VP of Engineering, Institutional Trading

Location: London, United Kingdom

Job Type: Full‑time

Number of Openings: 1

Salary: Competitive annual salary (GBP)

Job Overview

The organization is seeking a visionary leader to head the Engineering team responsible for Institutional Trading. This senior role will shape the technical strategy, drive execution excellence, and ensure the reliability and performance of latency‑sensitive, real‑time trading systems. The VP of Engineering will collaborate closely with senior product, risk, and operations stakeholders to deliver a world‑class analytics platform and execution infrastructure for institutional clients.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and own the engineering roadmap for institutional trading, aligning technical strategy with business objectives and executive planning.

• Provide architectural judgment across cross‑margining, execution, and risk management systems, ensuring scalability, availability, and operational resilience.

• Lead the design and implementation of low‑latency, high‑throughput execution engines and margin engines that meet strict regulatory and performance requirements.

• Drive performance optimization and latency reduction initiatives across the entire tech stack.

• Build, mentor, and scale a high‑performing engineering team, fostering a culture of technical thought leadership and execution discipline.

• Partner with product, risk, and operations teams to deliver real‑time risk management and trading API capabilities.

• Oversee the development of analytics platforms that provide actionable insights for institutional traders.

• Ensure operational resilience through robust monitoring, incident response, and continuous improvement processes.

• Coordinate multi‑disciplinary projects, balancing cross‑functional collaboration with rapid delivery timelines.

• Represent engineering at the executive level, communicating technical risks, opportunities, and roadmap progress to senior leadership.

Essential Qualifications

• Proven experience leading large, complex engineering teams in a high‑frequency or low‑latency trading environment.

• Deep expertise in architectural design, availability engineering, and scalability of mission‑critical systems.

• Hands‑on engineering background with a track record of building production‑grade trading APIs and execution systems.

• Strong knowledge of real‑time risk management, margin calculations, and cross‑margining architecture.

• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute a strategic engineering roadmap that aligns with business goals.

• Exceptional communication and collaboration skills, capable of influencing senior stakeholders and driving cross‑functional initiatives.

Desired Experience

• 10+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 5 years in a leadership role within the financial services or fintech sector.

• Experience designing and operating latency‑sensitive systems (sub‑millisecond response times) in production.

• Background in building analytics platforms and data pipelines for institutional finance.

• Track record of successfully scaling engineering teams from early‑stage to mature, high‑performing units.

• Knowledge of regulatory requirements for institutional trading (e.g., MiFID II, EMIR) is a plus.

Core Skills

• Analytics Platform Development

• Architectural Judgment

• Availability & Operational Resilience

• Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Cross‑Margining Architecture

• Engineering Roadmap Development

• Execution Discipline & System Development

• Executive Level Planning

• Hands‑On Engineering

• Latency Sensitive System Design

• Margin Engine Design

• Performance Optimization

• Project Coordination

• Real‑Time Risk Management

• Scalability Engineering

• Team Building and Scaling

• Technical Thought Leadership

• Trading API Design

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive annual salary in GBP, commensurate with experience.

• Performance‑based bonuses and equity participation.

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage.

• Generous vacation and sick leave policies.

• Professional development budget and continuous learning opportunities.

• Flexible working arrangements, including hybrid office/home model.

• Retirement savings plan with employer matching.

• Access to cutting‑edge trading technology and data resources.

Application Process

Interested candidates should submit their CV and a brief cover letter outlining their relevant experience and vision for institutional trading engineering.

We are an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

This search is conducted by Spear Point Search: The Search Firm For Capital Markets. We are NOT incentivised to place. We are incentivised to be right. That means we tell clients when compensation is misaligned with the talent they need, we tell candidates when a role isn't what they think it is, AND we walk away from searches that don't have the conditions to succeed. This costs us fees. It is also why people call us back.

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