Python Engineer | Buy Side (Software, Data & Automation)

Selby Jennings; Greater London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Selby Jennings in London is seeking a talented Python Engineer as its first dedicated technology hire in London. This business-facing engineering role collaborates with risk and the US tech group to deliver core systems and tooling.

You will design, build and maintain Python services, data pipelines, REST APIs and internal tooling, contributing across operations, reporting and automation. Ideal candidates combine solid software fundamentals with curiosity, ownership and the ability to work with

Qualifications

• 3+ years of professional Python software development experience.
• Strong SQL skills with MySQL/PostgreSQL.
• Experience building data pipelines and ETL/ELT workflows.
• Experience designing REST APIs and integrating with third-party systems.
• Familiarity with CI/CD, testing and monitoring.
• Excellent communication and ability to work with distributed teams.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and maintain Python services, internal applications and automation used across the business.
• Develop and support data pipelines and integrations ingesting, validating, normalising and distributing financial, operational and reference data.
• Build and consume REST APIs and integrate with vendor platforms, databases and file-based workflows.
• Improve reliability, observability and supportability of business-critical systems including troubleshooting and durable production fixes.
• Partner with risk, operations, finance, compliance and portfolio/trading teams to translate needs into well-engineered solutions.
• Support workflow orchestration, scheduled processing and modernisation of legacy systems onto Python and cloud infrastructure.

Job description

A growing multi-manager, multi-strategy hedge fund is looking to hire a talented and pragmatic Python Engineer as its first dedicated technology hire in London. With its primary technology function based in the US, this role brings hands-on engineering coverage to the London office, working closely with the local risk team while collaborating closely with the wider US-based technology group.

This is a broad, business-facing engineering seat with real ownership and visibility across the firm. Technology is a core enabler here - across investment operations, data integration, internal tooling, controls and reporting - and this person will help build and support the systems the business relies on day to day.

What You'll Be Doing

• Designing, building and maintaining Python services, internal applications and automation used across the business.
• Developing and supporting data pipelines and integrations that ingest, validate, normalise and distribute financial, operational and reference data.
• Building and consuming REST APIs and integrating with vendor platforms, databases and file-based workflows.
• Improving the reliability, observability and supportability of business-critical systems, including troubleshooting and durable production fixes.
• Partnering with risk, operations, finance, compliance and portfolio/trading teams to translate needs into well-engineered solutions.
• Supporting workflow orchestration, scheduled processing and the ongoing modernisation of legacy systems onto Python and cloud-based infrastructure.

What Makes This Role Different

This is not a narrow data engineering role, and it is not a siloed software development position.

The strongest candidates tend to be curious, self-motivated generalists who enjoy solving a wide range of problems across the business - building internal tooling one day, investigating a data or system issue the next, and automating a manual process the day after. It's a role for someone who likes ownership, variety and being close to the business, rather than being confined to a single domain or technology.

Ideal Background

We're interested in candidates who combine strong software engineering fundamentals, data skills and genuine curiosity. Examples might include:

• Python Developers, Software Engineers, Data Engineers or Technology Generalists from hedge funds, asset managers, investment banks, proprietary trading firms or fintechs.
• Experience building production software, data pipelines, APIs and internal tooling within a business-facing environment.
• Strong Python and SQL, with exposure to cloud platforms (ideally Azure), workflow orchestration (e.g. Airflow) and modern development practices.
• Experience supporting business-critical systems and working directly with non-technical stakeholders.
• Familiarity with financial services data and operational workflows.

Key Requirements

• 3+ years of professional software development experience with Python.
• Strong SQL and experience with relational databases (e.g. MySQL, PostgreSQL).
• Experience designing or supporting data pipelines and ETL/ELT-style workflows.
• Experience building and consuming REST APIs and integrating with third-party systems.
• Familiarity with CI/CD, testing, monitoring and structured deployment practices.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work independently while collaborating closely with a distributed team.

Ideal Profile

The team is particularly interested in candidates who combine:

• A genuine generalist mindset - comfortable moving across software development, data engineering and production support.
• Curiosity and self-motivation, with a track record of learning and improving off their own initiative.
• Demonstrable ownership of complex, cross-functional problems.
• Some exposure to financial services or business-critical operational environments.
• Any C#/.NET experience is a bonus, given the ongoing modernisation of legacy systems.

This opportunity is particularly well suited to individuals who enjoy solving varied technical problems, working closely with business and investment teams, and building the software and data tooling that keeps a growing firm running.