Senior Java Engineer (NYC) - Equities

Are you a highly skilled Java developer with expertise in low latency systems and a passion for innovative financial technology? Our Client, a distinguished global hedge fund operating within the financial services industry, is seeking a Senior Low Latency Java Engineer to join their dynamic team. Renowned for their technological innovation, collaborative culture, and commitment to excellence, They offer an environment where cutting-edge engineering and data analytics thrive, presenting an exciting opportunity for professionals eager to shape the future of trading systems.

This pivotal role involves developing and maintaining their advanced in-house Order and Execution Management System, which executes trades across multiple asset classes in real-time. Your work will be central to ensuring the platform’s performance, scalability, and reliability, underpinning critical trading operations on a global scale. You’ll have the chance to work with state-of-the-art low latency practices, AI-first coding tools, and sophisticated performance tuning techniques-making a tangible impact on the firm’s trading success.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design and develop latency-sensitive components related to order lifecycle management, pre-trade risk checks, broker routing, and position calculations.
• Build and manage high-performance gateways for FIX connectivity and internal APIs.
• Apply advanced Java low latency techniques, including object reuse, off-heap buffers, and GC tuning to optimise system responsiveness.
• Measure, analyse, and enhance system latency using microbenchmarking and production profiling tools.
• Maintain and optimise Linux-based production environments through CPU pinning, kernel tuning, and network configuration.
• Collaborate closely with trading, quant, DevOps, and infrastructure teams to deliver robust and efficient solutions.
• Contribute to the automation, deployment, and operational stability of the platform with containerised services, CI pipelines, and cross-region disaster recovery plans.
• Utilise AI coding assistants to enhance development and review processes, ensuring high standards of low latency and correctness.

Essential Skills & Experience:

• Extensive Java development experience, with at least 3 years in low latency trading environments.
• Deep knowledge of Java low latency practices and real-time system optimisation.
• Proven experience working on production trading systems, particularly with Linux performance tuning.
• Hands-on familiarity with Aeron, Agrona, Chronicle, or similar messaging frameworks.
• Proficiency in binary encoding protocols such as SBE or Protobuf, and FIX protocol integration.
• Strong understanding of sequencer architectures, consensus algorithms like Raft, and recovery mechanisms.
• Experience with profiling tools such as JFR or async-profiler.
• Practical knowledge of Linux kernel and network tuning, including IRQ affinity and huge pages.
• Working knowledge of Java NIO, Zero-Copy I/O, and relational databases like PostgreSQL.
• Experience with AI-driven development tools, including decomposing work for agents and verifying their outputs.

Desirable Skills & Experience:

• Additional scripting experience with Python, TypeScript, or React for developing internal tools.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms such as AWS and container orchestration.
• Knowledge of MCP integrations or large language model (LLM) developer tooling.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• Demonstrated success owning and maintaining low latency trading systems on Linux.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, containerisation, and modern deployment practices.
• Strong problem-solving, communication, and team collaboration skills.
• A keen interest in how AI is transforming software development, with the judgment to use and oversee AI tools effectively.