Trading Strategy Software Engineer

BlackEdge Capital • Chicago, IL

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

BlackEdge Capital is hiring a Trading Strategy Software Engineer to join their technology team and build the systems at the heart of a high frequency, machine learning driven trading effort that operates at the nanosecond level. This is a focused, ambitious initiative at an early stage, which means real ownership and the chance to shape the systems and the codebase from the ground up. Members of the executive team are hands on in this work, so the engineer will build alongside the people setting the firm's long-term technical and trading direction. The role involves owning performance critical software in C++, co-designing the hot path with FPGA hardware engineers, and working shoulder to shoulder with researchers to move machine learning models from idea to live trading. This is a role for someone energized by sitting at the intersection of low-level systems, custom hardware, and applied research, where every nanosecond on the path from signal to order matters.

Requirements

• Pragmatic C++: Strong command of modern C++ in performance critical systems, with the judgment to keep code simple and clear.
• Systems depth: Deep understanding of operating system design, cache behavior, memory, and concurrency and how they can be tuned to extract performance.
• Low latency mindset: A demonstrated ability to design and reason about latency critical software; you think in nanoseconds, not just milliseconds.
• Collaboration: You enjoy working across boundaries and communicate well with people from diverse backgrounds and skills.

Nice To Haves

• Hands on experience with FPGAs, HLS, or close software/hardware co design.
• Kernel bypass networking (ef_vi / OpenOnload, DPDK) and low-level network programming.
• Exposure to machine learning, quantitative research, or production model deployment.
• Familiarity with futures markets or market microstructure.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and relentlessly optimize nanosecond level trading systems in C++, owning code from architecture through live production.
• Partner closely with hardware engineers on FPGA integration, co-designing the software/hardware logic split and communication across that boundary.
• Work directly with researchers to take machine learning signals from idea to development to production by integrating them into our automated trading system.
• Keep the codebase clean: we favor a pragmatic, deliberately chosen subset of modern C++ that prioritizes simplicity, clarity, and maintainability.

Benefits

• Compensation is highly competitive, with significant upside clearly and explicitly tied to firm profit and individual performance.
• Bonuses are a share of firm profit, and because your share scales with your performance, a strong year for you and the firm compounds.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed