Staff Site Reliability Engineer

CME Group; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 132,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Career progression

Exposure to CME products and teams

Competitive compensation

Job summary

CME Group in Chicago seeks a Staff Site Reliability Engineer to build and operate resilient systems powering global financial markets. You’ll apply software engineering to the entire lifecycle of clearing systems.

In this hybrid role, you’ll collaborate with cross-functional teams, drive automation and observability, and lead initiatives to prevent incidents and improve performance. If you’re passionate about reliability at scale, this role offers a competitive compensation package.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology is strongly preferred.
• Hands-on experience deploying and operating applications on major cloud providers.
• Proficiency in Java, Python, Bash, or Go; Typescript or Rust a plus.
• Experience with IaC tools (GKE, Terraform, CloudFormation, Chef).
• Deep knowledge of SRE and security best practices; performance testing tools essential.
• Experience with automation, CI/CD, orchestration, and configuration management.
• Familiarity with OpenTelemetry and Prometheus for observability.
• Security and compliance mindset; strong written and verbal communication.

Responsibilities

• Pioneer reliability, performance, and availability of CME clearing and risk systems.
• Architect and implement resilient, fault-tolerant solutions.
• Drive automation and improve system lifecycle processes.
• Integrate SRE principles into the software development lifecycle.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deploy and maintain critical apps.
• Lead initiatives to prevent incidents and improve operational processes.
• Advance observability and performance testing across teams.
• Own end-to-end operational integrity of products.

Skills

Cloud platforms

Java

Python

Go

IaC tools

CI/CD

Observability

Security best practices

SRE

Automation

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology

Tools

GKE

Terraform

CloudFormation

Chef

Job description

We're looking for a Staff Site Reliability Engineer to join our team, focusing on the core systems that power global financial markets. This isn't just about keeping the lights on; it's about pioneering the future of financial technology. As a member of our Clearing department, you'll be on the front lines, ensuring the integrity and performance of mission-critical systems that facilitate billions of dollars in daily transactions. If you're a builder at heart, driven by a passion for creating ultra-reliable and resilient systems, you'll thrive here.

This is a hybrid role. You must be in our office 2+ days a week**

What You’ll Get

• A supportive environment fostering career progression, continuous learning, and an inclusive culture.
• Broad exposure to CME's diverse products, asset classes, and cross-functional teams.
• A competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package.

What You’ll Do

As a Staff Site Reliability Engineer, you'll be a visionary builder of our resilient infrastructure. You'll move beyond conventional operations to apply software engineering principles to every facet of our clearing systems.

• Pioneer solutions to guarantee the reliability, performance, and availability of our CME clearing and risk systems, where every millisecond and every transaction counts.
• Architect and implement cutting-edge solutions for application resiliency and fault tolerance.
• Drive automation and continuous improvement across the entire system lifecycle, eliminating manual toil and enhancing operational excellence.
• Integrate SRE principles directly into the software development lifecycle, embedding reliability from day one.
• Collaborate with cross-functional development and platform teams, providing expert-level guidance to deploy and maintain critical applications.
• Innovate and lead efforts to prevent incidents, enhance operational processes, and automate solutions at a global scale.
• Spearhead the adoption of observability and performance testing, guiding teams to a "build with SRE mindset" culture.
• Own the end-to-end operational integrity of products, understanding and contributing to the bigger picture of the organization.

What You’ll Bring

• A strong academic background: Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field is strongly preferred.
• Cloud expertise: Hands-on experience deploying and operating applications using IaaS and PaaS on major cloud providers, preferably Google Cloud Services.
• Coding fluency: Proficiency in one or more of the following languages: Java, Python, Bash, or Go. Typescript and/or Rust are a significant plus.
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC) mastery: Experience with tools such as GKE, Terraform, CloudFormation, and Chef.
• Proven reliability engineering skills: Deep knowledge of SRE and security best practices, with a track record of implementing them into workflows. A solid understanding of performance testing tools is essential, along with the ability to help teams resolve complex performance issues.
• Automation prowess: Demonstrated experience with automation, CI/CD, orchestration, and configuration management.
• Observability knowledge: Familiarity with logging and observability platforms such as OpenTelemetry and Prometheus.
• A security-first mindset: Strong understanding of security and compliance frameworks.
• Problem-solving abilities: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong collaboration skills: An agile team player who is self-motivated and can work with minimal supervision while juggling multiple concurrent projects.
• A passion for innovation: A continuous desire to learn and stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and industry trends.

CME Group is committed to offering a competitive total rewards package for our employees that recognizes their contributions to the business and reflects our long-term investment in their future. The pay range for this role is $132,100-$220,100. Actual salary offered will be dependent on a wide array of factors including but not limited to: relevant experience, skills, education and comparison to internal employees (where relevant). Our compensation program also includes an annual target bonus opportunity for all employees, as well as the opportunity to become an owner in the company through our broad-based equity program. Through our benefits program, we strive to offer flexibility, value and choice. From comprehensive health coverage, to a retirement package that includes both a 401(k) and an active pension plan, to highly competitive education reimbursement provisions, paid time off and a mental health benefit, CME Group offers a holistic benefits package for our team and their dependents.

CME Group: Where Futures are Made

CME Group is the world's leading derivatives marketplace. But who we are goes deeper than that. Here, you can impact markets worldwide. Transform industries. And build a career by shaping tomorrow. We invest in your success and you own it – all while working alongside a team of leading experts who inspire you in ways big and small. Problem solvers, difference makers, trailblazers. Those are our people. And we’re looking for more.

At CME Group, we embrace our employees' unique experiences and skills to ensure that everyone’s perspectives are acknowledged and valued. As an equal-opportunity employer, we consider all potential employees without regard to any protected characteristic.