Hardware Research - Senior Software Engineer
A leading trading firm is expanding their Austin team and seeking a senior‑level engineer with a deep interest in hardware and system performance. This role is ideal for someone who blends strong software engineering skills with hands‑on research experience working directly with hardware, devices, and low‑level systems, and have a proven history of building tools for hardware teams or a demonstrated passion for hardware investigation and performance analysis.
In this position, you will research, analyze, and characterize the behavior of the hardware and communication devices that underpin trading systems.
This is a high‑impact, cross‑functional role working with hardware engineering, network engineering, and trading teams.
Responsibilities
- Design and build software tools to measure, analyze, and model the performance of trading hardware, networking components, and communication devices.
- Conduct hands‑on investigations of hardware behavior, timings, interfaces, and low‑level interactions across a wide range of components.
- Analyze device performance across Linux drivers, kernel interfaces, and embedded systems.
- Work directly with low‑level networking and hardware APIs, including EFVI, RoCE, DPDK, and Onload.
- Benchmark and tune high‑performance network hardware, including packet‑switched and circuit‑switched components.
- Perform high‑precision timestamping and signal‑level measurements to understand microsecond‑ and nanosecond‑level behavior.
- Experiment with communication protocols-especially Ethernet-and evaluate their impact on system performance.
- Collaborate with hardware, trading, and infrastructure teams to translate findings into system improvements.
- Research and test network operating systems (Cisco IOS, Arista EOS, Juniper MOS, etc.) to understand device‑level behavior and performance characteristics.
- 10+ years of professional experience working with hardware‑adjacent software, embedded systems, or performance‑critical systems
- Strong computer science fundamentals and systems‑level thinking
- Proficiency in Python for data analysis, prototyping, and scripting (Jupyter notebooks a plus)
- Extensive experience writing C/C++ for systems, tools, or hardware interaction
- Solid understanding of networking fundamentals and the OSI model
- Hands‑on experience with hardware/software integration, driver‑level programming, or device‑level analysis
- Familiarity with Linux drivers, kernel subsystems, or low‑level device interfaces
- Exposure to high‑performance networking stacks or low‑latency communication frameworks
- Experience profiling hardware, measuring device behavior, or analyzing timing characteristics
- A background working with hardware engineering teams or building tools specifically for hardware environments
This role will be 5 days on site out of the Austin office.
FAQs
Congratulations, we understand that taking the time to apply is a big step. When you apply, your details go directly to the consultant who is sourcing talent. Due to demand, we may not get back to all applicants that have applied. However, we always keep your CV and details on file so when we see similar roles or see skillsets that drive growth in organisations, we will always reach out to discuss opportunities.
Yes. Even if this role isn’t a perfect match, applying allows us to understand your expertise and ambitions, ensuring you're on our radar for the right opportunity when it arises.
We also work in several ways, firstly we advertise our roles available on our site, however, often due to confidentiality we may not post all. We also work with clients who are more focused on skills and understanding what is required to future-proof their business.
That's why we recommend registering your CV so you can be considered for roles that have yet to be created.
Yes, we help with CV and interview preparation. From customised support on how to optimise your CV to interview preparation and compensation negotiations, we advocate for you throughout your next career move.