Lead C++ developer (New York, hybrid)

About the Role

We are looking for a hands-on Lead C++ Engineer to lead a team of 4-6 developers building high-performance systems. This role combines technical leadership with active coding — you'll guide architecture and technical direction, mentor the team, and stay directly involved in development, while also serving as a key liaison between engineering and business stakeholders.

About the Project

The project is a live, high-performance market order and trading system designed as an exchange for energy commodities. Operating primarily in the US and European markets for a global client, the platform handles complex trades where every millisecond counts.

• Project Customer: Global company based in the US.
• Type: Fintech / trading platform
• Product: A platform connecting global buyers and sellers of specialized commodities, providing trading, data insights, and market infrastructure used by large enterprises, financial institutions, and government agencies worldwide.
• Market: Global — serving corporations, financial institutions, and governments across multiple regions.
• Stage: Existing, established platform — the team is expanding internationally (overseas expansion of the Markets Engineering team), not building from scratch.

Requirements

• 10+ years of professional experience in software development.
• Proven experience leading a technical team is required.
• Deep expertise in Modern C++ (17/20/23): move semantics, constexpr, templates, etc.
• Strong experience with Linux / POSIX environments.
• Proficiency with build systems and tools: CMake / vcpkg, Git.
• Hands-on experience with concurrency and shared memory tools.
• Networking skills: ZeroMQ (or similar), low-level socket programming (TCP/UDP).
• Proficiency in using AI coding tools (Cursor, Claude, Codex, etc.) to enhance the development workflow.
• English: Upper-Intermediate or higher.

Nice to Have

• Familiarity with kdb+, TypeScript, and code generation tools.
• Experience with Svelte is a plus.
• Experience in Financial or Trading domains (FIX Protocol, OMS, Market data feeds like ITCH/OUCH).
• Knowledge of Redis or other in-memory data stores.
• Familiarity with the Qt framework.

Responsibilities

• Manage a team of 4-6 C++ and UI developers.
• Collaborate closely with business stakeholders, including product managers and other stakeholders.
• Make regular, hands-on code contributions.
• Coordinate and collaborate with other technical teams across the organization.
• Manage project timelines, deliverables, and cross-team communications.

What We Are Looking For

• Autonomy: You excel at working independently, learning on your own, and figuring out large, unfamiliar codebases without external support.
• Ownership: You are ready to take full responsibility for the core part of the system.
• Assertiveness: You can clearly communicate your technical vision and demonstrate your project understanding effectively.