Senior kdb+ Developer, Vice President in London

We are seeking an experienced Senior kdb+ Developer to join the BestX engineering team. In this role, you will design, build, and optimise high‑performance data platforms using kdb+, supporting BestX’s multi‑asset analytics capabilities.

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in kdb+ tick architectures, large‑scale performance tuning, and works closely with quantitative and engineering teams to deliver robust, efficient, and maintainable solutions.

• Design and develop key components of BestX’s multi‑asset analytics platform.
• Architect, build, and maintain kdb+ tick systems, with strong consideration for data organisation, schema design, and architectural trade‑offs.
• Develop and operate systems that process large‑scale, high‑frequency datasets, ensuring low latency, high throughput, and efficient memory utilisation.
• Analyse and optimise q queries, data models, and ingestion pipelines for both real‑time and historical workloads.
• Apply modern Agile development practices across cloud‑based, server‑side, and database‑driven systems.
• Build a strong understanding of Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) and key regulatory benchmarks required for MiFID and MiFIR.
• Take full ownership of deliverables, driving work through from design to production.
• Establish and promote best practices, clean code standards, and sound design patterns.
• Act as a change agent, continuously improving engineering standards and ways of working.
• Champion Test‑Driven Development and “shift‑left” practices to support effective CI/CD pipelines.

• 5+ years of hands‑on kdb+ development experience.
• Strong expertise in kdb+/q and Python.
• Proficiency with modern data science toolchains, including Jupyter, pandas, NumPy, scikit‑learn, with applied machine‑learning experience.
• Solid understanding of parallel computing frameworks such as Slurm or equivalent technologies.
• Strong background in quantitative analysis, including mathematical modelling, statistics, regression, and probability theory.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, or a related STEM discipline from a top‑ranked university.
• Hands‑on experience with AWS and/or other modern cloud‑based infrastructure.

• Domain knowledge in FX, Fixed Income, Equities, or Equity Derivatives.
• Additional expertise with kdb+ in complex, production‑scale environments.
• Exposure to modern JavaScript build toolchains, including Node.js, npm, Rush, Yarn, Webpack, Babel, and Cypress.

State Street is a global financial services leader, combining scale, resilience, and advanced technology to support institutional investors worldwide. Through investment servicing, trading, data, and analytics, we build mission‑critical platforms that operate at the heart of global financial markets.

BestX, part of State Street’s Global Markets and GlobalLink ecosystem, is the industry‑standard, multi‑asset Transaction Cost Analysis (TCA) platform. Built as a high‑performance analytics platform, BestX processes over one billion market data updates per day, delivering independent, venue‑agnostic insights across FX, fixed income, and equities.

At State Street, you’ll work on complex, high‑performance systems alongside leading engineers, quants, and product teams—shaping the future of execution analytics and global market infrastructure in an inclusive, supportive environment.

We are committed to fostering an environment where every employee feels valued and empowered to reach their full potential. As an essential partner in our shared success, you’ll benefit from inclusive development opportunities, flexible work-life support, paid volunteer days, and vibrant employee networks that keep you connected to what matters most.