Senior / Lead Quantitative Developer - Commodities

Selby Jennings; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Selby Jennings is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join the London team. This role blends technical leadership with hands-on engineering to shape strategy and drive day-to-day development of critical systems.

You will work closely with analysts and traders to transform ideas into scalable production solutions, including analytics platforms, data pipelines, and data ingestion capabilities. Prior leadership experience and financial services exposure are valued.

Qualifications

• Strong hands-on software engineering experience in fast-paced environments.
• Leadership or team management experience, with deep technical delivery.
• Experience building analytics platforms and data pipelines.
• Ownership of data ingestion capabilities, APIs and scraping frameworks.
• Ability to collaborate with analysts and traders to productionize models.

Responsibilities

• Partner with analysts and traders to transform ideas into scalable production systems.
• Build analytics platforms, research infrastructure, and data pipelines.
• Own data ingestion capabilities, including APIs, alternative data, and scraping frameworks.
• Ensure data availability, accessibility, and quality for modeling and research.
• Collaborate with analysts to productionize and scale solutions.
• Develop internal tools and workflows to improve efficiency.

Skills

Software engineering

Leadership

Data pipelines

Data ingestion

Stakeholder management

Job description

Our client, one of the world's leading commodities trading firms, is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join its London-based team. This is a high-impact opportunity offering a clear path towards becoming the successor to the current Technical Lead. The role combines technical leadership responsibilities with hands‑on engineering, enabling you to influence both the strategic direction and day‑to‑day development of critical systems. Working closely with analysts and traders, you will help transform business ideas into scalable production solutions. Responsibilities include building analytics platforms, developing research infrastructure and data pipelines, and taking ownership of data ingestion capabilities that underpin key trading and business functions.

The ideal candidate will have experience within financial services and a diverse background spanning both established organisations and smaller, entrepreneurial environments. This position would suit someone who has previous leadership or team management experience but remains passionate about hands‑on software engineering and technical delivery. Strong commercial awareness, an ownership mentality, and the ability to operate effectively in a fast‑paced environment are essential.

Requirements

• Partner with analysts and traders to transform ideas into scalable production systems.
• Build analytics platforms, research infrastructure, and data pipelines.
• Own data ingestion capabilities, including APIs, alternative data, and scraping frameworks.
• Ensure availability, accessibility, and quality of data required for modeling and research.
• Collaborate with analysts who build their own models, helping productionize, scale, and operationalize those solutions.
• Develop internal tools, workflows, and visualization capabilities that improve business efficiency.

Ideal Profile

• A highly capable software engineer with a strong balance of technical depth, leadership capability, and commercial awareness.
• Experience within financial services is preferred, though candidates from leading technology firms with previous financial markets exposure will also be considered.
• Comfortable operating across a variety of business environments, from large global organisations to smaller, fast‑paced and entrepreneurial firms.
• Demonstrated experience building, scaling, or transforming technology platforms, infrastructure, or engineering functions.
• A self‑starter who can identify opportunities, take ownership of initiatives, and deliver results independently.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to partner effectively with business users, analysts, and traders.
• Previous team leadership or management experience, coupled with a desire to remain closely involved in technical design, development, and delivery.
• An ownership mentality with a passion for solving complex problems and driving continuous improvement.
• Comfortable working in an environment where technical excellence, pace, and business impact are equally valued.