Director of Engineer

Summary

Join NinjaTrader, a leading trading platform and futures broker, on our mission to become the #1 retail trading platform globally. As Director of Engineering, you will own the end-to-end technical strategy and execution for our server-side trading platform, leading multiple backend engineers and shaping our cloud-native architecture. This role requires 15+ years of software engineering experience, including 5+ years leading backend teams in a trading environment, and deep knowledge of performance-oriented programming. You will manage engineering managers, define the technical roadmap, collaborate with various teams, and champion observability. NinjaTrader offers a competitive salary, bonus, and comprehensive benefits package, including 401k matching, paid time off, and health insurance. The position is based in Chicago, IL, with remote flexibility for exceptional candidates in specified states.

Requirements

• 15+ years of total software engineering experience, with 5+ years leading multiple backend or platform teams in a trading setup
• Proven track record building and operating low-latency, high-concurrency trading, market-data, or high-frequency messaging systems (equities, futures, FX, crypto, or similar)
• Deep knowledge of performance-oriented programming on the JVM (Scala, Java, Kotlin) or C++/Rust/Go, plus comfort reviewing code in any modern language
• Mastery of event-driven, partitioned, and stateful services (e.g., Kafka/Pub-Sub, Aeron, Redis, in-memory caches)
• Kubernetes/GKE experience and a strong automation-first mindset using CI/CD tools like Argo CD and GitHub Actions
• Demonstrated success implementing observability at scale using OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Grafana, and log pipelines with cost-efficiency in mind
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills; comfortable defending architectural trade-offs to executive, product, and regulatory audiences

Responsibilities

• Manage multiple engineering managers, fostering a high-performing organization and cultivating a culture of continuous improvement, quality, and reliability
• Attract, retain, and grow top-tier talent to build exceptional engineering teams that deliver delightful trading experiences
• Define and evolve the technical roadmap for the trading platform (matching, risk, market data, connectivity, clearing)
• Work closely with the CTO and Chief Architect to shape and refine the overarching engineering strategy
• Partner with SRE to enforce “everything-as-code” infrastructure (Terraform) and progressive deployment pipelines (FluxCD)
• Champion OpenTelemetry-first, vendor-agnostic observability that scales cost-effectively
• Collaborate with Product, Risk, Compliance, and Customer Success to translate trading-business objectives into robust backend capabilities

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience integrating with clearing firms, FIX gateways, and risk engines
• Familiarity with Scala, Akka/Pekko actor systems, and reactive-streams backpressure patterns
• Experience with Google Cloud (GKE, Cloud Logging, BigQuery)

Benefits

• 401k with 3.5% Company Match
• Paid Parental Bonding Leave
• Health, Vision, Dental Coverage
• Life and Disability Insurance Covered 100% by NinjaTrader
• Generous PTO
• 7 Paid Holidays Annually + 5 Conditional Holidays Annually
• 1 Service Day Annually