Senior C++ Engineer

Company Overview

hermeneutic research is a best-in-class proprietary trading firm. It deploys research-driven discretionary and systematic strategies as well as makes strategic long-term investments. The partners' decade-long history of success in trading and business building and a firm-wide cultural emphasis on alpha generation, open debate, relentless iteration, and teamwork are key to the firm's continued expansion in a challenging market environment that has hamstrung competitors. A hard-wired emphasis on risk management and opportunistic market participation ensure that hermeneutic research will continue its growth trajectory in the coming decades.

Job Overview

As a Senior C++ Engineer, you will contribute to the design, development, and optimization of our core real-time trading infrastructure. You will work on latency-sensitive components, ensure code quality, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver robust and scalable solutions.

You will participate in technical discussions, contribute to system improvements, and ensure our C++ codebase continues to be a strong foundation for high-availability systems. While you will be expected to provide technical guidance and mentorship, this role is hands-on with a strong focus on coding, debugging, and performance tuning.

Prior experience in trading systems is highly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with traders and project managers to gain a deep understanding of mission-critical trading applications.
• Develop and maintain high-performance C++ components for real-time data processing, event handling, and command execution.
• Contribute to system design decisions around memory management, concurrency models, error recovery, and inter-process communication.
• Work with backend and frontend engineers to design efficient APIs and system boundaries across services.
• Conduct in-depth code reviews with a focus on performance, correctness, and maintainability.
• Identify performance bottlenecks and lead efforts in profiling and optimization.
• Mentor junior and mid-level engineers on design patterns, performance, and C++ best practices.
• Contribute directly to feature implementation, maintenance, and system improvements.
• Stay informed on industry trends and advancements in trading infrastructure and real-time systems.
• Foster a culture of technical ownership and transparency.

Must Have

• 7+ years of experience in C++ system-level development (ideally C++17 or newer)
• Proven experience designing low-latency, high-throughput, and highly available systems
• Deep understanding of threading models, memory layout, lock-free data structures, and CPU/cache behavior
• Proficiency with system-level debugging and profiling tools (e.g., perf, gdb, valgrind, sanitizers)
• Experience writing technical design documents and leading system-level architectural discussions
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate across backend and frontend teams
• Experience mentoring engineers and leading large-scale system design
• Experience in networking protocols (TCP, UDP, WebSockets) support
• Familiarity with event-driven architectures, asynchronous processing, and message queues/brokers (ex. ZeroMQ and/or Kafka)

Nice to Have

• Knowledge of Python and/or Rust
• Background in crypto, high-frequency trading, or real-time market data systems.
• Experience designing and consuming gRPC or RESTful APIs
• Experience with relational databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, TimescaleDB)
• Familiarity with crypto exchange market data and order routing protocols
• Contributions to open-source projects or a strong technical blog/portfolio
• Experience with observability tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, OpenTelemetry).

Interview Process

1. CV Screening – We will review your application based on the qualifications and experience outlined above.
2. Phone Screening – A screening session with a few on-the-spot technical questions to assess your fundamental knowledge and problem-solving approach.
3. Assignment – A take-home assignment to demonstrate your approach, critical thinking, and relevant skills.
4. Assignment Review – A discussion of your assignment, focusing on your approach, reasoning, and solutions.
5. CTO Interview – Interview with the CTO to discuss your experience, technical expertise, problem-solving approach, and overall fit for the role.
6. Co-Founder Interview – A concluding discussion to evaluate cultural fit, strategic alignment, and how you resonate with the firm’s values.

Company Values

Throughout the process, you'll be assessed for cultural fit through our company values:

• Drive – We believe the best team members are deeply passionate about what they do. That passion fuels their growth, drives them to seek out the best teams, and leads them to hold high expectations of themselves in pursuit of excellence.
• Ownership – We aim to extend ownership as broadly as possible across the firm. In return, we value people who take initiative, step up when needed, and treat the company’s goals as their own.
• Judgment – We value those who see the big picture and focus on what truly drives impact and results. They use time wisely, adapt across domains, and always prioritize outcomes over comfort zones.
• Openness – We foster a culture of open communication, mutual challenge, and shared growth. We believe constructive debate and proactive knowledge sharing lead us closer to the truth—and better decisions.
• Competence – We work with people who bring exceptional intellectual strength. What sets them apart isn’t just what they know—it’s how they use what they know to navigate change, adapt quickly, and contribute meaningfully in fast-changing environments.
• Resilience – We perform under pressure. Markets move fast, and so do we—but we stay grounded, focused, and calm. We embrace uncertainty, learn from setbacks, and adapt quickly without losing sight of long-term goals.