Head of execution technology - C++ - High frequency trading

Aquis Search; Mumbai; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 8,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Aquis Search is partnering with a leading global HFT firm to hire a senior C++ engineering leader to head its Execution Technology in India. You will own the execution platform, drive architecture, and mentor a high-caliber team while staying hands-on in engineering.

The role combines leadership with active coding and system-level ownership, offering influence over platform evolution and performance optimizations across latency-critical components.

Qualifications

• Senior C++ engineering leader with deep expertise in modern C++.
• Strong experience in low-latency, performance-critical systems.
• Background building trading, execution or electronic trading infrastructure.
• Solid knowledge of Linux, networking, concurrency and systems performance.
• Experience guiding technical decisions at scale.

Responsibilities

• Own the technology underpinning trade execution.
• Lead design and development of high-performance execution systems.
• Define execution architecture, standards and direction.
• Improve latency, throughput, reliability and performance.
• Build, mentor and lead a senior engineering team in India.
• Make architectural decisions while remaining technically hands-on.

Skills

Modern C++

Low-latency systems

Trading infrastructure

Linux

Networking

Concurrency

Systems performance

Leadership

Technical decision-making

Education

Computer Science / Engineering degree

Job description

Head of Execution Technology | C++ | India

We are partnering with a leading global HFT firm to hire a senior C++ engineering leader to head its Execution Technology function in India.

This is a hands‑on technical leadership role for someone who has spent their career building high-performance, low-latency trading systems and wants to continue being close to the engineering while taking ownership of a critical technology function.

The Role

You will take ownership of the technology underpinning trade execution, working closely with trading, quantitative research and engineering teams.

The mandate will include:

• Leading the design and development of high-performance execution systems
• Owning execution architecture, technical direction and engineering standards
• Driving improvements across latency, throughput, reliability and performance
• Building and optimising performance‑critical systems in C++
• Working closely with trading teams to translate execution requirements into technology
• Making key architectural and design decisions across the execution stack
• Building, mentoring and leading a high‑calibre engineering team in India
• Remaining technically involved rather than moving into a purely managerial position

Background

We are interested in senior engineers and technical leaders with:

• Deep expertise in modern C++
• Strong experience with low‑latency / performance-critical systems
• Experience building trading, execution or electronic trading infrastructure
• Strong understanding of Linux, networking, concurrency and systems performance
• Experience with exchange connectivity, market microstructure and/or electronic execution
• Strong systems design and architecture capabilities
• Experience leading senior engineers and making technical decisions at scale
• A strong Computer Science / Engineering foundation
• Experience within HFT, proprietary trading, systematic trading or another highly performance-sensitive electronic trading environment would be particularly relevant.

Why This Role?

The opportunity combines something that can be difficult to find at this level: leadership without stepping away from engineering.

You will have meaningful ownership over the execution technology function, influence how the platform evolves and help build the engineering capability around it.

We are also very interested in speaking with senior Indian technologists currently based in Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, London, Europe or the US who would consider relocating to India for the right technical mandate.

Location: India

Specialism: C++ | Low Latency | Execution Systems | HFT | Technical Leadership