We are seeking Software Engineer Interns to join our innovative and growing technology team for our 10-week internship, Akunacademy, that will take place in our Chicago headquarters from June - August 2025. In this role you will work alongside our trading and software team to take our data platform to the next level. At Akuna, we believe that our data provides a key competitive advantage and is a critical part of the success of our business. 

Our Data team is composed of world class talent and has been entrusted with the responsibility of building and maintaining our data pipelines as well as “providing simple access to clean data”. Our platform starts with gathering data from disparate sources across the globe and ends with our users across Trading, Research and Tech staff accessing complex datasets for a wide range of streaming and batch use cases. Along the way, we build tools to access, validate and monitor the data in efficient and intuitive ways. At each step of our pipeline, we choose the best tools and technologies available. In this role you will:

• Work closely with Engineers, Quants, Traders and Support personnel to create and maintain datasets that play a key role in our business
• Design and build Scala/Python applications that provide performant access to our data
• Monitor and validate our data pipelines by building monitoring and analysis tools
• Gain exposure to the financial markets and trading through the development and use of our datasets
• Evaluate and select open source or proprietary tools required to meet our data requirements
• Design and develop tooling that enables users to answer key research questions and solve data problems
• Collaborate with many teams on data intensive projects such as gathering requirements from stakeholders for a new tool or platform, advising and assisting users in integrating existing tooling and patterns into their applications or research, or consulting with a trader or researcher to help them build a new dataset or pipeline

Qualities that make great candidates:

• Pursuing a Bachelors, Masters or PhD in technical field – Computer Science/Engineering, Math, Physics or equivalent
• Graduating by August 2026
• GPA of 3.5 or above
• Strong knowledge of computer science fundamentals
• Clear understanding of both object oriented and functional programming paradigms
• Ability to learn about technical systems and concepts quickly
• Asks good questions, identifies black boxes, and is eager to learn about new topics
• Desire to take ownership of small-scale projects
• Familiarity with Docker, Kubernetes, Kafka, Flink/Spark/Kafka-Streams, and/or AWS Cloud technologies is a plus
• Ability to communicate complex technical topics in a clear and concise ways
• Passionate, pragmatic problem solver able to independently pursue solutions to complex problems
• Understanding of the core concepts of distributing computing, database design, and data storage
• Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required on the first day of employment including F-1 students using CPT, OPT or STEM 

In addition to technical skillsets, Akuna values the unique perspectives people can bring to the table to collaboratively solve complex problems and drive Akuna forward. We want all women and underrepresented groups to feel empowered to apply, even if you don’t meet every qualification. We welcome your application and encourage you to take the first steps toward your future with us!

*Please note:By submitting an application to this role, you are indicating this is your top preference and acknowledge you will not be considered for other Quant and/or Tech roles at Akuna this recruiting season. This acknowledgement does not limit applications to Trading roles - in addition to this role, you may apply to any Trader roles of interest.