At a Glance
- Tasks: Join a dynamic team to build and enhance critical financial systems.
- Company: Alpaca, a leading self-clearing broker-dealer with a global presence.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, stock options, health benefits, and home-office setup.
- Other info: Collaborative culture with opportunities for growth and learning in financial markets.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in the financial tech space while working with cutting-edge technologies.
- Qualifications: 5+ years in software engineering, strong skills in Go, PostgreSQL, and Kubernetes.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.
Who We Are
Alpaca is a U.S.-headquartered self‑clearing broker-dealer and brokerage infrastructure provider for stocks, ETFs, options, crypto, fixed income, and 24/5 trading. Our recent Series D round brought total investment to over $320 million, fueling our ambitious vision. Among our subsidiaries, Alpaca is a licensed financial services company serving hundreds of financial institutions across 40 countries with our institutional‑grade APIs, including broker‑dealers, investment advisers, wealth managers, hedge funds, and crypto exchanges, totaling over nine million brokerage accounts. Our global team of 230+ diverse engineers, traders, and brokerage professionals spans the U.S., Canada, Japan, Hungary, Nigeria, Brazil, the U.K., and beyond. We are committed to open‑source contributions, fostering a vibrant community, and continuously enhancing our award‑winning developer-friendly API and robust infrastructure.
Your Role
As a Senior Software Engineer on the Clearing team, you will work on core clearing of U.S. equities and options and help build the infrastructure that enables new product offerings. The role focuses on highly‑critical, non‑user-facing systems that support the day‑to‑day operations of a broker‑dealer.
Things You Get To Do
- Work in a team that values quality of thinking, excellence in execution, practical solutions, and responsibility over tenure or hierarchy.
- Own projects from ideation to deployment, cutting through ambiguity to build what is necessary.
- Design and build new systems that enable new products or unlock more revenue.
- Refine existing systems, improving them for meaningful, tangible outcomes.
- Learn about financial markets infrastructure that keeps markets healthy and functioning.
- Observe the company’s growth, collaborate across teams, and influence product direction.
- Participate in on‑call rotations to keep systems in excellent shape, prioritising issues that cause team friction.
Who You Are (Must‑Haves)
- Understand the seriousness of building systems that hold customers’ money.
- Have a deep interest in how traditional financial markets operate.
- Can lead projects independently, taking ownership of all aspects from scope to delivery.
- Take responsibility for work; when issues arise, you resolve them directly.
- Recognise which design choices are critical and which can be adjusted as learning occurs.
- Seek out knowledge rather than guessing or relying on LLMs for decision-making.
- Remain open to new information and adjust ideas accordingly.
- Focus on long‑term impact and scale, staying with systems as they evolve.
- Have startup experience and understand shifting priorities in a business environment.
- Can provide constructive feedback and accept differing decisions.
- Possess strong attention to detail, and demonstrate thorough reading of job content.
- Have foundational knowledge of computers, internet, databases, distributed systems, and related tech.
- Be productive with Go, PostgreSQL, and Kubernetes.
- Have five or more years of hands‑on experience building reliable, distributed systems.
- Can design solid RESTful APIs and spot poorly designed ones.
Who You Might Be (Nice‑to‑Haves)
- Experience in securities clearing & settlement or securities finance.
- Experience with gRPC, Protobuf, Temporal, Grafana, Kafka/Redpanda, Helm, Docker.
How We Take Care of You
- Competitive salary and stock options.
- Health benefits.
- New‑hire home‑office setup: one‑time 500 USD.
- Monthly stipend: 150 USD per month via a Brex card.
Equal Opportunity Statement
Alpaca is proud to be an equal‑opportunity workplace dedicated to pursuing and hiring a diverse workforce.
Senior Software Engineer - Clearing employer: Alpaca
Alpaca is an exceptional employer that fosters a collaborative and innovative work culture, where Senior Software Engineers can thrive by taking ownership of impactful projects in the dynamic financial technology sector. With competitive salaries, stock options, and comprehensive health benefits, employees are supported both personally and professionally, while the company's commitment to diversity and open-source contributions creates a vibrant community for growth and learning. Located in a global environment with teams across multiple countries, Alpaca offers unique opportunities to influence product direction and engage with cutting-edge technologies in a rapidly evolving industry.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Software Engineer - Clearing
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to current employees at Alpaca on LinkedIn or other platforms. Ask them about their experiences and any tips they might have for landing a role. Personal connections can make a huge difference!
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for technical interviews by brushing up on your coding skills and system design knowledge. Use platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to practice. We want you to feel confident and ready to showcase your expertise!
✨Tip Number 3
Showcase your passion for financial markets and technology during interviews. Share any relevant projects or experiences that highlight your understanding of the industry. This will help you stand out as a candidate who truly gets what Alpaca is all about.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in being part of the Alpaca team!
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Software Engineer - Clearing
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Passion for Financial Markets:When writing your application, let us know why you're excited about the financial markets and how they operate. We love candidates who are genuinely interested in the industry, so share any relevant experiences or insights that showcase your enthusiasm!
Highlight Your Technical Skills:Make sure to clearly outline your technical expertise, especially with Go, PostgreSQL, and Kubernetes. We want to see how your skills align with our needs, so don’t hold back on detailing your hands-on experience with building reliable, distributed systems.
Be Clear and Concise:We appreciate straightforward communication! Keep your application clear and to the point, focusing on your achievements and how they relate to the role. Avoid jargon unless it’s necessary, and make sure we can easily understand your contributions.
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, it shows you’re proactive and keen to join our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at Alpaca
✨Know Your Stuff
Make sure you brush up on your knowledge of financial markets and the systems that support them. Understand how broker-dealers operate and be ready to discuss your experience with distributed systems, especially in relation to U.S. equities and options.
✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills
Be prepared to talk about specific projects where you've taken ownership from ideation to deployment. Highlight how you tackled ambiguity and delivered practical solutions, as this role values excellence in execution.
✨Demonstrate Team Collaboration
Alpaca values teamwork, so share examples of how you've collaborated across teams in previous roles. Discuss how you’ve provided constructive feedback and adapted to differing opinions while keeping the focus on long-term impact.
✨Ask Insightful Questions
Prepare thoughtful questions about Alpaca's infrastructure and future product offerings. This shows your genuine interest in the company and helps you understand how you can contribute to their ambitious vision.
