Staff Agentic Software Engineer

CME Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc.; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 125,800 - 209,600; Full time

Job summary

CME Group in Chicago seeks a Staff Software Engineer to lead architecture and delivery of high‑volume, low‑latency Java applications on Google Cloud for real‑time positions and risk management systems.

You will translate complex requirements into scalable solutions, maintain CI/CD pipelines, and collaborate with product, QA, and operations. Mentor engineers and foster agile practices across teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in Computer Science, Mathematics, Financial Engineering, or a related field.
• 8+ years of hands‑on Java development experience.
• Expert‑level proficiency in Java, with deep experience in the Spring framework and building REST APIs.
• Experience with Python for scripting, data analysis, or machine learning.
• Proven track record designing and debugging multi‑threaded concurrent applications, with memory model, lock‑free data structures, thread pools, and race condition diagnosis.
• Strong experience with Google Cloud Platform (GKE, Pub/Sub, BigQuery, Cloud Run, or Dataflow) in production environments.
• Experience with observability at scale (distributed tracing, SLO/SLI, chaos engineering).
• Experience with real‑time message frameworks (Kafka, MQ, Flink, etc.).
• Experience with SQL and PostgreSQL.

Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture, design, and development of high‑volume, low‑latency Java applications on Google Cloud for mission‑critical systems.
• Translate complex requirements into scalable solutions.
• Architect and maintain a robust CI/CD automation pipeline.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams to deliver cohesive solutions.
• Mentor junior engineers and lead by example in agile practices.

Skills

Java

Spring framework

REST APIs

Python scripting

Multithreading

GCP production

Observability at scale

Real-time messaging

PostgreSQL

CI/CD pipelines

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Math/Financial Eng

Tools

Kafka

MQ

Flink

GKE

Pub/Sub

BigQuery

Cloud Run

Dataflow

Job description

CME Group is seeking an experienced Staff Software Engineer to lead the architecture, design, and delivery of high‑volume, low‑latency Java applications for real‑time positions and risk management systems on Google Cloud.

Principal Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture, design, and development of high‑volume, low‑latency Java applications on Google Cloud for mission‑critical systems.
• Translate complex business and functional requirements into well‑designed, maintainable, and scalable solutions.
• Architect and maintain a robust CI/CD automation pipeline to ensure efficient and reliable software delivery.
• Collaborate effectively with cross‑functional teams, including product management, quality assurance, and operations, to deliver cohesive solutions.
• Mentor junior engineers, provide technical guidance, and lead by example in following agile best practices throughout the development lifecycle.

Core Technical Expertise

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Mathematics, Financial Engineering, or a related field.
• 8+ years of hands‑on Java development experience.
• Expert‑level proficiency in Java, with deep experience in the Spring framework and building REST APIs.
• Experience with Python for scripting, data analysis, or machine learning.
• Proven track record designing and debugging multi‑threaded concurrent applications, with deep understanding of memory models, lock‑free data structures, thread pools, and race condition diagnosis.
• Strong experience with Google Cloud Platform (GKE, Pub/Sub, BigQuery, Cloud Run, or Dataflow) in production environments.
• Experience with observability at scale (distributed tracing, SLO/SLI, chaos engineering).
• Experience with real‑time message frameworks (Kafka, MQ, Flink, etc.).
• Experience with SQL and Postgres.

AI‑Augmented Engineering

• High proficiency with modern GenAI code assistance tools (e.g., Gemini, CoPilot, Claude) to accelerate development and improve code quality.
• Ability to evaluate, integrate and champion AI tooling to accelerate team velocity while maintaining code quality and security standards.
• Demonstrated experience in building AI agents and agentic workflows.

Staff‑Level Expectations

• Drive architecture decisions across team boundaries and articulate trade‑offs to engineers and stakeholders.
• Operate under press and on‑call for systems where failure has direct financial or regulatory impact.
• Raise the bar through code reviews, design reviews, and mentorship.
• Contribute to development tooling and engineering culture initiatives.

Desirable Qualifications

• Experience developing software for financial risk management, trading, or clearing systems.

Compensation

Pay range: $125,800–$209,600 (actual salary dependent on experience, skills, and internal comparison). Includes an annual target bonus opportunity and equity program.

Benefits: Comprehensive health coverage, 401(k) with active pension plan, education reimbursement, paid time off, and mental health benefits.

Equal Opportunity

As an equal‑opportunity employer, we consider all potential employees without regard to any protected characteristic.