KDB+ Senior Lead Software Engineer - Vice President

J.P. Morgan; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services firm is seeking a Lead KDB Developer to build their next-generation KDB platform supporting global Futures trading. This pivotal role involves designing and delivering scalable systems, optimizing data performance, and collaborating closely with trading and quantitative research teams. Ideal candidates will have over four years of experience with KDB, a deep understanding of tick design, and proficiency in agile methodologies. This is a unique opportunity to shape the core data infrastructure in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of professional experience with KDB and Q language.
• Deep understanding of KDB+ tick design and data performance.
• Experience optimizing query performance and building resilient applications.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and deliver scalable KDB-based systems.
• Collaborate with Algo and QR teams for data requirements.
• Lead and mentor team members to enhance coding standards.

Skills

KDB and Q language

Data organization

Performance optimization

Automation and continuous delivery

Agile methodologies

Education

Formal training in software engineering

Tools

Terraform

Kubernetes

AWS

Job description

Be an integral part of a technology team that's constantly pushing the envelope to enhance, build, and deliver top-notch technology products.

As a Lead KDB Developer at JPMorgan Chase within Equities Trading you will play a pivotal role in building our next-generation KDB platform to support JPMorgan Chase’s global Futures trading business. You will design and deliver a scalable KDB ticker plant to capture all global futures trading activity, providing both historical and real-time access.

In this role, you’ll work closely with Algo, Quantitative Research (QR), and trading teams to define requirements, coordinate data migrations, and implement enrichment logic to validate and optimize algorithm performance. This is a unique opportunity to shape the core data infrastructure for our trading platform as we migrate to AWS and modernize our technology stack.

Job Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and deliver scalable KDB-based systems, including the global KDB ticker plant for real-time and historical trading data.
• Collaborate with Algo and QR teams to capture requirements, coordinate migrations, and implement data enrichment for algorithm validation and performance analysis.
• Execute creative software solutions, design, development, and technical troubleshooting, thinking beyond routine or conventional approaches.
• Develop secure, high-quality production code; review and debug code written by others.
• Identify opportunities to eliminate or automate remediation of recurring issues to improve overall operational stability.
• Lead and mentor team members, manage book of work, and drive continuous improvement of coding standards and SDLC practices.
• Develop scalable real-time processing solutions using agile methodology.
• Partner with application support teams to maintain and support the platform.
• Engage with stakeholders to deliver data-driven solutions and support business objectives.

Required Qualifications, Capabilities, and Skills

• At least 4 years of hands-on professional experience with KDB and Q language (mid-level to senior).
• Deep understanding of KDB+ tick design, data organization, and performance optimization.
• Experience developing and running large datasets, optimizing query performance, and building resilient, high-availability KDB applications.
• Experience collaborating with quant, algo, or trading teams to deliver data solutions.
• Formal training or certification on software engineering concepts and advanced applied experience.
• Hands-on experience with system design, application development, testing, and operational stability.
• Proficiency in automation and continuous delivery methods.
• Proficient in all aspects of the Software Development Life Cycle.
• Advanced understanding of agile methodologies such as CI/CD, application resiliency, and security.
• Experience with requirements capture, task decomposition, estimation, delivery planning, and user acceptance testing.
• Experience with scaling and load-balancing KDB applications.

Preferred Qualifications, Capabilities, and Skills

• Experience with Terraform and Kubernetes for managing production environments in public cloud.
• AWS experience.
• Experience with other programming languages (e.g., Python, C, C++, Java).
• Experience with market data venues and vendor data platforms.