Software Engineer - Low Touch Desk

Clear Street•Chicago, IL

11d•$200,000 - $275,000•Hybrid

About The Position

About Clear Street: Clear Street is modernizing the brokerage ecosystem. Founded in 2018, Clear Street is a diversified financial services firm replacing the legacy infrastructure used across capital markets. We started from scratch by building a completely cloud-native clearing and custody system designed for today’s complex, global market. Our platform is fully integrated with central clearing houses and exchanges to support billions in trading volume per day. We’ve agonized about our data model abstractions, created horizontal scalability, and crafted thoughtful APIs. All so we can provide a best-in-class experience for our clients. By combining highly-skilled product and engineering talent with seasoned finance professionals, we’re building the essentials to compete in today’s fast-paced markets. The Role: We are seeking an Experienced Software Engineer to join our Algorithmic Execution Services team, focusing on the design, development and maintenance of high-performance trading systems and their underlying algorithms. Enhance and develop: Responsible for improving existing core system components and support tools. Full-stack development: Design, develop, test, and deploy system enhancements. High-performance systems: Build highly available, horizontally scalable, mission-critical applications using modern technology. Problem-solving and collaboration: Hone advanced engineering skills by tackling challenges and working with stakeholders to define and deliver new features. Domain expertise: Develop a deep understanding of the business domain through this work. The Team: The Algorithmic Execution Services team builds Clear Street’s electronic trading platform, supporting best execution across asset classes and regions. We develop low-latency order routing, algorithmic strategies, smart order logic, and direct market access. Our focus is performance, scalability, and cost-efficiency—enabling faster execution, smarter routing, and real-time risk controls. Working at the intersection of trading and engineering, AES powers Clear Street’s most advanced trading workflows and sophisticated order handling with the flexibility to service both the active trader and institutional workflows.

Requirements

Ideally 10+ years of experience in developing high-performance algorithmic financial applications.
Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Engineering, Statistics, Math, or a related STEM field.
Adaptability to a fast-paced, dynamic environment with evolving priorities.
Ability to effectively communicate technical information
Strong computer programming skills using Java and Python in a Linux environment.
Strong understanding of financial markets.
Relevant experience using FIX and binary protocols communicating with counterparties.
Experience with low latency, multi-threaded programming and distributed application architecture.
Strong understanding of computer systems, including operating systems, networks, and performance optimization.
Experience with modern software development practices and tools.
Strong passion for technology and continuous learning.
Experience with relational databases, preferably Oracle and Postgres.

Nice To Haves

Experience with publish/subscribe multicast protocols.
Proficiency in optimizing critical code paths.
Experience in unit test development.
Familiarity with containerization technologies, such as Docker.

Responsibilities

Responsible for improving existing core system components and support tools.
Design, develop, test, and deploy system enhancements.
Build highly available, horizontally scalable, mission-critical applications using modern technology.
Hone advanced engineering skills by tackling challenges and working with stakeholders to define and deliver new features.
Develop a deep understanding of the business domain through this work.