Trading Engineer - Execution

Job details

Work model

On-site

Salary

$175,000 – $225,000

Location

Chicago, United States

Hiring context

How this role compares at IMC

IMC has 169 live roles in MeritLog’s catalog across 9 job families, and 50 of them are in engineering. 0 of those listings publish a pay range, a disclosure rate of 0%.

Counted across the job boards MeritLog tracks, at the time this page was served. Pay comparisons use only listings that publish a complete range in the same currency and period.

What the role asks for

Parsed by MeritLog from the employer’s own posting. The full description follows below.

Job description

We are looking for a multi-talented and passionate Trading Systems Engineer to join our execution development team. In this role, you will take ownership of systems that sit directly in the critical path of live trading, handling everything from hardware and network connectivity to application performance and exchange interactions. This is not a pure support role - and it’s not purely project-based engineering either. It’s intentionally both. You will split your time between: • Operational support of live trading systems, ensuring stability and rapid resolution of production issues. This portion of the role is fast-paced, highly visible and requires strong troubleshooting instincts, clear communication, and the ability to remain calm under pressure. If you enjoy solving real-time problems and seeing immediate impact from your work, this is for you. • Project-based engineering work, improving the reliability, performance, and automation of those same systems. The goal is simple: fewer incidents, faster recovery, more proactive monitoring, and stronger systems over time. We believe production ownership and engineering improvement go hand in hand - the best way to improve a system is to deeply understand how it behaves under real-world pressure. Our execution systems are fundamental to our success and require dedicated ownership to ensure continuity throughout the trading day. You will play a key role in both optimizing today’s trading and building a continuously better platform for tomorrow. You’ll join a team of experienced engineers committed to rigorous operational excellence and continuous improvement, with a high degree of responsibility over complex, real-time system interactions across trading and technology. Your Core Responsibilities: • Participate in structured support rotations to provide real-time coverage for critical execution systems • Ensure continuity of trading operations, prioritizing and resolving system issues with urgency and composure • Diagnose novel production incidents, often coordinating across trading, development, infrastructure, and external exchanges • Monitor system performance and proactively identify risks before they impact trading • Build automation tools for system orchestration and operational efficiency • Eliminate recurring issues through root cause analysis and durable fixes • Partner with technology and trading teams to refine and deploy system architecture • Enhance monitoring, observability, and resiliency • Support and optimize core market connectivity Your Skills and Experience: • Passion for problem solving and new technologies. • 2-5+ years of experience in Site Reliability Engineering, Systems Integration, Production Engineering, or a related role in a heavily on-prem environment • 2-5+ years of hands-on experience with Linux operating systems, network configuration, and server management • Strong understanding of network fundamentals, including routing protocols, TCP/UDP, multicast, network offload, and kernel bypass technology • Proficiency in Python and Bash • Demonstrated curiosity and hands-on experimentation with technology-whether through personal projects, home labs, open source contributions, or deep-dive exploration of operating systems and networking • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related engineering discipline (or equivalent practical experience) Preferred Experience: • Experience with MySQL, MongoDB, and NoSQL technologies What You'll Gain: • Deep exposure to cutting-edge, low-latency trading infrastructure • Direct impact on live trading-your work matters immediately • Broad technical growth across hardware, networking, systems, and application layers • Collaboration with elite traders and engineers • Ownership and autonomy over critical systems The Base Salary range for the role is included below. Base salary is only one component of total compensation; all full-time, permanent positions are eligible for a discretionary bonus and benefits, including paid leave and insurance. Please visit Benefits - US | IMC Trading for more comprehensive information. Salary Range $175,000-$225,000 USD About Us IMC is a research-driven trading firm where quantitative modeling, machine learning, and engineering shape how modern markets are traded. A stabilizing force in markets since 1989, we provide liquidity across trading venues, delivering the best outcome in value and risk management to investors. Using our own technology and capital, we build proprietary systems and algorithms that operate across global markets. Our researchers, traders, and engineers work as a collective, combining rapid experimentation, advanced infrastructure, and real-time feedback to turn insight into execution and execution into advantage.