Entry Level Protocol Engineer Jobs in Chicago, IL

About Akuna
Akuna Capital is an innovative trading firm with a strong focus on collaboration, cutting-edge technology, data-driven solutions, and automation. We specialize in providing liquidity on a variety of exchanges across various asset classes, primarily as an options market maker. To do this successfully, we build and maintain our own low-latency technologies, including application frameworks, trading strategies, and mathematical models.
Our Founding Partners first conceptualized Akuna in their hometown of Sydney, Australia. They opened the firm's first office in 2011 in the heart of the derivatives industry and the options capital of the world - Chicago. Today, Akuna is proud to operate from additional offices around the world: Sydney, Shanghai, Singapore, and London.
What You'll Do as an Entry-Level C++ Software Engineer at Akuna
C++ software engineers at Akuna have the opportunity to work on a variety of high-performance systems that power the firm's core business operations. Our engineers work on small-to-medium-sized teams that frequently interface with Quant and Trading, allowing them to build expertise in a specific domain area while maintaining broader exposure to the needs of their end-users. Akuna's C++ systems are heavily multithreaded, asynchronous, and distributed by nature, which comes with a slew of challenges; our engineers are tasked with ensuring these systems are reliable, efficient, scalable, and flexible enough for even the most niche use cases. Entry-level engineers in particular are responsible for day-to-day upkeep of core systems, servicing lower-risk feature requests, and executing individual projects on behalf of their team's stakeholders.
Akuna is looking for software engineers who are motivated, can solve complex problems, and are willing to reach for creative solutions when faced with novel problems. We value innovation, hard work, and knowledge, and we want our engineers to make a direct impact on the firm. Whether you are interested in algorithms and data structures, concurrency, networking and protocols, performance tuning, data capture and analysis, mathematical modeling, hardware, or something else, there's engaging work to be done.
Requirements for This Role

• Pursuing a bachelor's, master's, or Ph.D. in a technical field (computer science/engineering, math, physics, or equivalent)

• Graduating by August 2027

• Legal authorization to work in the U.S. as of the first day of employment, including F-1 students using OPT or STEM

Previous experience in finance or trading is not required. Many of our engineers joined Akuna with little-to-no prior knowledge of the markets, and we pride ourselves on our ability to onboard those new to the industry. Training and continuous education are provided for all engineers to ensure they can build the requisite technical and non-technical skillset for success.
Qualities That Make a Great C++ Software Engineer Candidate

• Experience programming in modern C++ (C++20 or later; C++23 preferred)

• Experience with several of the following

• • Distributed systems

• • Parallel processing

• • Asynchronous architectures

• • Networking or protocol encoding/decoding

• • Lock-free data structures and algorithms

• • Performance profiling (e.g. perf, gprof, vtune)

• • Scripting, such as in Python or shell

• Familiarity with standard debugging tools (e.g. GDB, Valgrind, address sanitizer)

• The ability to effectively communicate with non-technical stakeholders in Quant and Trading to obtain requirements, workshop solutions, and implement agreed-upon roadmaps

• The ability to react quickly and effectively to rapidly changing market conditions, including the ability to quickly and accurately respond and/or solve math and coding problems, is an essential function of the role

• A passion for building complex systems from the ground up

• The ability to collaborate with other developers of different backgrounds, specialties, and knowledge levels to collectively deliver cohesive solutions to non-trivial problems

• An intrinsically motivated attitude and the ability to work independently

• A strong sense of ownership, including a drive to fix bugs when they inevitably arise

In addition to the above technical skills, Akuna values diversity of experience and perspective. We believe that engineers with varied backgrounds and interests allow us to approach problems from unique angles and to uncover innovative, optimal solutions. We want everyone to feel empowered to apply; we welcome your application, and we strongly encourage you to take the first steps in joining us in the future!
Resumes must be submitted in PDF format.
By applying to this role, you are indicating this is your top preference and acknowledge you will not be considered for other Quant and/or Tech roles at Akuna this recruiting season. This acknowledgement does not limit applications to Trading roles - in addition to this role, you may apply to any Trader roles of interest.
We are an AI-friendly company and encourage employees to leverage AI in their daily work. However, AI assistance is not permitted during interviews or assessments. Our interview process is designed to evaluate your individual skills and judgment, and the use of AI tools will result in disqualification from the hiring process.
In accordance with the Illinois Equal Pay Act, the minimum base salary starts at $145,000. Exact compensation offered may vary based on many factors including, but not limited to, the candidate's experience, qualifications, and skill set. This role is also eligible for a discretionary performance bonus as part of the total compensation package and includes a comprehensive benefits package that may encompass employer-paid medical, dental, vision, retirement contributions, paid time off, and other benefits. The minimum base salary herein was determined in good faith by Akuna Capital LLC.