Trading Systems Infrastructure Staff Engineer

Who are we?

FalconX is a pioneering team of operators, investors, and builders committed to revolutionizing institutional access to the crypto markets. Operating at the intersection of traditional finance and cutting-edge technology, FalconX addresses the industry's foremost challenges: Navigating the digital asset market can be complex and fragmented, with limited products and services that support trading strategies, structures, and liquidity found in conventional financial markets. As a comprehensive solution for all digital asset strategies from start to scale, FalconX operates as the connective tissue empowering clients with seamless navigation through the ever- evolving cryptocurrency landscape.

Responsibilities

• Low-Latency Architecture: Design, provision, and maintain ultra-low latency AWS and hybrid network topologies, including VPCs, exchange gateways, and regional deployment expansions.
• Performance Tuning: Optimize Linux OS kernels and compute performance using CPU isolation (isolcpus), AWS Cluster Placement Groups, and enhanced networking (ENA/ENI).
• Infrastructure as Code: Drive infrastructure automation, provisioning, and configuration management using Terraform and Ansible.
• Platform Scaling: Architect infrastructure to support expanding Exchange Market Making (EMM), Project Market Making (PMM), and TradFi exchange convergences.
• Observability & Reliability: Build telemetry and monitoring pipelines using Grafana Cloud and Alloy to ensure continuous visibility into platform performance.
• Technical Leadership: Guide the technical roadmap, mentor junior engineers, and act as an escalation lead for critical system incidents.

Key Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in Infrastructure Engineering, Systems Engineering, or SRE, with a focus on low-latency electronic trading environments.
• Deep Linux Internals Expertise: Advanced experience with kernel-level performance tuning, memory management, and network I/O optimization (isolcpus, network profiling, ring buffers).
• AWS Low-Latency Design: Demonstrated experience leveraging AWS low-latency constructs (Placement Groups, ENA/ENI, high-performance EC2 instance optimization).
• Trading Protocols & Infrastructure: Experience with FIX protocol, Aeron messaging, or low-latency colocation connectivity.
• HFT & Market Workflows: Familiarity with high-frequency trading (HFT) workflows or crypto exchange API integrations.
• Automation Mastery: Strong proficiency in Terraform for cloud infrastructure and Ansible for OS configuration and patching.
• Networking Fundamentals: Deep understanding of physical network topologies, TCP/IP, UDP, and low-latency network routing.
• Containers & CI/CD: Hands-on experience with Docker, Docker Compose, Jenkins, and modern deployment pipelines.
• Observability Ecosystem: Experience setting up production monitoring using Grafana Cloud, Alloy, or Prometheus.

Bonus Points  

• Hands-on scripting capability in Python/Bash, with development experience in Rust or Java preferred.
• Experience with hardware acceleration technologies (FPGAs, SmartNICs) or custom network card driver tuning.
• Knowledge of PTP (Precision Time Protocol) / IEEE 1588 or clock synchronization setup for high-precision trade timestamping.

The base pay for this role is expected to be between $213,000 - $269,000 in New York City.  This expected base pay range is based on information at the time this post was generated. This role will also be eligible for other forms of compensation such as a performance linked bonus, equity, and a competitive benefits package. Actual compensation for a successful candidate will be determined based on a number of factors such as location, skillset, experience, qualifications and the level at which the candidate is hired.

Notice at Collection and Privacy Policy

Applicants located in California and/or applying to a role based in California, please refer to our Notice at Collection and Privacy Policy here.

Inclusivity Statement

FalconX is committed to building a diverse, inclusive, equitable, and safe workspace for all people. Our roles are intended for people from all walks of life. We encourage all those interested in applying to our organization to submit an application regardless if you are missing some of the listed background requirements, skills, or experiences!

As part of our commitment to inclusivity, FalconX would like to acknowledge that the EEOC survey has limited potential responses that you can select. For legal reasons, FalconX must use this language to align with federal requirements, however, we want to ensure that you are able to provide a response to our own voluntary survey questions about your identity that best aligns with your most true self.

FalconX is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee based on race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, sex (including gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), age, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, citizenship, or any other legally-recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local law.

Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act and other applicable state or local laws. A reasonable accommodation is a change in the way things are normally done which will ensure an equal employment opportunity without imposing undue hardship on FalconX. Please inform FalconX’s People team at [email protected], if you need assistance with participating in the application process.