Lead Engineer – Real-Time Options Market Data (OPRA)
Location: London
Build and lead the next generation of real-time options market data infrastructure.
We are working with a leading global multi-strategy hedge fund looking for a hands‑on Lead Engineer to take ownership of its real‑time options market data platform, including the full OPRA feed.
This is a senior engineering opportunity for someone who combines deep technical expertise in high‑throughput market data ingestion with a broader understanding of data platforms, historical capture, data quality and downstream consumption. You will play a key role in shaping the architecture, writing critical‑path code and building infrastructure that directly supports portfolio managers, quantitative researchers and risk teams.
This isn’t simply a feed‑handler role. You’ll own the wider data lifecycle, ensuring options market data is accurate, reliable, scalable and ready for use across the investment platform.
The Role
- Own the end‑to‑end OPRA market data stack, covering feed ingestion, A/B line arbitration, gap detection, recovery, normalisation and distribution.
- Design and develop high‑performance systems using C++ or Rust, handling high‑volume real‑time options data.
- Build robust capture and replay capabilities, historical tick storage and research‑ready intraday datasets.
- Own options reference data, including OSI/OCC symbology, series lifecycles, corporate actions and FLEX contracts.
- Drive data quality, monitoring, observability and production reliability across the platform.
- Work closely with portfolio managers and quantitative researchers to deliver data products that meet their needs.
- Set technical direction, lead architectural decisions, review code and mentor engineers, with the opportunity to build and grow the team.
What We’re Looking For
- Direct OPRA experience: You have built or owned production ingestion of the full OPRA feed, or a comparable high‑rate exchange options feed. Experience consuming vendor‑normalised data alone will not be sufficient.
- Strong C++ or Rust: Production experience developing high‑throughput, performance‑critical systems.
- Linux and networking: Experience with UDP multicast, profiling and performance optimisation. Kernel bypass experience is advantageous.
- Options market data expertise: Strong knowledge of options chains, series lifecycles, OSI/OCC symbology, quotes, trades and NBBO.
- Data engineering breadth: Experience with Python and SQL, alongside historical data capture, replay, validation and reconciliation.
- Technical leadership: A track record of designing and owning production systems that other teams depend on, alongside experience leading engineers or the readiness to take on direct reports.
Experience with kdb+, OneTick, ClickHouse, Kafka, Aeron or other high‑performance messaging and time‑series technologies would be beneficial.
Exposure to AWS, Snowflake, Parquet/Iceberg, Airflow and monitoring tools such as Grafana, Prometheus or Datadog is also advantageous.
Experience within a hedge fund, market maker or options trading environment would be particularly relevant.
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Market Data Lead employer: Harrington Starr
Join a dynamic and innovative capital markets technology business in London, where your contributions as a Junior Account Manager will directly impact client success and company growth. With a strong emphasis on employee development, a collaborative work culture, and competitive benefits, this role offers you the chance to thrive in a fast-paced environment while building meaningful relationships with clients and colleagues alike. Experience the unique advantage of working in a scaling firm backed by a leading growth investor, providing ample opportunities for professional growth and advancement.
