Quantitative Developer — Greater Chicago Area

We are seeking an experienced C++ Software Engineer to help design and build high-performance software within a sophisticated, technology-driven financial environment. This is an opportunity to work on performance-critical systems where efficiency, reliability, and engineering quality directly impact business outcomes.

You will collaborate with technical and business stakeholders to develop complex software, solve challenging engineering problems, and continuously push the boundaries of system performance.

What You'll Do

• Design, develop, and enhance high-performance applications and distributed systems using modern C++.

• Build and optimize performance-critical software with a strong emphasis on speed, scalability, and reliability.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate complex business and technical requirements into effective software solutions.

• Develop sophisticated algorithms and system components that support real-time processing and data-intensive workloads.

• Work across networking, concurrency, and system-level programming challenges.

• Identify performance bottlenecks through profiling, benchmarking, and detailed system analysis.

• Contribute throughout the software development lifecycle, including architecture, implementation, testing, deployment, and ongoing optimization.

• Evaluate emerging technologies and engineering practices to continuously improve system performance and code quality.

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or a related technical discipline.

• 5+ years of professional software development experience using modern C++ (C++14 or newer).

• Strong understanding of multithreading, concurrency, memory management, and object-oriented design.

• Experience with network and socket programming, including TCP/IP and UDP.

• Proficiency working in Linux/Unix environments.

• Experience diagnosing complex technical issues and optimizing software for performance and efficiency.

• Strong software design and architectural skills, with the ability to write clean, maintainable, and efficient code.

• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.

• A collaborative mindset and genuine interest in solving challenging engineering problems.

Nice to Have

• Experience working within financial services, capital markets, or other performance-sensitive industries.

• Familiarity with financial instruments, market structure, or risk-related concepts.

• Exposure to exchange connectivity, financial messaging protocols, or real-time data systems.

• Experience with FIX or other industry-standard communication protocols.

• Knowledge of kernel-bypass technologies or other advanced low-latency engineering techniques.

• Additional programming experience with Python or C#.