Senior Java Algo Developer / Lead / Director

Gravitas Recruitment Group (Global) Ltd; Hong Kong; Hybrid; HKD 900,000 - 1,600,000; Full time

Job summary

Gravitas Recruitment Group (Global) Ltd is seeking a Senior / Lead / Director Algorithmic Trading Software Engineer to design, build, and optimize high-speed trading engines in a hybrid leadership and hands-on role. You will mentor engineers, collaborate with traders and researchers, and push technical innovation across global market infrastructure.

You will own low-latency systems, drive architecture improvements, and ensure robust production readiness in a fast-paced front-office environment

Qualifications

• 7+ years of hands-on development in capital markets, focused on electronic or algorithmic trading systems.
• Proven ability to make rapid, data-driven decisions under real-time pressure.
• Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or related quantitative field.

Responsibilities

• Architect, upgrade, and optimize low-latency algorithmic trading engines and order management platforms.
• Mentor development team members and foster technical innovation while promoting agile practices.
• Analyze existing trading strategies and market data to improve execution performance and efficiency.
• Partner with quant, compliance, and business teams to shape product strategy and scale trading tools.
• Adapt trading infrastructure to global market mechanics, liquidity constraints, and regulatory frameworks.
• Provide high-tier technical troubleshooting, performance tuning, and incident management to ensure system stability.

Skills

7+ years capital markets experience

Real-time data processing

Java server-side development

Mentoring / team leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/Engineering/Math

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

TDD / test automation

DevOps pipelines

Git

Job description

We are seeking a high-caliber Senior / Lead / Director Algorithmic Trading Software Engineer to join our elite, front-office automated trading group. In this hybrid technical leadership and hands-on engineering role, you will design, build, and optimize high-speed, mission-critical electronic trading engines. You will drive technical innovation, mentor engineers, and collaborate closely with traders and quantitative researchers to optimize trading algorithms and expand our global market infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

• System Engineering: Architect, upgrade, and optimize low-latency algorithmic trading engines and order management platforms.
• Team Leadership: Mentor development team members, foster technical innovation, and champion agile best practices.
• Strategy Optimization: Analyze existing automated trading strategies and market data to improve execution performance and efficiency.
• Business Collaboration: Partner with quant, compliance, and business teams to define product strategy and scale trading tools.
• Global Market Logic: Adapt trading infrastructure to handle diverse global market mechanics, liquidity constraints, and regulatory frameworks.
• Production Support: Provide high-tier technical troubleshooting, performance tuning, and incident management to ensure absolute system stability.

Technical Requirements

• Expert Java Skills: Deep expertise in advanced server-side Java, multi-threading, concurrency, and low-garbage-collection (GC) tuning.
• Trading Infrastructure: Extensive experience processing live market data, financial order flows, smart order routing (SOR), and portfolio positions.
• Modern Engineering: Strong commitment to Test-Driven Development (TDD), test automation, and DevOps pipeline practices.
• Market Microstructure: Solid understanding of exchange mechanics, auction types, liquidity pools, and algorithmic trading strategies (e.g., VWAP).

Qualifications & Experience

• Industry Tenure: 7+ years of hands-on development experience in capital markets, specifically focused on electronic or algorithmic trading systems.
• Problem Solving: Proven ability to make rapid, data-driven decisions and debug complex software under intense, real-time pressure.
• Education: Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related quantitative field.

Bonus Skills (Nice to Have)

• Architecture: Knowledge of sequencer architecture or high-performance time-series databases (e.g., Kdb+/Q).
• Polyglot Coding: Familiarity with C# or C++ environments, or experience utilizing AI-assisted development tools.
• Modern Stack: Experience with cloud platforms and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Region Specifics: Deep knowledge of APAC/global market microstructures and regulatory environments.

What You Will Actually Do (Simple Summary)

• The Core Task: You will write high-performance backend Java code to run digital engines that buy and sell financial instruments automatically.
• The Leadership: You will guide and grow a smart engineering team while remaining actively involved in writing core code.
• The Environment: It is a fast-paced, high-stakes, front-office environment where millisecond delays matter and software reliability is paramount.
• The Goal: You are ensuring our automated trading strategies execute at peak speed and optimal pricing while maintaining flawless system health.