Disclaimer: Please be advised that the most accurate and up-to-date information about our open roles—including job descriptions, compensation, and benefits—can only be guaranteed on our official job board. For the latest listings and details, please visit: https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/ninjatrader.
JOIN US ON OUR MISSION TO BECOME THE #1 RETAIL TRADING PLATFORM IN THE WORLD
Welcome to the dynamic world of NinjaTrader! As an industry-leading trading platform and futures broker, we're empowering traders to take control of their financial destiny. How do we do it? We provide cutting-edge products and services that enhance the trading journey. Whether a seasoned pro or just starting out, NinjaTrader equips traders with award-winning software and brokerage services to navigate the world's leading financial markets with confidence.
Our growth story is nothing short of exhilarating. Since 2003, NinjaTrader has been dedicated to understanding and supporting traders on their journey toward trading triumph. Through those efforts, our user base has grown to over 2 million users and we have become the number one rated futures brokerage worldwide.
But we're not stopping there. We're constantly evolving, pushing boundaries, and modernizing the futures industry. Our commitment to innovation means users will always have access to dynamic tools, real-time support, and a community of like-minded traders.
So, why work at NinjaTrader? Here, you're not just part of a team; you're part of a movement. We empower employees to reach new heights in their careers by providing a dynamic culture focused on social connection, professional development, and employee recognition initiatives. Sounds too good to be true? Take it from our employees.
Join us as we redefine what's possible in trading, advocate for our customers, and continue our journey toward becoming the world's top retail-focused trading platform in the world.
What you'll do:
We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Staff Software Engineer to join our Trading Services team. In this pivotal role, you will help evolve our advanced trading system. As a senior engineer on the team, your work will have a profound impact on our core high-throughput, low-latency trading application, directly influencing our business's bottom line.
In this role you will:
- Design, develop, and maintain our Scala and Akka-based trading system deployed on Kubernetes in the cloud
- Architect, deploy, and manage backend services in a Kubernetes environment to ensure scalability, availability, and resilience
- Implement and enhance our services architecture for trading applications, promoting modularity and maintainability
- Develop distributed systems to support the high-performance and low-latency requirements of trading platforms
- Implement robust monitoring and logging solutions to track and analyze backend system performance in real time
- Integrate backend systems with market data feeds, ensuring accurate and timely data for trading activities
- Collaborate with other engineering teams and Product Managers to deliver end-to-end customer solutions
What you'll need:
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field
- 8+ years of software development experience with reactive, message-driven, distributed near real-time applications, preferably in a high-performance, low-latency environment
- 5+ years of professional experience with Scala (or similar JVM-based languages) backend software development
- Familiarity with functional programming principles
- Experience with Kubernetes and cloud services (e.g., Google Cloud Platform), with a focus on scalability and high availability
- Familiarity with CI/CD tools such as Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or equivalent
- Exceptional troubleshooting, debugging, and diagnostic skills for cloud and web-based technologies using industry-standard observability tooling and frameworks
- Deep understanding of modern distributed systems and the ability to troubleshoot HTTP/HTTPS, WebSockets, TLS, DNS, TCP/IP, and similar protocols
- Dependable team player with a strong work ethic, exceptional accuracy, and analytical and problem-solving skills, with a focus on performance analysis and optimization
- Ability to take full ownership of projects (design, implement, test, deploy, maintain, and iterate), with a focus on delivering high-quality production software
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, collaborates effectively, seeks feedback, and strives for continual improvement
Compensation:
- The salary range for this role will be $160,000.00 - $200,000.00 USD. In addition, this position will also receive an annual target bonus of 12%. Bonus pay at NinjaTrader is based on individual performance (50%) as well as company/team performance (50%).
- Salary and bonus earnings are only two components of the total compensation package offered by NinjaTrader. NinjaTrader offers a 401K plan through ADP under which the company will match up to 3.5% of employee contributions. Annual paid time off allowance accrues at a rate of 23 days per year plus seven paid holidays.
Location:
This role is based in Chicago, IL. *There may be remote flexibility for exceptional candidates in the following states: California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington DC, Wisconsin.
Hybrid:
For Chicago-based employees, we follow a hybrid work schedule: In-office Tuesday through Thursday, with remote work on Mondays and Fridays. In addition to these weekly remote days, we offer:
- 20 additional flex remote days annually
- 5 Company Wide Office-Optional weeks tied to major holidays
Our Core Benefits Include:
- Generous PTO
- 7 Paid Holidays Annually + 5 Conditional Holidays Annually
- 1 Service Day Annually
- 401k with 3.5% Company Match
- Paid Parental Bonding Leave
- Health, Vision, Dental Coverage
- Life and Disability Insurance Covered 100% by NinjaTrader
We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, or veteran status. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field
- 8+ years software development experience with reactive, message-driven, distributed near real-time applications
- 5+ years professional experience with Scala or similar JVM-based backend development
- Familiarity with functional programming principles
- Experience with Kubernetes and cloud services (e.g., Google Cloud Platform) focused on scalability and high availability
- Familiarity with CI/CD tools such as Jenkins or GitHub Actions
- Exceptional troubleshooting, debugging, and diagnostic skills with observability tooling for cloud and web technologies
- Deep understanding of distributed systems and networking protocols (HTTP/HTTPS, WebSockets, TLS, DNS, TCP/IP)
- Proven ability to take full ownership of projects (design, implement, test, deploy, maintain, iterate)
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively
What the Team is Saying
NinjaTrader Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Company materials highlight medical, dental, and vision coverage, with life and disability insurance covered by the employer. Some benefits descriptions also reference mental health support and flexible spending options.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) plan with company matching is part of the package. This indicates structured support for long-term savings within total compensation.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — The package calls out generous PTO and paid holidays, alongside standard job-protected family medical leave. Time-away benefits are positioned as a defined component of the offering.
NinjaTrader Insights
What We Do
More than 2 million futures traders trust NinjaTrader's award-winning software and brokerage services to help them trade smarter. Since 2003, we've been building better futures for all traders by making futures trading more accessible, scalable, and user-friendly. As a bold, innovative thought leader in the trading space, we build products and services that empower active futures traders to easily analyze and react to data from the world's leading financial markets. Veteran and new futures traders alike look to us for our always-on support, daily free education and analysis, access to developer apps, and much more. We believe in the power of innovation to drive futures trading forward. Together, we continue to redefine what's possible in trading, advocate for our customers, and provide the best tools, support, and experiences to the fast-growing retail futures trading community. Located in Chicago, our entrepreneurial, employee-centric culture is inspiring, innovative, and inviting. We're committed to diversity, equity, and inclusivity, so our team members feel at ease to be themselves and empowered to deliver the work they do best.
Why Work With Us
Our team members are our #1 asset and the signature ingredient to our success. When you join NinjaTrader, you become part of an innovative, forward-looking community that encourages creativity, collaboration and camaraderie to deliver the best futures trading experience possible to our more than 1.8 million users. See why better futures start here.
Gallery
NinjaTrader Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
Chicago-based employees follow a hybrid schedule: In-office Tuesday – Thursday, remote on Mondays and Fridays. In addition to these weekly remote days, we offer: 20 flex remote days annually 5 company-wide office-optional weeks
