HFT C++ Developer - Amsterdam

Location: Amsterdam
Work Setup: Onsite / Hybrid (depending on team)
Type: Full‑time, Permanent

About the Role

We are looking for an exceptionally strong C++ Developer to join our High‑Frequency Trading (HFT) engineering team in Amsterdam. In this role, you will design, build, and optimize ultra‑low‑latency trading systems that operate at nanosecond scale. You will work alongside quantitative researchers and traders, owning the full engineering lifecycle-from system design to production deployment-while continuously pushing the boundaries of performance, throughput, and reliability.

Our environment is fast-paced, meritocratic, and highly collaborative. Engineers have direct impact, minimal red tape, and the ability to ship improvements quickly. If you enjoy solving complex problems, optimizing code until it screams, and working on systems that compete in some of the most demanding markets in the world, this role is for you.

What You'll Do

Core Responsibilities

• Develop, optimize, and maintain ultra‑low‑latency C++ trading applications running in production across global markets.
• Profile, benchmark, and tune code for performance at the microsecond and nanosecond level, including CPU efficiency, cache alignment, branch prediction, and memory footprint.
• Collaborate closely with quantitative researchers to integrate strategies and improve trading logic, execution quality, and signal responsiveness.
• Build real-time, high‑throughput market data pipelines and order entry systems with extreme reliability.
• Analyse and optimize network I/O, leveraging kernel‑bypass technologies (e.g., DPDK, VMA, Solarflare/Xilinx Onload) where relevant.
• Design and implement monitoring, telemetry, and observability tools to ensure stability of live trading systems.
• Contribute to architectural decisions, from exchange connectivity and feed handlers to matching engines and internal messaging frameworks.
• Participate in code reviews, knowledge-sharing, and continuous improvement of engineering practices.

What We're Looking For

Technical Skills

• Expert-level experience in modern C++ (C++17/C++20), with deep understanding of memory models, templates, and low-level systems programming.
• Strong knowledge of Linux, including kernel internals, networking stacks, performance tuning, CPU affinity, NUMA architecture, and low-latency optimization.
• Experience profiling applications using tools such as perf, VTune, flame graphs, cachegrind, perfetto, or custom profilers.
• Hands-on experience with multithreading, lock-free data structures, concurrency, and synchronization mechanisms.
• Understanding of network protocols (TCP, UDP, multicast), and ideally hardware-level network concepts.
• Ability to write clean, deterministic, and predictable performance-critical code under highly constrained conditions.

Nice-to-Have

• Previous experience in HFT, market making, proprietary trading, or exchange technologies.
• Familiarity with FPGA acceleration, kernel bypass networking, or hardware timestamping (PTP, NIC-level time sync).
• Experience working with Python for tooling, automation, or rapid prototyping.
• Exposure to exchange protocols (OUCH, ITCH, FIX, Binary protocols).
• Interest in quantitative trading, statistics, or financial markets (no prior finance experience required).

Soft Skills

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a deep sense of ownership.
• Ability to work in a high-intensity, mission-critical environment.
• Excellent communication skills and willingness to collaborate closely with traders and quants.
• A passion for optimization, experimentation, and continuous improvement.