Smart Order Router (SOR) Developer – Vice President

Citi • Jersey City, NJ

11d

About The Position

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Smart Order Router (SOR) Developer to join our Equities Electronic Trading team. This is a VP-level position responsible for the design, development, and optimization of our core low-latency execution platform. The overall objective of this role is to drive the technical implementation and innovation of our SOR, a critical component of our electronic trading infrastructure, utilizing modern, high-performance Java and microservices architecture.

Requirements

• 5+ years of hands-on experience in software development with a strong focus on high-performance, low-latency systems.
• Expert-level technical knowledge in Core Java, including a deep understanding of JVM internals, concurrency, garbage collection, and memory management in a low-latency context.
• Proven experience designing and developing automated trading systems, specifically with Smart Order Routers in Equities or other similar financial domains.
• Solid understanding of financial market protocols (e.g., FIX) and practical experience handling order and market datasets.
• Experience with microservices architecture and developing distributed systems.
• Demonstrable experience with modern testing frameworks, Agile methodologies, and Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) processes.
• Excellent communication skills with a demonstrable ability to present and grasp complex technical and business concepts.
• Bachelor’s degree/University degree or equivalent experience; Master’s degree preferred.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with messaging and data grid technologies (e.g., Solace, AMPS, Chronicle) and infrastructure automation tools (e.g., Ansible) is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Take a leading role in the design, development, and optimization of high-performance, low-latency microservices and applications, with a primary focus on the Smart Order Router.
• Implement and enhance complex routing logic, venue analysis models, and performance optimizations to ensure best execution and system stability.
• Participate in and lead technical design discussions and conduct rigorous code reviews to ensure the highest standards of quality, performance, and architectural integrity.
• Partner with product development, quantitative researchers, and other technology teams to deliver new trading capabilities and enhance existing systems.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives in testing frameworks, development tools, and deployment processes for our low-latency and high-throughput environment.
• Resolve complex technical challenges through in-depth analysis of business requirements, system processes, and industry best practices.
• Apply expert knowledge of system architecture, data flow, and development standards for coding, testing, debugging, and implementation.
• Build and maintain robust solutions for trading platform monitoring, trade reconciliation, and application recovery.
• Appropriately assess risk when business decisions are made, demonstrating particular consideration for the firm's reputation and safeguarding Citigroup, its clients and assets, by driving compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, adhering to Policy, applying sound ethical judgment regarding personal behavior, conduct and business practices, and escalating, managing and reporting control issues with transparency.

Benefits

• In addition to salary, Citi’s offerings may also include, for eligible employees, discretionary and formulaic incentive and retention awards.
• Citi offers competitive employee benefits, including: medical, dental & vision coverage; 401(k); life, accident, and disability insurance; and wellness programs.
• Citi also offers paid time off packages, including planned time off (vacation), unplanned time off (sick leave), and paid holidays.
• For additional information regarding Citi employee benefits, please visit citibenefits.com.
• Available offerings may vary by jurisdiction, job level, and date of hire.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees