Java Developer – Front Office / Trading Systems

Margoconsulting; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

MARGO is recruiting a Java Developer to join the Front Office / Trading IT environment in London. You will design, develop and maintain real-time, high-performance Java applications that handle market data, pricing and orders in a low-latency setting.

The role emphasizes technical excellence, real-time data processing and close collaboration with trading, quant and infrastructure teams. Prior Front Office, trading or risk experience is highly valued in a fast-paced, high-standards environment.

Qualifications

• Strong experience as a Java Developer in performance-critical environments.
• Proven background in low-latency or high-throughput systems.
• Solid understanding of concurrency, threading and memory management.
• Experience working in Front Office, Trading or Risk IT environments.
• Comfortable working in Linux production environments.
• Clear communication and structured problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop and maintain high-performance Java applications.
• Work on real-time data processing (market data, pricing, orders, analytics).
• Implement multithreading and concurrency patterns adapted to performance-critical systems.
• Participate in system design, architecture discussions and technical specifications.
• Provide 3rd line support on production systems when required.

Skills

Java expert

Low-latency

Multithreading

Linux/Unix

Front Office exposure

Real-time data processing

Performance optimization

Trading/Risk IT

Kafka

Solace

FIX

Tools

Kafka

Solace

FIX

Job description

Java Developer – Front Office / Trading Systems

Join MARGO in the UK (London) – Perm & Contracting Opportunity*

MARGO is a tech-native consultancy delivering high value-added IT expertise to the financial services industry.

We specialise in complex software engineering environments where performance, robustness and scalability are critical: low latency systems, real-time data processing, distributed architectures and high-volume flows.

Joining MARGO means working in demanding Front Office and Risk IT environments, while benefiting from a human-sized structure, close follow-up and tailor-made training paths.

Business Context

You will join the Front Office / Trading IT environment of one of our tier-1 investment banking partners.

The teams design and maintain mission-critical Java systems supporting electronic trading activities across multiple asset classes (e.g. Equities, Fixed Income, Commodities, FX, Derivatives).

The environment is characterised by:

• Real-time and event-driven architectures
• High performance and low-latency constraints
• Close interaction with trading, quantitative and risk teams
• Short delivery cycles and high engineering standards

Role Overview

We are looking for an experienced Java Developer to work on real-time trading and risk systems.

The role is primarily technical, focused on software engineering excellence rather than business analysis.

Candidates are expected to have prior exposure to Front Office, Trading or Risk environments, regardless of the underlying asset class.

Key Responsibilities

Design & Development

• Design, develop and maintain high-performance Java applications
• Work on real-time data processing (market data, pricing, orders, analytics)
• Implement multithreading and concurrency patterns adapted to performance‑critical systems
• Participate in system design, architecture discussions and technical specifications
• Continuously optimise performance (latency, throughput, memory, GC behaviour)

Engineering & Delivery

• Contribute to the full software lifecycle: design, development, testing and release
• Produce clean, maintainable and well‑tested code
• Participate in sprint planning, estimations and technical reviews
• Collaborate closely with developers, quant and infrastructure teams

Production & Support

• Provide 3rd line support on production systems when required
• Participate in production releases (including occasional out‑of‑hours interventions)
• Contribute to system stability, monitoring and incident prevention

Technical Environment

Core Technologies

• Java (expert level)
• Multithreading & concurrency
• Performance optimisation & low latency techniques
• Garbage Collection awareness
• Linux / UNIX environments
• Distributed systems and messaging architectures
• Performance monitoring and profiling tools

Valued Technical Exposure

• Event‑driven or real‑time systems
• Messaging middleware (Kafka, Solace or equivalent)
• FIX or other market connectivity protocols
• Networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, multicast)

Required Experience & Skills

Essential

• Strong experience as a Java Developer in performance‑critical environments
• Proven background in low‑latency or high‑throughput systems
• Solid understanding of concurrency, threading and memory management
• Experience working in Front Office, Trading or Risk IT environments
• Comfortable working in Linux production environments
• Clear communication and structured problem‑solving skills

Valued (but not restrictive)

• Exposure to one or more asset classes (Equities, Fixed Income, Commodities, FX, Derivatives)
• Experience in trading, pricing, risk or market data systems

Why Join MARGO

• Access to multi‑asset Front Office environments
• Highly technical and challenging engineering assignments
• Strong emphasis on skill development and long‑term career progression
• Human‑sized consultancy with close support and high‑quality missions

Please note - We do not offer visa sponsorship for this position.