Senior Software Engineer - Automation

Fintal Partners; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Fintal Partners, a Chicago-based trading firm, seeks a Trading Automation Specialist at the intersection of trading, technology, data, and automation. You will work directly with traders to improve how a sophisticated electronic trading business operates.

This role is not traditional software engineering; you will proactively identify automation opportunities, build tools, and own projects end-to-end, delivering tangible impact in real-time trading workflows.

Qualifications

• 3+ years in a technical, quantitative, data-focused, fintech, or trading-related environment.
• Strong Python skills in scripting, automation, tooling, and data manipulation.
• Experience cleaning and exploring datasets, identifying trends, and communicating conclusions.
• Genuine interest in financial markets or quantitative finance.
• Excellent communication with demanding stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Identify opportunities to automate trading workflows and reduce manual processes.
• Build Python-based tools, scripts, and automation used by trading teams.
• Analyze complex datasets to find patterns, diagnose issues, and translate findings into improvements.
• Collaborate with traders to understand problems and develop technical solutions.
• Own automation initiatives end-to-end from requirements to implementation.
• Investigate issues, perform root-cause analysis, and improve reliability of trading processes.
• Propose improvements proactively and communicate recommendations to stakeholders.

Skills

Python

Data analysis

Trading knowledge

Automation

Stakeholder communication

Problem solving

Quantitative discipline

Education

Bachelor's degree in a quantitative field

Job description

A leading global proprietary trading firm is hiring a Trading Automation Specialist to join its Chicago-based trading organization. This is a unique opportunity for someone who wants to sit at the intersection of trading, technology, data, and automation, working directly alongside traders to improve how a highly sophisticated electronic trading business operates.

This is not a traditional software engineering or support position. You’ll act as a technical partner to the trading desk, proactively identifying opportunities to automate workflows, analyze trading and market data, build tools, and improve the reliability and efficiency of trading operations. You’ll have significant ownership over projects from identifying the problem through designing, implementing, and improving the solution.

What You’ll Do

• Identify opportunities to automate trading workflows and eliminate manual processes
• Build Python-based tools, scripts, and automation used directly by trading teams
• Analyze complex datasets to identify patterns, diagnose issues, and translate findings into actionable improvements
• Partner directly with traders to understand problems and develop technical solutions
• Own automation initiatives end-to-end, from requirements through implementation
• Investigate issues, perform root-cause analysis, and improve the reliability of critical trading processes
• Proactively propose improvements rather than simply responding to requests
• Communicate technical and data-driven recommendations to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

What We’re Looking For

• 3+ years of professional experience in a technical, quantitative, data-focused, fintech, or trading-related environment
• Strong Python programming skills, particularly scripting, automation, tooling, and data manipulation
• Strong experience working with data analysis — able to clean and explore datasets, identify meaningful trends, and clearly communicate conclusions
• Strong analytical and problem-solving ability
• Genuine interest in financial markets, electronic trading, or quantitative finance
• Excellent communication skills and the confidence to work directly with demanding stakeholders
• A proactive mindset with the ability to identify problems and drive solutions independentlyBachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, or another quantitative discipline

Backgrounds That Could Be Relevant

Prior trading experience is not required. Candidates could come from electronic trading, financial services, fintech, technology companies, banking, or other technically demanding industries.

Traditional software engineers can also be a strong fit, particularly those interested in moving closer to the business and using their technical skills across automation, data, and trading rather than focusing exclusively on large-scale application development.

Why This Role

This position offers an unusual amount of exposure across technology and live trading. Rather than being confined to a traditional engineering function, you’ll work directly with the people using the systems you build and see the impact of your work in real time.

The firm offers highly competitive compensation, strong benefits, and the opportunity to work alongside experienced professionals within one of the most sophisticated electronic trading environments in the industry.