Senior Python / C++ Software Engineer

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

Job summary

WorldQuant seeks a senior software engineer to advance our quantitative research platform. You will write production Python on Linux, contribute to large-scale distributed systems, and collaborate with researchers and portfolio managers.

Candidates with C++ interest, ML, backtesting system design, and strong Linux fundamentals will thrive in a relaxed yet rigorous environment.

Qualifications

• 7+ years writing production-quality Python on Linux
• Interest in C++ and willingness to learn
• Interest in machine learning, backtesting platform design and development
• Strong understanding of Linux system programming fundamentals

Responsibilities

• Own and address complex technical challenges within the group
• Contribute to building a scalable, efficient platform for quantitative research and trading
• Collaborate with researchers and portfolio managers to deploy alphas and strategies

Skills

Python

C++

Machine learning

Linux system programming

Distributed systems

Data structures & algorithms

English proficiency

Job description

WorldQuant develops and deploys systematic financial strategies across a broad range of asset classes and global markets. We seek to produce high-quality predictive signals (alphas) through our proprietary research platform to employ financial strategies focused on market inefficiencies. Our teams work collaboratively to drive the production of alphas and financial strategies – the foundation of a balanced, global investment platform.

WorldQuant is built on a culture that pairs academic sensibility with accountability for results. Employees are encouraged to think openly about problems, balancing intellectualism and practicality. Excellent ideas come from anyone, anywhere. Employees are encouraged to challenge conventional thinking and possess an attitude of continuous improvement.

Our goal is to hire the best and the brightest. We value intellectual horsepower first and foremost, and people who demonstrate an outstanding talent. There is no roadmap to future success, so we need people who can help us build it.

Technologists at WorldQuant research, design, code, test and deploy firmwide platforms and tooling while working collaboratively with researchers and portfolio managers. Our environment is relaxed yet intellectually driven. We seek people who think in code and are motivated by being around like-minded people.

The Role:

Our group is responsible for building software enabling both the large‑scale quantitative research operations that drive WorldQuant’s platform and the production of our portfolio. The team is currently embarking on a multi‑year journey to provide a powerful, scalable, and efficient platform to drive the firm’s next decade of growth. We are looking for someone who can own some of the unique technical challenges inherent in the problem and who can bring solid experience and perspective to the team.

What You’ll Bring:

• A minimum of 7 years of writing production‑quality code in Python on Linux platform
• Candidate must be willing to learn C++. Experience in C++ is a strong plus
• Candidate must have strong interest and motivation to work with machine learning, deep learning, backtesting platform design and development technologies. Prior experience is not required but will be considered as a strong plus.
• Strong understanding and experience with Linux system programming fundamentals
• Ability to develop large‑scale, distributed systems
• Strong understanding of data structures, algorithms, high‑performance application design, and concurrency patterns.
• Self‑motivated and able to work independently with minimal direction
• Proficiency in English

An Outstanding Candidate Will Also Have Experience With One or More Of:

• Developing systems for managing and performing computation on large‑scale graph data
• Streaming / dataflow systems
• Candidates need not have prior experience in financial services.