At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead the development of a next-gen financial data platform using Python and AWS.
- Company: Join FTSE Russell, a leader in financial data innovation.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible working, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Collaborative Agile environment with a focus on mentorship and team success.
- Why this job: Shape the future of financial data while honing your engineering skills.
- Qualifications: Strong software development experience, especially in Python and AWS.
The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.
You’ll join the team building the next-generation index data platform at FTSE Russell and help shape it.
- Design, write, review, and ship production software, primarily in Python, setting the standard for good engineering through the code you deliver.
- Own technical direction and architecture for a defined area of the platform, making trade-offs explicit so the team can move quickly and confidently.
- Lead the design of software systems—including services, APIs, shared libraries, and their interfaces—with resilience, performance, maintainability, and reusability designed in.
- Drive engineering quality across the team through code reviews, well-designed shared components, testing, refactoring, automation, and secure development practices.
- Mentor and coach engineers through pairing, code reviews, design guidance, and hands-on technical support.
- Assess technical design and risk trade-offs, including failure modes, operational readiness, security, performance, and cost, and resolve blockers that slow the team down.
- Design data-intensive software across relational databases such as Aurora PostgreSQL, object storage, and AWS services, with attention to data modelling, performance, and schema evolution at scale.
- Build software that processes data at scale on AWS using technologies such as Lambda and containerised services, and, where appropriate, Glue, EMR Serverless, and lakehouse table formats such as Apache Iceberg.
- Embed observability, automated testing, monitoring, and quality controls so issues are identified before they affect customers.
- Take ownership of production outcomes and help the team build reliable, supportable software that is straightforward to operate.
- Influence and collaborate across engineering teams, translating effectively between technical and non-technical audiences.
- Build deep knowledge of the financial indices domain and use that understanding to guide technical and architectural decisions.
- This is a hands-on Lead Individual Contributor role, not a people management role; you’ll continue designing, writing, and reviewing code every week while owning architecture and technical direction in a defined area, mentoring engineers, and raising engineering quality across the team.
- Take a collaborative approach to engineering, value strong teams and shared ownership over individual heroics, and thrive in an Agile environment.
- Have excellent communication skills and adapt explanations of technical decisions to different audiences, creating shared understanding across engineering, product, and business stakeholders.
- Bring depth in software design and architecture: decompose complex problems, define appropriate boundaries and interfaces, evaluate alternatives, and explain the reasoning behind decisions.
- Either lead the development of production systems in Python, or have equivalent depth in Java, C#, C, C++, Scala, Go, or Rust and be motivated to make Python your primary language in this role.
- Have solid AWS experience and strong CI/CD, automation, testing, and software delivery practices.
- Have experience with data-intensive systems, including areas such as batch processing, ETL, schema evolution, data quality, and reasoning about correctness at significant scale.
- Have strong experience with relational databases such as PostgreSQL or Aurora PostgreSQL, including data modelling, query performance, scalability, and schema evolution under production workloads.
- Have big data experience designing and operating systems for datasets and workloads well beyond single-machine scale.
- Have experience with CI/CD tooling such as GitLab CI, Jenkins, or GitHub Actions.
- Have experience in financial markets, index data, investment analytics, or other data-intensive financial products.
- Have experience with Apache Iceberg, Delta Lake, or similar open table formats and lakehouse architectures, Databricks, Snowflake, or comparable data platforms.
- Have experience with infrastructure as code using technologies such as Terraform or AWS CDK, and broader platform or DevOps practices.
- Have experience with Apache Spark / PySpark and optimising large-scale distributed processing.
Lead Software Engineer (Financial Data Platform) in London employer: London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange Group is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work environment that fosters innovation and collaboration within the Global Security Operations team. Employees benefit from comprehensive professional development opportunities, a strong commitment to work-life balance, and the chance to contribute to cutting-edge cybersecurity initiatives in one of the world's leading financial hubs. Join us to be part of a culture that values expertise and encourages growth while making a meaningful impact in the security landscape.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Lead Software Engineer (Financial Data Platform) in London
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at London Stock Exchange or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to London Stock Exchange.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like London Stock Exchange.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like London Stock Exchange that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Lead Software Engineer (Financial Data Platform) in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at London Stock Exchange.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at London Stock Exchange and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at London Stock Exchange
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If London Stock Exchange uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
