Sr. Software Engineer II, Backend - NT Connect

About the role

NinjaTrader is seeking a Sr. Software Engineer II to join our NT Connect team. This role powers the brokerage API platform, ensuring scalability, reliability, and low-latency performance.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain high-quality backend services that power the NT Connect brokerage API platform
• Architect and implement RESTful and WebSocket APIs for partner integrations
• Deploy and manage backend services in a Kubernetes/GCP environment
• Implement robust monitoring, logging, and alerting solutions
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to deliver end-to-end solutions
• Uphold and elevate engineering quality through code reviews, test coverage, CI/CD pipelines, release readiness, and incident response
• Drive architectural decisions and technical roadmap planning
• Leverage AI coding agents to accelerate delivery, improve code quality, and raise the team’s engineering velocity

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience)
• 8+ years of software development experience with distributed, backend systems, preferably in a high-performance or near real-time environment
• Strong proficiency in one or more JVM-based languages (Scala, Java, or Kotlin); experience with reactive, message-driven frameworks is highly valued
• Proven experience designing and building RESTful APIs and WebSocket services for external partners or B2B platforms
• Experience with Kubernetes and cloud infrastructure (preferably GCP), with a focus on scalability and high availability
• Deep understanding of modern distributed systems and ability to troubleshoot across the full stack
• Strong understanding of security best practices for exposed APIs and backend services: authentication, authorization, data isolation, encryption, and audit logging
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to take full ownership of projects—from design through deployment, maintenance, and iteration
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; a collaborative team player who seeks feedback and drives continual improvement
• Demonstrated use of AI coding agents and tools to meaningfully improve personal and team productivity

Qualifications

• Familiarity with financial systems and trading concepts: orders, fills, margin, account lifecycle, and regulated workflows (KYC/AML, reporting)
• Experience with FIX protocol, market data feeds, or brokerage integration patterns (FCM, clearing, or embedded finance platforms)
• Background in multi-tenant SaaS platform architectures, partner onboarding, and API rate limiting strategies
• Familiarity with Pub/Sub messaging systems (e.g., GCP Pub/Sub) and event-driven architectures
• Familiarity with Node.js, particularly for API integration or SDK-adjacent backend work

Skills

• Experience with distributed, backend systems
• Proficiency in one or more JVM-based languages (Scala, Java, or Kotlin)
• Experience with RESTful and WebSocket APIs
• Experience with Kubernetes and cloud infrastructure (GCP preferred)
• Understanding of modern distributed systems and troubleshooting
• Experience with security best practices for APIs and backend services
• Strong problem-solving and collaboration skills
• Experience with AI coding agents and tools
• Experience with FIX protocol, market data feeds, or brokerage integration patterns
• Experience with Pub/Sub messaging systems and event-driven architectures
• Experience with Node.js

Benefits

• Generous PTO
• 7 Paid Holidays Annually + 5 Conditional Holidays Annually
• 1 Service Day Annually
• 401k with 3.5% Company Match
• Paid Parental Bonding Leave
• Health, Vision, Dental Coverage
• Life and Disability Insurance Covered 100% by NinjaTrader

Pay

The salary range for this role will be $140,000.00 - $190,000.00 USD. In addition, this position will also receive an annual target bonus of 10%. Bonus pay at NinjaTrader is based on individual performance (50%) as well as company/team performance (50%).

Schedule

This role is based in Chicago, IL. We are not open to remote candidates for this role.

Hybrid

For Chicago-based employees, we follow a hybrid work schedule: In-office Tuesday through Thursday, with remote work on Mondays and Fridays. In addition to these weekly remote days, we offer:

• 20 additional flex remote days annually
• 5 Company Wide Office-Optional weeks tied to major holidays

Core Benefits

• Generous PTO
• 7 Paid Holidays Annually + 5 Conditional Holidays Annually
• 1 Service Day Annually
• 401k with 3.5% Company Match
• Paid Parental Bonding Leave
• Health, Vision, Dental Coverage
• Life and Disability Insurance Covered 100% by NinjaTrader