Software Engineer - Ruby New Chicago, Illinois

tastylive, Inc.; Chicago, Northern (IL, KY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance Bonuses

Stock Purchase Options

401k Plan

20 Paid Vacation Days (plus an extra)

Job summary

tastytrade in Chicago seeks a Software Engineer to help power our retail brokerage stack and related initiatives. You’ll work on backend services and front-end clients, with a focus on performance and reliability.

We welcome Ruby experience but are open to strong OO language backgrounds like Java. Expect a hybrid but in-person leaning role with collaborative, fast-paced development and a pragmatic approach.

Qualifications

• Proven professional software engineering experience in a team setting.
• Strong command of at least one programming language and production experience.
• Minimum 2 years of Ruby experience or equivalent OO language with intent to focus on Ruby.
• Ability to quickly learn new languages, frameworks or technologies.

Responsibilities

• Work across languages within the tastytrade stack and front-end trading client apps.
• Design, build and maintain services in a distributed architecture with attention to latency and data consistency.
• Provide guidance and leadership to junior team members and participate in peer reviews.
• Translate requirements into production-quality code with guidance from seniors.
• Tackle smaller tasks independently while contributing to larger projects.
• Write comprehensive tests for your code to ensure quality.
• Engage in light infrastructure work to support development efforts.
• Grow by learning new systems and taking ownership of tastytrade's systems.

Skills

Ruby

Java

Object-oriented programming

Distributed systems

Tools

Grape

Ruby on Rails

Svelte

Micro-frontend architectures

Job description

As a Software Engineer you will be part of a team that builds out the technology powering our retail brokerage business and supporting our other business initiatives. We care about the speed and stability of our back-end systems as much as we care about the customer-facing applications we build. Our architecture is distributed and consistently evolving as our business grows and we face different technical challenges, but always with a focus on practicality and performance.

Ruby doesn't have to be your primary language today. If you're strong in another object-oriented language — Java, for example — and you're genuinely keen to make Ruby your day-to-day, we'd like to hear from you. Our technical interview is conducted in Ruby wherever possible, so you'd need to be comfortable enough to code in it by the time we meet.

What You'll Do

• Work in multiple languages across different parts of the tastytrade stack and/or front-end trading client applications.
• Design, build and maintain services in a distributed architecture, thinking about failure modes, latency and data consistency as you go.
• Provide guidance and leadership to more junior members of the team when questions arise about language or implementation specifics, and contribute in a meaningful way to our peer review process.
• Translate requirements and technical direction into production-quality code with lightweight guidance from a senior engineer or team leadership.
• Work independently on smaller-scope tasks, as well as under the guidance of senior engineers to contribute to larger projects.
• Write comprehensive tests for your code.
• Engage in light infrastructure work to support application development work where applicable.
• Continue your growth by learning new systems and working towards ownership of tastytrade's systems.

Who You Are

• Demonstrable professional experience working as a software engineer on a team.
• A mastery of at least one of our languages or frameworks and experience dealing with it in a production context.
• Minimum 2 years of professional experience with Ruby — or equivalent experience in another object-oriented language (e.g. Java) alongside a commitment to work primarily in Ruby and to interview in it.
• The ability to learn quickly in areas in which you don't already have deep expertise.
• A willingness to learn new languages, frameworks, or technologies beyond your current expertise.
• Accountability and a willingness to take ownership of your work.
• Curiosity and a proactive approach to problem-solving.

Nice to Have

• Experience with Grape.
• Experience writing Ruby outside of Rails.
• Front-end experience, ideally with Svelte, and any exposure to micro-frontend architectures.
• A working grasp of application security and secure coding practices.

How We Work

We try to take a thoughtful approach to our ways of working as a company. We follow a hybrid working model with 3 days in the office – which we think balances the need to collaborate effectively and connect with each other. When it comes to how we deliver, there are 5 things we want everyone to do to drive high performance, better learning and career satisfaction:

• Lead and Inspire: Drives trust, alignment, and enthusiasm.
• Think Big: Focus on the problems that most impact commercial outcomes.
• Champion the Client: Understand and prioritise clients' needs.
• Raise the Bar: Take ownership, be accountable and share feedback.

We believe that diversity is vital to success, it fuels creativity, drives innovation and sets us up for global success. We're committed to building teams with a variety of perspectives and skills to help us realise our vision and strategy, that's why we encourage applications from people with diverse backgrounds and experiences to join us on this journey.

Who you are:

Experience & Credentials

• FINRA SIE, Series 7, 63, and 3 Certified
• Minimum 3-5 years of experience in high-volume customer service, trading operations, or a trade desk role
• At least 3-5 years of hands-on experience with options, futures, and futures options trading
• Previous experience in overnight or off-hours trading operations is a plus
• Proven track record working independently with minimal supervision in fast-paced environments
• Commitment to a minimum of one year in an overnight shift before potential transition to a day-shift role

Product & Trading Knowledge

• Deep understanding of futures and futures options execution mechanics, pricing, and market structure
• Strong knowledge of options pricing models and determining exposure using Greeks
• Experience with exchange-traded derivatives across multiple asset classes (equity index, commodities, rates, currencies)
• Familiarity with extended hours stock trading, including pre-market, 24-hour, and after-hours sessions
• Understanding of Regulation T and portfolio margin account risk methodologies
• Knowledge of futures contract specifications, margin requirements, settlement procedures, and SPAN margin methodologies
• Strong risk management skills with the ability to identify and assess customer account risk exposures using the in-house risk screener (Sentinel)
• Experience conducting customer risk callouts and discussing risk-reducing position adjustments in high-stress situations
• Understanding of margin calculations, liquidation priorities, and portfolio risk metrics
• Ability to analyze overnight risk events and their potential impact on customer positions
• Familiarity with firm risk surveillance and unusual activity detection

Communication & Interpersonal Skills

• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build rapport and trust with customers during overnight or weekend hours
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills across multiple channels (phone, email, chat)
• Ability to explain complex derivatives and risk concepts clearly to customers with varying experience levels
• Diplomatic approach when delivering difficult messages (margin calls, position liquidations, risk concerns)
• Strong documentation skills for detailed shift handoff reports and incident summaries
• Effective in customer interactions, especially in high-stress or volatile market environments

Technical & Operational Skills

• Extremely proficient with technology platforms, including Salesforce, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft products
• Ability to multitask effectively in a fast-paced environment with multiple customer inquiries simultaneously
• Strong problem-solving abilities under pressure with limited resources and support during overnight hours
• Excellent attention to detail for trade execution accuracy and risk monitoring
• Comfortable troubleshooting technical issues and coordinating with support teams remotely

Discretionary Performance Bonus: 8-12% of base salary based on individual and company performance.

Company Perks + Benefits

• Performance Bonuses
• Stock Purchase Options
• 401k Plan
• 20 Paid Vacation Days (plus anadditionalpaid vacationdaythe month of your birthday!)
• 10 Paid Sick Days
• Pet Insurance
• Wellness & Mental Health Programs
• Charitable Donation Matching
• Daily catered lunch when in the office
• Full kitchen with snacks and beverages
• Shuttle to/from Metra

About IGNA+ tasty

IG North America is home to tastytrade, tasty live, tastyfx, andtastycrypto—a family of brands built to democratize trading and empower individual investors. Founded in Chicago by the creators of thinkorswim,acquiredby London-based IG Group in 2021, we combine startup innovation with the backing of a FTSE 100 fintech operating across five continents serving over 1.3m customers and handling billions of dollars in transactions – built on scale, trust, and proof.

From our headquarters in Chicago's Fulton Market, our team builds award-winning trading platforms, produces live financial education content daily, and creates technology that makes complex markets accessible. tastytrade is our retail brokerage for self-directed investing and trading, withtasty live providing content to educate our customers. tastyfx is the fastest-growing forex broker in the US.tastycryptoprovides self-custody digital wallets for decentralized finance.

We'rea lean, collaborative team that values autonomy, pragmatism, and impact. Whetheryou'rebuilding technology, creating content, serving customers, or supporting operations,you'llwork alongside people who are passionate about disrupting traditional finance and genuinely care about helping traders succeed. Our culture rewards initiative, embraces experimentation, and measures success by the value we create for our users.The bar is high – bring a curious and forward-thinkingmindsetandwe'llgive you the platform to define what comes next. Join us at IG|tasty – the future gets built here.

Location

Our office is in the West Loop - Chicago's growing center of tech, great cuisine, and high-end bars.

This is an In-Person role, working Hybrid 3 days/week in office.