Junior Software Engineer

Junior Software Engineer (Trading Systems & OS)

Location: Chicago, IL (Loop) 

Team: Proprietary Trading Group

The Opportunity

Geneva Trading is seeking a Junior Software Engineer with a systems-programming pedigree to join our Chicago headquarters. In this role, you will be an integral part of a specialized development staff that works side-by-side with Traders and Quantitative Researchers. We aren't looking for a "back-office" developer; we need a problem solver who wants to sit at the intersection of code and the markets. You will use your understanding of Operating Systems and low-level architecture to ensure our strategies are the fastest and most reliable in the world. This role is for the curious mind—the engineer who doesn’t just want to write a strategy but wants to understand exactly how the Linux kernel handles every packet that strategy sends.

Core Responsibilities

• Collaborative Development: Work daily within a tight-knit unit of Traders and Quants to translate high-frequency strategies into production-ready code.

• Systems-Level Optimization: Build and tune trading applications using Modern C++, with a heavy focus on OS-level performance (e.g., CPU affinity, memory management, and kernel bypass).

• Research & Diagnostic Tooling: Leverage Python to build high-speed data pipelines, backtesting frameworks, and real-time monitoring tools to analyze strategy behavior.

• Deep-Dive Problem Solving: Act as the "systems expert" for the desk—diagnosing jitter, race conditions, or latency spikes by digging into the Linux stack (schedulers, interrupts, and syscalls).

• Execution Excellence: Maintain a "zero-error" mindset, ensuring the absolute correctness of trading logic in a high-stakes, real-time environment.

The Technical Profile

• Education: BS/MS in Computer Science or Computer Engineering with a strong academic focus on Operating Systems.

• Language Proficiency:C++: Professional-level understanding of pointers, memory layout, and concurrency.

• Python: Ability to write clean, efficient code for data analysis and automation.

• OS Fundamentals: Deep knowledge of Linux/Unix internals. You should understand how the OS manages hardware resources and how to optimize that interaction for speed.

• The "Curious" Mindset: A natural drive to deconstruct complex systems. You are the person who reads the man pages and enjoys figuring out the "why" behind a system's behavior.

The Geneva Environment

• High-Touch Collaboration: You are part of the trading desk’s heartbeat, where feedback loops between code and market impact are measured in microseconds.

• Intellectual Rigor: Solve non-trivial puzzles alongside some of the brightest minds in the industry.

• Chicago Culture: Work in our state-of-the-art Chicago office, enjoying the energy of the trading floor combined with a flat, meritocratic structure.

Compensation

Base Salary Range: $80,000 – $130,000, plus eligibility for a performance-based bonus.

Final compensation will be determined based on the candidate’s skills, experience, education, and qualifications. In addition to base salary, Geneva Trading offers a competitive total rewards package, including a comprehensive benefits program. Learn more about our employee incentives here: https://www.genevatrading.com/employee-incentives/

Application expected to close on 5/15/26