success in a commercial or strategy-focused analytical role