Systems Engineer

Akuna Capital; Sydney; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Akuna Capital in Sydney is seeking a Systems Engineer to maintain and optimize our high-performance Linux server platform that underpins a fast-moving trading environment. You will design, deploy, and automate daily tasks, and manage services within Kubernetes clusters.

The role emphasizes monitoring, tuning, and reliability, with opportunities to shape infrastructure through automation, virtualization, and modern CI/CD tooling in a collaborative, fast-paced firm.

Qualifications

• 4–6 years of systems engineering experience.
• Advanced experience with Linux distributions (RedHat, Ubuntu etc.).
• Experience managing and running services within Kubernetes clusters.
• Automation of daily software and hardware tasks (Python or Bash).
• Experience with build/configuration management tools (Ansible, Rundeck, Puppet, Foreman).
• Experience with system monitoring and alerting tools (Nagios/Icinga, Prometheus, Alertmanager).
• Experience with virtualization/orchestration platforms (VMware, Kubernetes, Terraform).
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and tooling.
• Linux kernel and low latency performance tuning.
• Knowledge of PostgreSQL/MySQL databases.
• Strong problem-solving and troubleshooting skills.
• Good English communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Investigate new products and techniques to improve efficiency and performance.
• Management of Akuna's server infrastructure at third party and local data centres.
• System analysis, monitoring, performance tuning, and day-to-day support.

Skills

English communication

Linux system engineering

Scripting (Python/Bash)

System analysis and troubleshooting

Ownership and initiative

Education

STEM degree

Tools

Kubernetes

Ansible/Rundeck

Puppet/Foreman

Nagios/Icinga

Prometheus/Alertmanager

VMware

Terraform

PostgreSQL/MySQL

Job description

About Akuna:

Akuna Capital is an innovative trading firm with a strong focus on collaboration, cutting-edge technology, data driven solutions and automation. We specialise in providing liquidity as an options market maker - meaning we are committed to providing competitive quotes that we are willing to both buy and sell. To do this successfully we design and implement our own low latency technologies, trading strategies and mathematical models. At Akuna we have a flat structure, where the best idea wins.

Our Founding Partners, including Andrew Killion, first conceptualized Akuna in their hometown of Sydney. They opened the firm's first office in 2011 in the heart of the derivatives industry and the options capital of the world - Chicago. Today, Akuna is proud to operate from additional offices in Sydney, Shanghai, Singapore and London.

What you'll do as a Systems Engineer at Akuna:

We are looking for a Systems Engineer to be responsible for Akuna's Linux server platform health. This person will participate in the design, deployment, and maintenance of our high-performance platform to support our trading environment. They will also automate daily software and hardware tasks while writing and maintaining scripts and tools. The ideal candidate will be self-motivated, proactive, and able to take ownership of projects and problems with minimal supervision. In this role, you will:

• Investigate new products and techniques to improve efficiency and performance in the environment

• Management of Akuna's server infrastructure at third party and local data centres

• Additional day-to-day responsibilities include system analysis, monitoring, and performance tuning, as well as additional support as required

Qualities that make great candidates:

• 4-6 years of systems engineering experience

• Advanced experience with a variety of Linux distributions (RedHat, Ubuntu ,etc.)

• Experience in managing and running services within K8s clusters

• Experience in automation of daily software and hardware related tasks, Python or Bash scripting experience preferred

• Experiencewith build and configuration management tools (Ansible/Rundeck, Puppet, Foreman)

• Experience with system monitoring and alerting tools (Icinga/Nagios, Prometheus, Alertmanager)

• Experience in virtualization and orchestration platforms like VMware, Kubernetes and Terraform

• Experience insupporting a variety of storage platforms/protocols

• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and tooling

• Linux kernel and low latency performance tuning

• Knowledge of database systems, including PostgreSQL and MySQL

• Experience in troubleshooting multicast and TCP related performance issues

• Ability to diagnose and troubleshoot issues

• Good English communication skills

Bonus

• Ideally a STEM degree (Bachelors, Masters or PhD) in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology or a related field.