Staff Software Engineer, Trading Services (Scala)

As a Staff Software Engineer on NinjaTrader's Trading Services team, you will help evolve our advanced trading system. In this senior role, your work will directly impact our core high-throughput, low-latency trading application and influence the business's bottom line.

What you'll do

• Design, develop, and maintain our Scala and Akka-based trading system deployed on Kubernetes in the cloud
• Architect, deploy, and manage backend services in a Kubernetes environment to ensure scalability, availability, and resilience
• Implement and enhance service architecture for trading applications, promoting modularity and maintainability
• Develop distributed systems to support the high-performance and low-latency requirements of trading platforms
• Implement robust monitoring and logging solutions to track and analyze backend system performance in real time
• Integrate backend systems with market data feeds, ensuring accurate and timely data for trading activities
• Collaborate with other engineering teams and Product Managers to deliver end-to-end customer solutions

What you bring

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field
• 8+ years of software development experience with reactive, message-driven, distributed near real-time applications, preferably in a high-performance, low-latency environment
• 5+ years of professional experience with Scala (or similar JVM-based languages) for backend software development
• Familiarity with functional programming principles
• Experience with Kubernetes and cloud services such as Google Cloud Platform, with a focus on scalability and high availability
• Familiarity with CI/CD tools such as Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or equivalent
• Exceptional troubleshooting, debugging, and diagnostic skills for cloud and web-based technologies using industry-standard observability tooling and frameworks
• Deep understanding of modern distributed systems and the ability to troubleshoot HTTP/HTTPS, WebSockets, TLS, DNS, TCP/IP, and similar protocols
• Ability to take full ownership of projects (design, implement, test, deploy, maintain, and iterate), with a focus on delivering high-quality production software
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; you collaborate effectively, seek feedback, and strive for continual improvement

What we offer

• Salary range of $150,000-$200,000 USD plus an annual target bonus of 12%, with bonus based on individual performance (50%) and company/team performance (50%)
• 401(k) plan with company match up to 3.5% of employee contributions
• 23 days of annual paid time off plus 7 paid holidays
• Hybrid work schedule: in-office Tuesday through Thursday, remote Monday and Friday
• 20 additional flex remote days annually
• 5 company-wide office-optional weeks tied to major holidays
• Health, vision, and dental coverage
• Life and disability insurance covered 100% by NinjaTrader
• Paid parental bonding leave
• 1 service day annually

Location: This role is based in Chicago, IL. Remote flexibility may be available for exceptional candidates in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois (outside the Chicago area), Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington DC, and Wisconsin.

About NinjaTrader

NinjaTrader is an industry-leading trading platform and futures broker serving over 2 million users worldwide. Since 2003, the company has been dedicated to empowering traders with award-winning software, brokerage services, and real-time support to navigate global financial markets. NinjaTrader is the number one rated futures brokerage globally.