Head of Engineer, Algorithmic Trading Group

DRW•Chicago, IL

1d•Onsite

About The Position

DRW is a diversified trading firm with over three decades of experience, leveraging sophisticated technology and exceptional talent to operate in global markets. The firm values autonomy and the ability to quickly adapt to opportunities, trading with its own capital and at its own risk. Headquartered in Chicago with offices across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia, DRW trades various asset classes including Fixed Income, ETFs, Equities, FX, Commodities, and Energy. They have also expanded into non-traditional strategies such as real estate, venture capital, and crypto assets. DRW fosters a culture of respect, curiosity, open-mindedness, high expectations, integrity, innovation, and a willingness to challenge consensus. The Head of Engineering for the Algorithmic Trading Group will lead the software and hardware engineering efforts, overseeing a collaborative technical team of approximately 30 experienced software and hardware engineers with an average tenure of 10+ years.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive experience in software engineering, with at least 5 years in a senior engineering leadership role
Demonstrated track record of building and operating highly reliable, latency-sensitive distributed systems
Proven ability to recruit, develop, and lead high-performing engineering teams of 20+ engineers
Strong familiarity with generative AI coding tools and autonomous agents, with a vision for how to deploy them effectively and safely across engineering workflows
Track record of building and enforcing engineering practices that achieve near-zero defect rates in production
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field

Responsibilities

Set the technical direction across the full stack, spanning low-latency trading systems, custom hardware, risk management infrastructure, networking, and UX - driving top performance and scalability
Partner with trading and research teams to balance short-term revenue opportunities against long-term investments in engineering infrastructure
Own production reliability by setting the standards for code quality, testing rigor, and release discipline, with a zero-tolerance approach to production outages
Define the group's strategy for AI adoption, establishing best practices for efficient and safe use
Lead, mentor, and grow the engineering team – attracting top talent and fostering a culture of technical excellence, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement