Staff Software Engineer - Margin & Risk

Alpaca; New York (NY); On-site; USD 190,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Salary

Stock Options

Health Benefits

New Hire Home-Office Setup

Monthly Stipend

Job summary

Alpaca is seeking a senior technical leader to drive the architecture of margin and risk systems across equities, options, and crypto. You will design scalable services that enforce real-time risk limits and automate margin workflows.

We expect 8+ years in backend/distributed systems, with a track record of owning production systems. Proficiency in Go or deep experience in Java, C++, or Rust is essential, plus strong relational DB and transactional design experience.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in backend or distributed systems
• Ownership of consequential production systems preferred
• Proficiency in Go or deep experience in Java, C++, or Rust
• Expertise in relational databases and transactional system design

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical direction and architecture for margin and risk systems across asset classes
• Design scalable, high-consequence services that enforce real-time risk limits
• Automate complex margin workflows across equities, options, and crypto

Skills

Go

Distributed Systems

Risk Management

Margin Models

Financial Systems

Architecture

Technical Leadership

Mentorship

Low-latency Systems

Transactional Integrity

API Development

Observability

Tools

PostgreSQL

gRPC

Kafka

Kubernetes

Go

Java

C++

Rust

Job description

You will lead the technical direction and architecture for margin and risk systems across multiple asset classes including equities, options, and crypto. This involves designing scalable, high-consequence services that enforce real-time risk limits and automate complex margin workflows.

Requirements

The role requires 8+ years of experience in backend or distributed systems, with a strong preference for candidates who have owned consequential production systems. Proficiency in Go or deep experience in Java, C++, or Rust is essential, along with expertise in relational databases and transactional system design.

Key Skills

Go, Distributed Systems, Risk Management, Margin Models, PostgreSQL, gRPC, Kafka, Kubernetes, Financial Systems, Architecture, Technical Leadership, Mentorship, Low-latency Systems, Transactional Integrity, API Development, Observability

Benefits

• Competitive Salary
• Stock Options
• Health Benefits
• New Hire Home-Office Setup
• Monthly Stipend