Senior Engineering Specialist (Low Latency)

Rothera

$150K — $175K *
Finance & Insurance
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field.
  • 5+ years in software engineering, focusing on high-performance systems.
  • Strong Java skills with a focus on concurrency and performance optimization.
  • Experience with low latency messaging frameworks like Hydrangea and Aeron is preferred.
  • Proficient with REST and WebSocket APIs; FIX protocol knowledge is a plus.
  • Demonstrated experience handling high throughput and low latency systems in production environments.
  • Familiarity with financial products like futures and options is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

  • Design and contribute to the architecture of the exchange and clearing infrastructure.
  • Implement key features for the matching engine and order management system.
  • Utilize Aeron and Hydra for ultra-low-latency messaging.
  • Develop customer-facing APIs using FIX, REST, and WebSockets.
  • Construct robust, distributed systems using Kafka, Postgres, and in-memory data structures.
  • Collaborate with stakeholders to gather requirements for technical execution.
  • Enhance system performance, reliability, and maintainability.
  • Participate in on-call rotations for troubleshooting production incidents.

Benefits

  • 401(k) plan with employer match.
  • Health, vision, and dental insurance for employees and dependents.
  • Paid time off to support work-life balance.
Full Job Description
About the role

As a Senior Engineer you will assist in the development of our high-throughput matching engine and clearing system. You will work closely with Staff Engineers on architectural decisions while taking full ownership of significant components and features.

This role is designed for an experienced engineer who thrives on solving complex technical problems in financial markets, has strong expertise in high-performance systems, and can deliver production-quality code that operates at scale with reliability and precision.
What you'll do
  • Contribute to the technical design and architecture of Rothera's core exchange and clearing infrastructure, collaborating with other engineers on system design decisions.
  • Design and implement significant features and components within the matching engine, order management systems and clearing workflows.
  • Utilize Aeron and Hydra frameworks to build ultra-low-latency and high-throughput messaging architectures that power the core of our infrastructure.
  • Implement customer facing API interfaces using FIX, REST, and WebSocket protocols for programmatic access.
  • Build robust, fault-tolerant distributed systems using Kafka for event streaming, Postgres for persistent state, and in-memory data structures for hot path processing.
  • Collaborate with product and business stakeholders to understand requirements and translate them into technical implementations and execute.
  • Continuously improve system performance, reliability, and maintainability.
  • Participate in on-call rotations and respond to production incidents requiring deep technical troubleshooting.
What you'll bring
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related discipline.
  • 5+ years of professional software engineering experience, with significant time building high-performance distributed systems.
  • Strong Java proficiency, including solid understanding of concurrency, memory management, JVM behavior, and performance optimization.
  • Experience with Hydra, Aeron or other low latency messaging frameworks is a strong plus.
  • Understanding of network protocols and APIs, with experience implementing REST and WebSocket APIs. FIX protocol experience is a strong plus.
  • Experience building systems that handle high throughput and low latency in production environments (10k+ msgs/sec, low-millisecond latencies).
  • Experience building micro-services systems, Kafka and relational databases (PostgreSQL).
  • Experience with derivative contracts (futures, options) and financial markets is highly desirable.
Benefits & Compensation

This position has a base salary of $150,000-$175,000 per year.

Rothera Markets is dedicated to advancing the careers and personal wellbeing of our team members. We are continuously exploring ways to support our employees holistically, including a 401(k) plan with employer match, health, vision, and dental insurance for employees and eligible dependents, paid time off, and much more.
Why you should join the mission

If you want a critical role in a path-breaking company, you belong here.

This is a full-time, in-person hybrid position. This position is not available for visa sponsorship now or in the future. Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. on a permanent, indefinite basis.

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