Job Description

Prop Desk. 6–12 months.

This is one of the most technically demanding C++ contracts in London right now and one that requires you to have lived and breathed it inside a trading environment.

A high-frequency trading prop desk is looking for a Senior Low-Latency C++ Developer to work directly on their core execution infrastructure — order routing, market data handlers, OMS — embedded within the engineering team alongside the CTO.

Candidates must have hands-on low-latency C++ experience gained within HFT, a systematic prop desk, or an electronic market-making firm. Experience in other industries, however technically strong, will not be considered for this role. The client operates at nanosecond-level latency and requires engineers who understand the trading context, not just the technology.

What they need:

→ 5+ years low-latency C++ in HFT, systematic prop desk, or electronic market-making

→ Expert C++17/20 — lock-free queues, memory ordering, SIMD, cache line optimisation

→ Kernel bypass networking: DPDK, Solarflare, or equivalent

→ CPU affinity, NUMA topology, IRQ isolation

→ Direct experience working on live execution infrastructure-order routing, market data, or OMS — in a production trading environment

6–12 month contract.