Director Data & Analytics API Experience - Data Services in Belfast

CME Group runs some of the world’s largest and most important trading venues, including derivatives exchanges and FX/FI platforms. The trading participants include leading investment banks, hedge funds, proprietary trading firms, investment managers, and retail traders, as well as additional stakeholders such as independent software vendors (ISVs) and data redistributors. To support our unique data and analytics products, we are now building a unified API-first distribution framework, simplifying consumption and value extraction.

We are seeking a key stakeholder for the CMEG External Data-Analytics (DA) APIs and distribution services. This is a high-impact, individual contributor (IC) role for an individual who can navigate complex enterprise systems and deliver a modern, developer-first experience. This customer-facing role serves as the technical link between our APIs and the customer, acting as a high-level practitioner who crafts SDKs and delivery mechanisms to make complex market data easy to consume. You will translate direct customer feedback into refined requirements for the product team while solving integration hurdles firsthand. By bridging these gaps, you will ensure our technical ecosystem is both highly functional and seamless for clients to adopt.

Our external API is the singular point where our strategy, technology, and customer experience converge to create value. Our corporate DA strategy focuses on "activation," which involves externalizing proven internal IP and exposing it through a simple, consumable API, as well as adding net-new IP jointly developed with our customers. The API is our "single, unified distribution channel". It serves as the "handover point" where internal engineering ends and the customer or partner ecosystem begins. The API provides a "single 'front door'" for customers. By using a "unified API”, barriers to consumption are removed, integration time is reduced, development costs lowered, and a consistent experience provided across all data latencies (Real-time, Recent History, and Deep History), data types (time series, metadata, unstructured) and services. Internal users are recognized as ultra-valuable sources of feedback. By mandating both internal and external DA workflows through the same SDK, we create a shared experience for both sets of users.

In summary, our API is the "final product" and the “primary tool” moving CMEG up the value curve from a raw data producer to an invaluable source of insights for our customers.

The focus of the work is on activation and will be organized across four strategic pillars designed to continue to build the foundation, enhance the customer experience, and align all our public offerings.

• Developer Experience
• Build a high-performance Python SDK that mimics the industry's best "one-line-to-insight" user experiences.
• The SDK will serve as the technical and UX benchmark for how all future CMEG IP is externalized and consumed.
• The SDK must provide a 'single front door' for internal users, allowing them to 'pip install' and access BigQuery datasets through the same idiomatic Python patterns designed for customers.
• Develop and maintain a suite of SDKs in popular languages like Python and C++.
• Implement a publicly accessible registry (e.g., Protobuf, JSON or Avro).
• Developer Collateral
• Partner with internal stakeholders to clearly communicate CME Group’s D&A value proposition.
• Evaluate, implement and maintain an API documentation library.
• Create first-class, detailed technical reference documentation.
• Develop practical tutorials, code samples, and dashboard templates.
• Data Plane
• Work with our customers and product teams to extend our existing data offerings to meet customer cloud demand.
• Work with our customers to better understand if/how we can improve data delivery for deep history and data sharing services.
• Use a centralized schema registry to ensure identical data models and field names across different services and latency tiers.
• Control Plane
• Work with our central technology team to ensure a unified CMEG credential system.
• Support external facing distribution technologies to provision products.
• Work with business intelligence teams to build the capabilities to track user activity.
• Be a key stakeholder in the "plumbing" of the API lifecycle.
• Unified API Strategy
• Conduct a survey of existing APIs across the business.
• Work with stakeholders to define and document the hybrid versioning model.

Major milestones for the work are split into three:

• Short (1yr): Publish the MVP of the SDK on github and PyPI.
• Medium (2-3yr): Design and publish a normalized multi cloud distribution framework.
• Long (3-5yrs): Work as a stakeholder across the organization to streamline the process of normalizing APIs.

We are looking for high-capacity individuals who are driven to be elite at what they do. You must possess a strong technical foundation and a genuine interest in the mechanics of capital markets—understanding how data is used through futures, options, and cash markets.

You are obsessed with developer experience (DX). You believe the API is the product and should be as easy to use as a "pip install" command.

Experience using, designing, and building SDKs and APIs in the cloud.

You are comfortable bridging the gap between business strategy, engineering, and technical writing.

Highly proficient in Python, with the ability to write clean, idiomatic, and robust code for public consumption.

Company Benefits:

• Bonus Programme
• Equity Programme
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
• Private Medical and Dental coverage
• Mental Health Benefit Programme
• Group Pension Plan
• Income Protection
• Life Assurance
• Cycle To Work
• EV Car Benefit Scheme
• Gym Membership
• Family Leave
• Education Assistance – MBA/Advanced Degree/Bachelor Degree
• Ongoing Employee Development Training/Certification
• Hybrid Working

CME Group is the world’s leading derivatives marketplace. Here, you can impact markets worldwide. Transform industries. And build a career by shaping tomorrow. We invest in your success and you own it – all while working alongside a team of leading experts who inspire you in ways big and small.

At CME Group, we embrace our employees' unique experiences and skills to ensure that everyone’s perspectives are acknowledged and valued. As an equal-opportunity employer, we consider all potential employees without regard to any protected characteristic.

Important Notice: Recruitment fraud is on the rise, with scammers using misleading promises of job offers and interviews to solicit money and personal information from job seekers. CME Group adheres to established procedures designed to maintain trust, confidence and security throughout our recruitment process.