Senior C++ Engineer

Harrington Starr; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Harrington Starr in Chicago is looking for a Senior C++ Distributed Systems Engineer to join its Core Platform team. You will build high-performance, fault-tolerant systems that process millions of events daily.

You’ll work with traders, researchers and engineers on real-time Position, PnL and Risk infrastructure, emphasizing low latency and reliability. The role offers hybrid work (3 days in office) and a competitive salary plus bonus.

Qualifications

• 5+ years' commercial C++ development experience.
• Strong modern C++ (C++11/14/17 or newer).
• Multithreading and concurrency expertise.
• Strong understanding of Linux.
• TCP/IP, UDP and socket programming.
• SQL and relational database experience (PostgreSQL preferred).
• Experience working on high-throughput or performance-critical systems.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop high-performance distributed systems using modern C++.
• Build and optimise real-time Position, PnL and Risk services.
• Process high volumes of trading and market data with low latency.
• Design scalable, fault-tolerant messaging systems and data pipelines.
• Optimise applications for performance, resilience and reliability.
• Collaborate closely with Trading, Research and Engineering teams.
• Drive software design and engineering best practices across the platform.

Skills

C++ development

Multithreading & concurrency

Linux

TCP/IP socket programming

PostgreSQL

High-throughput systems

Tools

Networking tools

Job description

Chicago | Hybrid (3 days per week) | Competitive Salary + Bonus

We're partnering with a leading proprietary trading firm that's looking to hire a Senior C++ Distributed Systems Engineer to join its Core Platform team.

This team is responsible for building the firm's real-time Position, PnL and Risk infrastructure—systems that process millions of events every day and sit at the heart of the trading operation. You'll work alongside traders, researchers and engineers to build high-performance, fault-tolerant distributed systems where reliability and performance are paramount.

What you'll be doing

• Design and develop high-performance distributed systems using modern C++
• Build and optimise real-time Position, PnL and Risk services
• Process high volumes of trading and market data with low latency
• Design scalable, fault-tolerant messaging systems and data pipelines
• Optimise applications for performance, resilience and reliability
• Collaborate closely with Trading, Research and Engineering teams
• Drive software design and engineering best practices across the platform

What we're looking for

• 5+ years' commercial C++ development experience
• Strong modern C++ (C++11/14/17 or newer)
• Multithreading and concurrency expertise
• Strong understanding of Linux
• TCP/IP, UDP and socket programming
• SQL and relational database experience (PostgreSQL preferred)
• Experience working on high-throughput or performance-critical systems

Nice to have

• Low latency trading
• Risk or Position management systems
• Messaging frameworks