Sr. Software Engineer II, Exchange Connectivity

NinjaTrader; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous PTO

7 paid holidays annually

401(k) with 3.5% company match

Paid parental bonding leave

Health, vision, dental coverage

Life and disability insurance

Job summary

NinjaTrader is seeking a skilled Sr. Software Engineer II to enhance exchange connectivity and high-performance trading systems. You will design components for low latency and reliability while collaborating with various teams.

The ideal candidate will bring over 8 years of experience in the trading industry, ideally proficient in C++ or Rust, and will support live trading systems. The role is based in Chicago, IL with a hybrid work schedule.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in the trading industry, ideally with C++ or Rust.
• Experience supporting live trading systems in production.

Responsibilities

• Design and support exchange connectivity components.
• Develop market data handlers and order gateways.
• Collaborate with Trading OMS and infrastructure teams.

Skills

C++

Rust

Network programming

Multicast UDP

TCP

Asynchronous programming

Market data systems

Mentoring skills

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field

Tools

Wireshark

Linux knowledge

Job description

Disclaimer

Please be advised that the most accurate and up-to‑date information about our open roles—including job descriptions, compensation, and benefits—can only be guaranteed on our official job board. For the latest listings and details, please visit: https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/ninjatrader.

JOIN US ON OUR MISSION TO BECOME THE #1 RETAIL TRADING PLATFORM IN THE WORLD

Welcome to the dynamic world of NinjaTrader! As an industry‑leading trading platform and futures broker, we're empowering traders to take control of their financial destiny. We provide cutting‑edge products and services that enhance the trading journey. Whether a seasoned pro or just starting out, NinjaTrader equips traders with award‑winning software and brokerage services to navigate the world’s leading financial markets with confidence.

Our growth story is nothing short of exhilarating. Since 2003, NinjaTrader has been dedicated to understanding and supporting traders on their journey toward trading triumph. Through those efforts, our user base has grown to over 2 million users and we have become the number one rated futures brokerage worldwide.

We’re constantly evolving, pushing boundaries, and modernizing the futures industry. Our commitment to innovation keeps users always having dynamic tools, real‑time support, and a community of like‑minded traders.

Here, you're not just part of a team; you're part of a movement. We empower employees to reach new heights in their careers by providing a dynamic culture focused on social connection, professional development, and employee recognition initiatives. Take it from our employees.

Join us as we redefine what's possible in trading, advocate for our customers, and continue our journey toward becoming the world’s top retail‑focused trading platform.

What you’ll do

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Sr. Software Engineer II with deep expertise in exchange connectivity and high‑performance trading systems. This is a high‑impact role focused on interfacing directly with multiple exchanges, handling real‑time market data, order routing, and trade processing with low latency and high reliability. You’ll be part of the Exchange Connectivity team, owning the software that communicates directly with exchanges worldwide.

In this role you will

• Design, implement, and support exchange connectivity components across multiple asset classes and protocols
• Develop and maintain market data handlers, order gateways, and contract/instrument reference data processors
• Create APIs to expose exchange services to the broader organization via REST, WebSocket, event bus, or other mechanisms
• Collaborate closely with the Trading OMS, FCM, and infrastructure teams
• Optimize for low latency, high throughput, and fault tolerance across all trading and data flows

What you’ll need

• 8+ years of experience in the trading industry, ideally with C++ or Rust
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field
• Proven experience building exchange connectivity and market data systems across multiple venues
• Strong understanding of network programming, multicast UDP, TCP, and asynchronous I/O
• Deep knowledge of trading industry specifications (FIX, SBE, market data formats, etc.)
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, including the ability to mentor others and drive change across teams
• Experience supporting live trading systems in production—diagnosing connectivity issues, latency anomalies, and failover events
• Strong sense of ownership, with the ability to deliver robust, tested, and observable software in mission‑critical environments

Bonus Points for

• Capital markets experience
• Performance profiling and tuning using perf, VTune, Wireshark, or similar tools to analyze and reduce latency
• Low‑latency systems development with deep experience optimizing for performance, throughput, and determinism in production trading environments
• Building and maintaining real‑time feed handlers for exchange protocols (ITCH, OUCH, FIX/FAST, CME MDP, Eurex ETI, etc.)
• Familiarity with U.S. and international exchange APIs and connectivity protocols (CME, ICE, Eurex, CBOE, Binance, etc.)
• Expert‑level Linux knowledge, including performance tuning, kernel parameters, NUMA, and clock synchronization (PTP)
• Building resilient distributed systems that handle failover, recovery, and state synchronization
• Expertise in concurrency, multi‑threading, and asynchronous programming
• Familiarity with IBM MQ for exchange data transfer
• Experience with low‑latency networking, kernel bypass, or FPGA acceleration

Compensation

The salary range for this role will be $140,000 – $190,000 USD. In addition, this position will also receive an annual target bonus of 10%. Bonus pay at NinjaTrader is based on individual performance (50%) as well as company/team performance (50%). Salary and bonus earnings are only two components of the total compensation package offered by NinjaTrader.

NinjaTrader offers a 401(k) plan through ADP under which the company will match up to 3.5% of employee contributions. Annual paid time off allowance accrues at a rate of 18 days per year plus seven paid holidays.

Location

This role is based in Chicago, IL. We are not open to remote candidates for this role.

Hybrid

For Chicago‑based employees, we follow a hybrid work schedule: In‑office Tuesday through Thursday, with remote work on Mondays and Fridays. In addition to these weekly remote days, we offer:

• 20 additional flex remote days annually
• 5 company‑wide office‑optional weeks tied to major holidays

Our Core Benefits Include

• Generous PTO
• 7 paid holidays annually + 5 conditional holidays annually
• 1 service day annually
• 401(k) with 3.5% company match
• Paid parental bonding leave
• Health, vision, dental coverage
• Life and disability insurance covered 100% by NinjaTrader

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, or veteran status. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.