Lead Software Engineer - Big Data

FINRA; Rockville (MD); Hybrid; USD 131,200 - 238,300; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health, dental and vision insurance

401(k) plan with company match

Generous paid time off program

Job summary

FINRA is looking for a Lead Software Engineer to drive the development of software products while mentoring other engineers. This role requires strong expertise in big data technologies and cloud services, with a focus on improving software quality and efficiency.

The ideal candidate should possess a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and at least 7 years of relevant experience, demonstrating proficiency in programming languages such as Python or Scala and agile methodologies.

Join a hybrid work environment fostering collaboration and innovation at FINRA.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related discipline with at least 7 years of experience.
• Strong system design and object-oriented development experience.
• Experience with cloud technologies and data storage.

Responsibilities

• Own development of software products and mentor other Software Engineers.
• Manage processes and projects to improve efficiency.
• Design industry-leading solutions and ensure quality.

Skills

Big Data Technologies

Apache Spark Expertise

SQL Mastery

Cloud Technologies

Programming (Python/Scala)

AI Tool Proficiency

Agile Methodology & Change Management

System Design & Architecture

Object-Oriented Development

Data Storage Technologies

Performance Tuning & Optimization

DevOps & CI/CD

Software Security

Data Analysis & Insights

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems or related discipline

7 years of related experience or equivalent training and/or work experience

Job description

Lead Software Engineer

Working independently, the Lead Software Engineer owns development of software products and works on improving the overall quality of the product throughout the software development life cycle and mentors other Software Engineers. Reports directly to a Director or Senior Director.

Essential Job Functions

• Seasoned contributor that works on complex projects requiring extensive knowledge of specialty area and industry practices
• Manages processes, projects or products to improve efficiency within org or product area
• Influences outcomes in cross‑functional settings
• Demonstrates solid understanding of systems and processes within job area and recommends improvements
• Designs and develops industry‑leading solutions that meet defined quality standards, reliability specifications, and help achieve key strategic objectives
• Ensures comparison of tasks and quality of work, supporting peers to ensure the team delivers consistently
• Excellent understanding in computer science fundamentals - Algorithm design, Problem solving, Complexity analysis and data structures.

Engineering/Operations Excellence

• Helps identify gaps between system components and designs and delivers solutions
• Implements methods for managing and maintaining the organization’s software development environments to ensure software engineers are equipped with the tools and resources necessary to create and validate builds
• Takes broad perspective to problems and exercises independent judgement in techniques and evaluation criteria to obtain results
• Develops actionable insights from analyzing software development trends, software engineering best practices, and innovative test environment management tools and communicates integration recommendations to management
• Identifies ways to overcome challenging situations that jeopardize the achievement of business goals

Collaboration

• Coaches and trains less experienced colleagues in techniques, processes, and responsibilities
• Integrates the culture of intelligence, integrity, and initiative into team goals and decisions
• Partners within and across teams to remove barriers and identify shared goals and priorities
• Openly shares progress and priorities with key stakeholders, communicating complex or technical information at the right level.
• Demonstration of FINRA’s values.
• Collaboration, both in‑person and virtually, in furtherance of FINRA’s mission of investor protection and market integrity.

Essential Technical Skills

• Big Data Technologies: Extensive hands‑on experience with Hadoop, Spark, Hive, and Trino for processing petabyte‑scale datasets. Proven ability to diagnose and resolve data skew, resource limitations, scalability challenges, and job failures in production environments.
• Apache Spark Expertise: Deep understanding of Spark architecture including executors, tasks, stages, and DAG execution. Demonstrated proficiency in performance tuning techniques such as partitioning strategies, caching, broadcast joins, and optimization of large‑scale data processing jobs.
• SQL Mastery: Advanced proficiency in complex SQL including window functions, multi‑table joins, aggregations, and query optimization. Experience handling edge cases involving NULLs, duplicates, and ordering in production environments.
• Cloud Technologies: Strong experience with AWS services including S3, EMR, Glue, Lambda, Athena, EKS, and serverless architectures. Practical knowledge of file format optimization, consistency management, and cloud‑based data processing workflows.
• Programming (Python/Scala): Proficiency in writing clean, modular, and performant code using Python or Scala. Strong understanding of functional programming concepts (immutability, higher‑order functions), collections, concurrency, and memory management for scalable data processing.
• AI Tool Proficiency: Hands‑on experience with AI development tools (GitHub Copilot, Q Developer, ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) and AI workflow design. Proven ability in prompt engineering and leveraging AI coding assistants for enhanced productivity.
• Agile Methodology & Change Management: Extensive experience with Scrum, Kanban, and continuous improvement practices. Demonstrated experience leading teams through AI adoption, technology transformation, and workflow optimization initiatives.
• System Design & Architecture: Strong system design experience with ability to architect scalable, distributed data processing solutions and enterprise‑level applications.
• Object‑Oriented Development: Strong experience in object‑oriented programming principles, design patterns, and software engineering best practices.
• Data Storage Technologies: Strong experience with modern data storage solutions, database technologies, and data modeling approaches for both relational and NoSQL systems.
• Performance Tuning & Optimization: Demonstrated expertise in identifying bottlenecks and optimizing application and data processing performance across the full stack.
• DevOps & CI/CD: Strong experience with DevOps practices, continuous integration, continuous deployment pipelines, and infrastructure as code.
• Software Security: Strong understanding of security best practices, secure coding principles, and application security across all layers.
• Data Analysis & Insights: Ability to interpret AI‑generated insights and data‑driven metrics, translating them into actionable technical improvements and measurable business value.

Education / Experience Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems or related discipline with at least 7 years of related experience, or equivalent training and/or work experience.
• Strong system design experience
• Strong experience in object‑oriented development
• Strong experience with cloud technologies
• Strong experience in data storage technologies
• Strong experience in performance tuning and optimization
• Strong experience in DevOps and CI/CD technologies
• Strong experience in test automation and unit testing
• Strong experience in software security

Working Conditions

• Hybrid work environment, with defined in‑person presence requirements.
• Occasional travel and extended hours may be required.

Salary and Location

For work performed in CO, FL, TX, IL, PA, MA, MD, VA, Washington, DC, NY, and NJ, the salary range is:

• CO/FL/TX: Minimum $114,200, Maximum $207,200
• IL/PA: Minimum $125,900, Maximum $228,000
• MA/MD/VA/Washington, DC: Minimum $131,200, Maximum $238,300
• NY/NJ: Minimum $131,200, Maximum $248,700

Benefits

• Comprehensive health, dental and vision insurance.
• Basic life, accidental death and dismemberment, supplemental life, spouse/domestic partner and dependent life, short‑ and long‑term disability, business travel accident, disability and legal coverage.
• 401(k) plan with company match and eligibility for additional retirement contributions.
• Tuition reimbursement, commuter benefits, adoption assistance, backup family care and employee assistance programs.
• Generous paid time off program and volunteer service days.

Equal Opportunity Employer

FINRA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to any legally protected category, including race, color, age, national origin, ethnicity, religion, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, sex, or any other status or classification protected by state or local law.