At a Glance
- Tasks: Design and build high-performance data pipelines and real-time applications for risk management.
- Company: Join a leading global hedge fund known for its tech-savvy approach.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, work visa sponsorship, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Collaborative culture that encourages innovation and direct engagement with business professionals.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on investment decisions with cutting-edge technology and complex engineering challenges.
- Qualifications: 10+ years in software engineering, exceptional Python skills, and experience with distributed systems.
We are searching for an exceptional Software Engineer to join the Risk team at one of the world's leading and most technologically sophisticated hedge funds. This is not a traditional software engineering position. You will join a highly technical engineering team sitting at the heart of the firm’s investment and risk architecture, building the platforms and tools used by Risk and Investment professionals to understand portfolios, monitor exposures and make better, faster decisions.
The firm manages many billions in AUM, and it runs systematic and fundamental strategies globally. It is considered to be one of the tier-one global hedge funds with an elite history and track record. We are looking for an engineer who can genuinely raise the technical bar.
The Risk Technology team is evolving a sophisticated portfolio research and monitoring platform towards increasingly real-time, distributed and scalable processing. You will work on engineering problems spanning real-time applications, large-scale data processing, distributed systems, data pipelines, cloud-native infrastructure and platform reliability. This is a role for someone who wants and enjoys genuine ownership.
You will work directly with and often be forward-deployed into the core Risk and Treasury teams. You will be expected to build relationships with the business built on trust, and your understanding of the problems they are trying to solve, and then design and engineer the systems and tools that solve them. In this role, your work will directly contribute to the firm's ability to monitor deployed risk and make informed investment decisions.
What You'll Be Doing
- Working with the team on overall systems architecture design
- Designing, building and evolving high-performance data pipelines and real-time applications
- Engineering systems capable of real-time processing and horizontal scale-out
- Working extensively with distributed systems, messaging and event-driven architectures
- Building robust data platforms spanning relational databases, data pipelines and Lakehouse technologies
- Improving the performance, resilience, observability and reliability of critical systems
- Working with modern cloud, container and microservice infrastructure
- Partnering directly with Risk and Investment users rather than operating several layers removed from the business
- Introducing strong engineering practices and helping raise engineering standards across the Risk function
- Taking meaningful technical ownership rather than simply implementing tickets or maintaining somebody else's architecture
We want someone with technical leadership experience from the view of project ownership, pushing technical vision, strategy, and architecture, but not team leadership (although there is room for growth in this). This is fully hands-on, and we are interested in your engineering excellence, not managing budgets or setting staff KPIs.
What We’re Looking For
- 10+ years of professional experience
- Exceptional programming ability in Python, alongside strong SQL
- Deep understanding of software engineering, system design, and architecture
- Strong knowledge and experience working on sophisticated distributed systems
- Experience with messaging/streaming technologies such as Kafka
- Data engineering experience: pipelines, relational databases, Lakehouse architectures and large-scale data processing
- Strong modern infrastructure experience using Kubernetes, Docker, Helm, cloud and microservices
- Experience with orchestration technologies such as Airflow or Dagster
- Experience implementing AI into workflows
- A track record of improving performance, scalability, reliability and monitoring
- Exceptional communication skills with experience working directly with senior 'non-technical' business stakeholders
- Strong project/system ownership experience, from inception to support, without product/project management or business analyst support
- Strong track record delivering solutions at tier one hedge funds, prop traders, or investment banking firms regarded for technology engineering excellence is very desirable
- Candidates from tier one technology firms or advanced start-ups who have significant technology achievements are also welcome
- Highly educated in computer science or engineering, from highly regarded technology universities
- A genuine and demonstrable passion for technology and continuous learning
Why This Role?
The attraction is the combination of engineering depth, business proximity and genuine impact. You won't be building technology several steps removed from the business. You will work alongside sophisticated Risk and Investment professionals, solving problems where better engineering can materially improve how the firm understands multi-billion dollar portfolios and manages risk. The culture actively encourages people to challenge consensus, introduce new ideas and execute on them — entrepreneurialism and innovation are explicitly part of how the firm operates.
For an elite engineer, this offers something increasingly difficult to find: Hard engineering problems. Exceptional colleagues. Huge datasets. Real-time systems. Direct exposure to the investment business. And the freedom to make a genuine technical impact.
Location: London
Work: 4x days on-premises + 1x day wfh
Visa: Work visa sponsorship and relocation are available for exceptional candidates from other tier one hedge funds and prop traders
Other: We cannot consider candidates from consulting/advisory or outsourcing firms. Or candidates with a track record of short role tenure.
Lead Software Engineer, Real-time Risk (Python) employer: Winston Fox
Winston Fox is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work environment at a leading Quantitative Hedge Fund in London. With a strong focus on innovation and collaboration, employees benefit from market-leading compensation, opportunities for professional growth, and the chance to work with cutting-edge technologies in a supportive culture that values creativity and teamwork.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Lead Software Engineer, Real-time Risk (Python)
✨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 Winston Fox 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 Winston Fox.
✨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 Winston Fox.
✨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 Winston Fox 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, Real-time Risk (Python)
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 Winston Fox.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Winston Fox 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 Winston Fox
✨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 Winston Fox 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.
