Head of Engineering - Platform (London)

Head of Engineering – Trading
About Keyrock
Since our beginnings in 2017, we've grown to be a leading change-maker in the digital asset space, renowned for our partnerships and innovation.
Today, we rock with over 180 team members around the world. Our diverse team hails from 42 nationalities, with backgrounds ranging from DeFi natives to PhDs. Predominantly remote, we have hubs in London, Brussels and Singapore, and host regular online and offline hangouts to keep the crew tight.
We are trading on more than 80 exchanges, and working with a wide array of asset issuers. As a well-established market maker, our distinctive expertise led us to expand rapidly. Today, our services span market making, options trading, high-frequency trading, OTC, and DeFi trading desks.
But we're more than a service provider. We're an initiator. We're pioneers in adopting the Rust development language for our algorithmic trading, and champions of its use in the industry. We support the growth of Web3 startups through our Accelerator Program. We upgrade ecosystems by injecting liquidity into promising DeFi, RWA, and NFT protocols. And we push the industry's progress with our research and governance initiatives.
At Keyrock, we're not just envisioning the future of digital assets. We're actively building it.
Mission statement
As the Head of Engineering – Platform at Keyrock, you will lead our engineering teams in developing and maintaining the backoffice and trading data platform systems at the core of our organisation. We are looking for a hands-on leader who is not only experienced in building scalable, resilient, and high-performance systems but also willing to roll up their sleeves and actively contribute to engineering efforts. The ideal candidate thrives in fast-paced environments, has a strong track record of managing and mentoring engineers, fosters a collaborative work culture, and drives product-centric initiatives while staying deeply engaged in technical challenges.
Key Responsibilities
* Architect, develop, and maintain large-scale, high-performance trading data platforms with a focus on low latency and high availability.
* Apply data engineering principles to design efficient, scalable, and fault-tolerant data pipelines for trading, risk management, and reporting.
* Ensure seamless integration between trading operations and backoffice systems, improving operational efficiency and automation.
* Lead cloud-native infrastructure initiatives, leveraging AWS, Kubernetes, and Terraform to deploy and scale systems efficiently.
* Implement GitOps-driven workflows to enhance deployment automation, observability, and system governance.
* Foster a DevSecFinOps culture, ensuring security, compliance, and financial accountability within the development lifecycle.
* Optimise data storage and retrieval strategies, balancing performance, cost, and compliance in a financial services environment.
* Collaborate with engineering leads, risk managers, product managers, and engineering teams to enhance the overall platform capabilities.
* Provide technical leadership and mentorship, fostering a culture of innovation and professional growth.
* Stay ahead of emerging trends in cloud infrastructure, security, and blockchain technologies to drive continuous improvement.
Technical Skills & Experience
* Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
* Proven experience in building and maintaining data-intensive, large-scale, high-performance trading data platforms.
* Strong expertise in Rust (or C++), Python, and TypeScript for system development and automation in the financial services industry.
* Deep understanding of data engineering principles, including data modeling, ETL pipelines, and stream processing.
* Experience with financial services data workflows, including trading, middle office, and back office operations.
* Extensive experience in cloud-native architectures, with proficiency in AWS
* Proficient in GitOps tools and methodologies for infrastructure automation and deployment.
* Strong background in DevSecFinOps, ensuring compliance, security, and cost efficiency across the development lifecycle.
* Hands-on experience with CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code (IaC), and monitoring tools.
Leadership & Collaboration
* Experience managing and leading engineering teams, fostering collaboration, innovation, and knowledge sharing.
* Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively across cross-functional teams.
* Ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear, actionable insights for business stakeholders.
* Passion for building scalable, reliable, and secure systems in a fast-paced environment.
Nice to Have
* Previous experience in crypto trading infrastructure or traditional financial markets.
* Knowledge of blockchain protocols, smart contracts, and decentralized finance (DeFi).
* Experience working in high-frequency trading (HFT) or algorithmic trading environments.
We would like the successful candidate to be based in the UK or Europe. Remote and flexible work options are available.
Our recruitment philosophy
We value self-awareness in our recruitment process. We seek people who understand themselves and their career goals. We're after those with the right skills and a conscious choice to join our field. The perfect fit? A crypto enthusiast who's driven, collaborative, and delivers solid, scalable outcomes.
Our offer
* Competitive salary package
* Autonomy in your time management thanks to flexible working hours and the opportunity to work remotely
* The freedom to create your own entrepreneurial experience by being part of a team of people in search of excellence
As an employer we are committed to build an inclusive, diverse and non-discriminating work environment. We welcome employees of all backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, creed and sexual orientation. We hire, reward and promote entirely based on merit and performance.
Due to the nature of our business and external requirements, we perform background checks on all potential employees, passing which is a prerequisite to join Keyrock.
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