Staff Software Engineer - Scala
Staff-level Scala engineer to design, build, and operate a high-throughput, low-latency trading platform on Kubernetes. Requires 8+ years building reactive distributed systems and 5+ years with Scala/JVM.
Staff Software Engineer, FCM
Staff Engineer owns technical architecture for FCM platform's Transaction Ledger & Treasury systems, modernizing to cloud-native GCP/Kubernetes while ensuring financial correctness and regulatory compliance. Requires 8+ years experience in distributed systems, backend languages, and financial tech.
160k – 210kChicago, ILBackend EngineeringHybrid8+ YOE
About the role
Responsibilities
- Define and own the foundational architecture of NinjaTrader's cloud-native FCM platform on GCP/Kubernetes, including concurrency models, data consistency guarantees, service boundaries, and integration contracts across clearing, risk, and reporting systems
- Architect systems that process high-throughput trade flows with deterministic behavior under concurrency, partial failure, and asynchronous clearing acknowledgments across a 24/7 trading window
- Serve as the technical north star for the FCM engineering team by conducting deep code reviews, pairing on complex problems, and leading architecture and design sessions
- Establish and enforce best practices across the FCM platform, including API design standards, testing strategies (unit, integration, contract, chaos), observability and SLI/SLO frameworks, CI/CD standards, and infrastructure-as-code patterns
- Define excellence for regulated financial systems and hold the team accountable
- Champion responsible use of AI-assisted coding, testing, and code review workflows
- Design compliance-critical systems embedding audit trails, segregation controls, and compliance checkpoints
- Partner with engineering leadership to shape technical strategy and govern system-of-record architecture, ledger data models, fund movement APIs, reconciliation workflows
- Represent the FCM platform in cross-functional architecture forums
- Take ownership of complex technical challenges, transforming ambiguous problems into executable plans
Requirements
- 8–12+ years of progressive software engineering experience, with demonstrated impact at the Staff level
- Deep expertise designing, building, and operating large-scale distributed systems in cloud environments (GCP preferred; AWS or Azure acceptable)
- Hands-on experience with Kubernetes, event-driven architectures, and infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform
- Strong proficiency in modern backend languages such as Python, C++, Go, or similar
- Experience leveraging AI-assisted development tools, including code generation, static analysis, and automated test synthesis
- Experience in financial services, capital markets, or brokerage technology, including trade lifecycle systems, clearing and settlement
- Proven track record as a technical authority and mentor
- Experience designing distributed systems where financial correctness, reconciliation, segregation of funds, and audit integrity are non-negotiable
- Excellent communication skills
- Demonstrated ownership of initiatives end-to-end
Nice-to-Haves
- Direct experience at a futures commission merchant (FCM), clearing firm, or broker-dealer under CFTC/NFA or SEC/FINRA
- Experience with CME clearing operations or self-clearing implementations
- Familiarity with treasury and money movement systems, including ACH, wire transfers, fund hold logic, and account segregation
- Track record of leading platform modernization or cloud migration in regulated environments
- Passion for futures, derivatives, and trading technologies
Compensation
Salary range: $160,000 - $210,000 USD + 15% annual target bonus
Skills
KubernetesGCPTerraformPythonC++GoEvent-Driven ArchitecturesDistributed SystemsAi-Assisted DevelopmentCI/CD
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