Team Lead, People Technology

Drweng; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary annual bonus

Medical, dental, vision insurance

401k with employer match

Life and AD&D insurance

Job summary

DRW, a diversified trading firm headquartered in Chicago, seeks a Lead/Senior Engineer to launch and own the People Technology team. You will be the sole technical owner of eight HR-oriented applications, coding across a modern stack while shaping the team roadmap and partnering with HR stakeholders.

You will validate staffing assumptions, work with leadership, and build the team from scratch. This is not pure management; you will code and mentor, defining processes and culture from the start.

Qualifications

• Strong full-stack engineering background with hands-on experience across Python, TypeScript/React, and PostgreSQL.
• Proven ability to own and drive multiple applications end-to-end—from roadmap through delivery and support.
• Experience partnering with non-technical stakeholders to translate needs into technical solutions.
• Comfort operating with a high degree of autonomy as a founding role.
• Strong communication skills and a collaborative mindset with HR partners.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical direction and roadmap for eight HR-adjacent applications.
• Serve as the primary engineering contact for HR stakeholders and translate business needs into technical solutions.
• Assess tech debt, modernization opportunities, and alignment with engineering standards.
• Validate initial staffing model and help define the second engineering role.
• Write and ship production code across Python, TypeScript/React, Ruby, FastAPI, Flask, Next.js, PostgreSQL.
• Formalize support processes and operational workflows as the team matures.

Skills

Python

TypeScript/React

PostgreSQL

Ownership

Autonomy

Communication

Tools

Ruby/Sinatra

FastAPI

Flask

Next.js

Job description

DRW is a diversified trading firm with over 3 decades of experience bringing sophisticated technology and exceptional people together to operate in markets around the world. We value autonomy and the ability to quickly pivot to capture opportunities, so we operate using our own capital and trading at our own risk.

Headquartered in Chicago with offices throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia, we trade a variety of asset classes including Fixed Income, ETFs, Equities, FX, Commodities and Energy across all major global markets. We have also leveraged our expertise and technology to expand into three non-traditional strategies: real estate, venture capital and cryptoassets.

We operate with respect, curiosity and open minds. The people who thrive here share our belief that it’s not just what we do that matters–it's how we do it. DRW is a place of high expectations, integrity, innovation and a willingness to challenge consensus.

The Team:

HR functions across the firm — Talent Acquisition, Talent Development, Talent Management, and others — rely on a growing suite of purpose-built internal applications to run critical people processes: campus recruiting quizzes, candidate pipeline integrations, interactive trading games for recruiting events, onboarding forms, in-office trend tracking, peer recognition, and more. Today, these applications are maintained across the broader Infrastructure Development team without a dedicated, product-minded owner. We are launchingInfrastructure Development - People Technology, a new sub-team within Infrastructure Development, to serve as the dedicated engineering partner to HR. People Technology will own the full lifecycle of eight internal applications spanning the talent lifecycle — from recruiting and onboarding through recognition and engagement.

The Role:

We are seeking a Lead / Senior Engineer to serve as the founding member and technical leader of the People Technology team. You will be the single point of ownership for the team's entire application suite, and the primary engineering partner to HR stakeholders across Talent Acquisition, Talent Development, Talent Management, and HR Leadership. This is not a pure management role — you will be hands‑on in the code while simultaneously shaping the team's roadmap, building relationships across HR, and standing up the team from scratch. As the first hire, you will also validate our initial staffing assumptions and partner with leadership to scope and fill the team's second engineering role.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own the technical direction and roadmap for a suite of eight HR-adjacent applications, balancing maintenance and stability with new feature development driven by HR partner priorities.
• Serve as the primary engineering point of contact for HR stakeholders — embedding in their planning sessions, understanding their pain points, and translating business needs into technical solutions.
• Conduct a comprehensive assessment across all applications — evaluating tech debt, modernization opportunities, support burden, and alignment with engineering standards.
• Validate the team's initial staffing model and partner with leadership to define and fill the second engineering role.
• Write and ship production code across a diverse stack (Python, TypeScript/React, Ruby, FastAPI, Flask, Next.js, PostgreSQL) while maintaining high quality standards.
• Formalize support processes, stakeholder communication channels, and operational workflows as the team matures.

Required Qualifications:

• Strong full-stack engineering background with hands‑on experience across Python, TypeScript/React, and PostgreSQL.
• Proven ability to own and drive multiple applications end‑to‑end — from roadmap through delivery and support.
• Experience partnering directly with non‑technical business stakeholders to translate needs into technical solutions.
• Comfort operating with a high degree of autonomy — this is a founding role where you will define processes, priorities, and team culture from scratch.
• Strong communication skills and a collaborative mindset — you will spend as much time in conversations with HR partners as you will writing code.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with Ruby/Sinatra, FastAPI, Flask, or Next.js.
• Prior experience in a technical lead or team lead capacity, including mentoring junior engineers.
• Familiarity with HR systems and workflows (e.g., applicant tracking systems, HRIS platforms) or similar enterprise integrations.

The annual base salary range for this position is $140,000 to $180,000 depending on the candidate’s experience, qualifications, and relevant skill set. The position is also eligible for an annual discretionary bonus. In addition, DRW offers a comprehensive suite of employee benefits including group medical, pharmacy, dental and vision insurance, 401k (with discretionary employer match), short and long‑term disability, life and AD&D insurance, health savings accounts, and flexible spending accounts.

For more information about DRW's processing activities and our use of job applicants' data, please view our Privacy Notice at https://drw.com/privacy-notice.

California residents, please review the California Privacy Notice for information about certain legal rights at https://drw.com/california-privacy-notice.

#LI-AA1