At a Glance
- Tasks: Ensure stability and performance of low-latency trading platforms while leading incident response.
- Company: Join a top energy trading company with a culture of empowerment and innovation.
- Benefits: Enjoy 38 days holiday, health insurance, gym membership, and a personal development budget.
- Other info: Diverse workplace that values curiosity and offers excellent career growth opportunities.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in a fast-paced environment with cutting-edge technology.
- Qualifications: Extensive experience in Site Reliability Engineering and strong programming skills required.
The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 £ per year.
City of London Permanent, On-site Full-time
Who we are
We are an energy trading company generating liquidity across global commodities markets. We combine deep trading expertise with proprietary technology and the power of data science to be the best-in-class. Our understanding of volatile, data-intensive markets is a key part of our edge. At Dare, you will be joining a team of ambitious individuals who challenge themselves and each other. We have a culture of empowering exceptional people to become the best version of themselves.
The Role
As a Lead Site Reliability Engineer, you will play a critical role in ensuring the stability, scalability, and performance of mission‑critical, low‑latency trading platforms. You’ll work closely with traders, quantitative analysts, and engineers in a fast‑paced environment where precision and speed are essential. This role combines deep technical expertise with leadership responsibility. You will own the reliability strategy while remaining hands‑on with in production systems and complex distributed architectures. You will define and drive reliability practices for latency‑sensitive trading infrastructure, establish and enforce service level objectives, and lead incident response across live trading environments. You’ll focus on optimising system performance and latency, while collaborating with stakeholders to balance reliability, execution speed, and operational risk. Shaping technical direction, you will actively contribute to debugging, automation, and system design, while mentoring engineers to build a high‑performing and resilient engineering culture.
What you’ll be doing
- Ensure real‑time trading systems remain stable and performant, proactively monitoring, diagnosing, and resolving issues impacting trading or market connectivity.
- Lead production incident response as the first line of defence, driving live troubleshooting, root‑cause analysis, and long‑term remediation.
- Define and own reliability strategy performance including service level objectives, service level indicators, and error budgets for critical trading systems.
- Collaborate with trading, engineering, and infrastructure teams on capacity planning, upgrades, and low/zero‑downtime migrations.
- Drive automation across operational workflows using Python, Bash, and SQL to reduce manual intervention.
- Continuously optimise systems and networks, leveraging deep operating system, networking, and performance expertise.
- Manage and mentor engineers across London and offshore teams, promoting engineering best practices.
- Act as a senior escalation point during high‑severity incidents.
- Participate in and lead on‑call rotations, including nights for ICE market opening hours.
- Support releases, maintenance, and trading events outside standard hours including weekends.
What You’ll Bring
- Extensive experience as a Site Reliability Engineer (SRE), DevOps or Production Support Engineering.
- Experience within trading, hedge funds, or financial services, ideally close to front‑office systems.
- Strong understanding of low‑latency, highly distributed trading systems.
- Deep knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
- Deep expertise in Linux/UNIX environments and command‑line tooling.
- Advanced understanding of application‑level networking (TCP/IP, UDP).
- Strong programming/scripting skills (Python, Bash) with SQL proficiency.
- Experience with CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure‑as‑code (Terraform, Kubernetes).
- Proven experience in incident management, root‑cause analysis, and system optimisation.
- Experience managing large‑scale infrastructure, including capacity planning and migrations.
- Ability to leverage AI to develop and deliver solutions and rapid velocity.
Desirable
- Experience in market‑making environment.
- Strong operating system level performance tuning expertise.
- Exposure to exchange connectivity and market data systems.
- Understanding of financial markets and trading workflows.
Benefits & perks
- Competitive salary
- Vitality health insurance and dental cover
- 38 days of holiday (including bank holidays)
- Pension scheme
- Annual Bluecrest health checks
- A personal learning & development budget of £5000
- Free gym membership
- Specsavers vouchers
- Enhanced family leave
- Cycle to Work scheme
- Credited Deliveroo dinner account
- Office massage therapy
- Freshly served office breakfast twice a week
- Fully stocked fridge and pantry
- Social events and a games room
Diversity matters
We believe in a workplace where our people can fulfil their potential, whatever their background or whomever they are. We celebrate the breadth of experience and see this as critical to problem‑solving and to Dare thriving as a business. Our culture rewards curiosity and drive, so the best ideas triumph and everyone here can make an impact. Please let us know ahead of the interview and testing processes if you require any reasonable adjustments or assistance during the application process. We’re also proud to be certified a ‘Great Place to Work’.
Lead Site Reliability Engineer Tech - Development · London employer: Dare
Contact Detail:
Dare Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Lead Site Reliability Engineer Tech - Development · London
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to current employees at the company through LinkedIn or industry events. A friendly chat can give us insider info and might just get your foot in the door.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for the interview by brushing up on your technical skills. Since this role is all about low-latency trading systems, make sure we can discuss your experience with Python, Bash, and cloud platforms confidently.
✨Tip Number 3
Showcase your leadership skills! Be ready to share examples of how you've mentored others or led incident responses. This will highlight your fit for the Lead Site Reliability Engineer role.
✨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 joining our team.
We think you need these skills to ace Lead Site Reliability Engineer Tech - Development · London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV reflects the skills and experiences that align with the Lead Site Reliability Engineer role. Highlight your expertise in low-latency systems and any relevant experience in trading or financial services.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Use your cover letter to tell us why you're passionate about this role and how your background makes you a great fit. Don’t just repeat your CV; give us insights into your problem-solving approach and leadership style.
Showcase Your Technical Skills: Be specific about your technical abilities, especially in areas like Python, Bash, and cloud platforms. Mention any projects or experiences where you've optimised system performance or led incident responses.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website for a smoother application process. It helps us keep track of your application and ensures you don’t miss out on any important updates!
How to prepare for a job interview at Dare
✨Know Your Tech Inside Out
Make sure you brush up on your technical skills, especially around low-latency trading systems and cloud platforms like AWS or GCP. Be ready to discuss your experience with Python, Bash, and SQL, as well as any CI/CD pipelines you've worked with.
✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills
Prepare to share specific examples of how you've handled production incidents in the past. Highlight your approach to root-cause analysis and long-term remediation strategies, as this role will require you to lead incident response.
✨Understand the Business Context
Familiarise yourself with the energy trading sector and how it operates. Knowing the basics of financial markets and trading workflows will help you connect better with the team and demonstrate your interest in the role.
✨Emphasise Leadership and Mentoring
Since this position involves mentoring engineers, be prepared to discuss your leadership style and any previous experiences where you've guided a team. Show that you can foster a high-performing engineering culture while driving reliability practices.