Head of Connectivity

Company Description

BHFT is a proprietary algorithmic trading firm. Our team manages the full trading cycle, from software development to creating and coding strategies and algorithms.

Our trading operations cover key exchanges. The firm trades across a broad range of asset classes, including equities, equity derivatives, options, commodity futures, rates futures, etc. We employ a diverse and growing array of algorithmic trading strategies, utilizing both High-Frequency Trading (HFT) and Medium-Frequency Trading (MFT) approaches.

Looking ahead, we are expanding into new markets and products. As a dynamic company, we continuously experiment with new markets, tools, and technologies.

We’ve got a team of 200+ professionals, with a strong emphasis on technology—70% are technical specialists in development, infrastructure, testing, and analytics spheres. The remaining part of the team supports our business operations, such as Risks, Compliance, Legal, Operations and more.

Our employees are located all around the world, from the United States to Hong Kong. Although we maintain office spaces, we currently operate as a 100% remote organization.

At BHFT, clarity and transparency are at the core of our culture: we value open communication, ensuring that our processes are straightforward.

Job Description

We are looking for a highly skilled Head of Connectivity with a strong background in Traditional Finance to join our team. This role requires a deep understanding of trading infrastructure, market connectivity, and regulatory compliance in financial markets. The ideal candidate will bridge the gap between technology, regulations, and trading ensuring that our trading operations are both efficient and compliant. This person will also play a crucial role in shaping the vision and roadmap for our suite of gateway technical solutions designed for internal users. 

Responsibilities:

• Understand how to best connect to the required market.
• Oversee and optimize trading infrastructure, including servers, gateways, and trading platforms.  
• Manage external communications with exchanges, brokers, and financial institutions
• Act as a technical leader, advising on best practices for trading technology and risk management, providing solutions, and devising implementation methods  
• Document requirements in a way that is clear to both traders and developers.
• Explain the functionality of connectivity solutions, market gateways, and order routing mechanisms
• Manage your backlog, set priorities, and decide what should be done quickly versus what should be done thoroughly (and may take longer).
• Define observability and maintainability of the developed integrations.
• Identify and mitigate technology-related risks that could impact trading performance.  
• Ensure proper MiFID II, ARTEC, CFTC, NMS, and regulatory compliance 
• Continuously research trends and changes in market connectivity, looking for optimization opportunities.

Qualifications

Trading & Market Expertise:

• 5+ years of experience in trading, with a particular focus on exchange connectivity.
• Strong understanding of algorithmic trading and financial markets.
• Experience communicating with exchanges and brokers.  
• Expert-level knowledge of one or more exchange architectures (T7, Optiq, X-Stream, etc)
• Good understanding of one of the classic exchanges (ICE, CME, Eurex, Euronext)
• Good understanding of trading infrastructure setup (DMA vs SMA vs naked/member) and what it involves (reporting, where risk is managed etc)
• Knowledge of low-latency protocols (ITCH/OUCH, SBE)
• Good understanding of FIX is a big plus
• Familiarity with MiFID II, ARTEC, and other financial regulations (hands-on experience in implementing RTS 6 / MiFID II requirements is a plus). 
• Experience working in production support alongside actual traders is a significant plus.
• US/EU and Asia regulation awareness is a big plus.

Leadership & Management:

• 3+ years of people management experience in roles such as Team Lead, Manager, or Product Owner.

Technical Skills & Methodologies:

• Knowledge of C++ or Rust.
• Proven ability to gather business requirements and translate them into technical specifications.
• Understanding of Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and Agile methodologies.

Soft Skills & Competencies:

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Ability to lead technical discussions and educate teams on trading infrastructure.  
• Strong analytical mindset with a focus on delivering business value.
• Ability to prioritize effectively and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Strong problem-solving and risk management skills.

Language Proficiency:

• C1+ English proficiency.

Additional Information

What we offer:

• Working in a modern international technology company without bureaucracy, legacy systems, or technical debt.
• Excellent opportunities for professional growth and self-realization.
• We work remotely from anywhere in the world, with a flexible schedule.
• We offer compensation for health insurance, sports activities, and non-professional training.