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Front Office Developer - Pipeline

Chicago Trading Company · Chicago, IL · Technology

Posted Sep 11, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Walk me through a time you had to build something for a trader or quant where the requirements weren't fully worked out yet. How did you handle that?

What they are checking: whether the candidate can operate with ambiguity and pull real requirements out of a non-technical or fast-moving stakeholder

Tell me about a production issue you had to triage under real time pressure. What did you do first, and how did you find the root cause?

What they are checking: speed and discipline of the candidate's incident response process, since front-office systems failing during trading hours has direct cost

Describe a design decision where you had to choose between a quick tactical fix and a more strategic long-term solution. How did you decide?

What they are checking: judgment in balancing short-term business needs against technical debt, called out explicitly in the posting

Tell me about a time a code review you gave changed the direction of someone else's design, or a time your own design got pushed back on hard.

What they are checking: whether the person contributes real technical opinions in review and can take or give tough feedback

Tell me about a time you partnered with another technology team to reuse an existing service instead of building something new. How did that go?

What they are checking: collaboration instincts and whether the candidate defaults to reuse versus reinventing solutions

What's a recent technology or trend you've looked into on your own time, and why did it catch your interest?

What they are checking: genuine curiosity and whether the candidate actually keeps up with the field as the posting expects

What would you do

Suppose you get paged because a pricing or order routing service is behaving strangely right before market open. What's your approach in the first five minutes?

What they are checking: practical triage instincts and prioritization under time pressure, not just technical knowledge

A trader tells you a feature is slowing down their workflow but can't say exactly why. How do you approach figuring out what's actually wrong?

What they are checking: ability to translate vague, non-technical complaints into concrete engineering diagnosis

If two traders on the same desk want conflicting things from a tool you own, how do you handle that conversation?

What they are checking: stakeholder management skill and comfort pushing back on business users when needed

About the work

In Java or Python, how would you go about finding and fixing a latency bottleneck in a service that's suddenly running slower than usual?

What they are checking: depth of practical performance debugging skill, not just theoretical understanding of complexity

If you're strongest in Java, tell me about something nontrivial you've built or debugged in Python, or the reverse.

What they are checking: whether the stated baseline knowledge in the second language is real or just resume language

How would you design a system that needs to process market data and make it available to multiple downstream consumers with very different latency requirements?

What they are checking: architectural thinking for full-stack, high-performance systems in a trading context

What's your experience, if any, with options or other derivatives, and how has that shaped the way you think about the systems you build?

What they are checking: depth of financial domain knowledge, which the posting flags as a strong plus rather than a requirement

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The full job description

As published by Chicago Trading Company.

Chicago Trading Company (CTC) is a premier proprietary trading firm specializing in options market making.  Our collaborative culture fuels innovation in quantitative research, systematic trading strategies, and cutting-edge trading technology.  For over three decades CTC has provided critical liquidity across derivatives exchanges worldwide - making them fairer, more transparent, and more efficient. We strive to be the most innovative firm in the industry today, tomorrow, and long into the future while upholding ethical excellence. We believe that CTC makes a positive impact on the markets, the lives of our employees, and all the communities to which we belong. Started in 1995 by a team of forward-thinking Traders, we are proud to call ourselves an industry leader that keeps making markets and each other better. As a Front Office Developer you will have an opportunity to work closely with traders, quants and talented technologists to deliver value at the very heart of our ecosystem. You will work on systems that are critical to the success of CTC. Collaboration, flexibility and attention to detail will be the key attributes vital to your success. WHAT YOU'LL DO   • Partner with other technology teams to use existing services and solutions in support of your business partners • Stay up to date on product features, technology, and computing trends • Collaborate with traders, quants and technologists to drive requirements • Architect high performance full stack solutions to tackle business problems • Participate and share your expertise during design and code reviews   WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR   • Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to work individually or in a team environment • Ability to create pragmatic solutions that balance tactical and strategic needs • Ability to quickly triage issues and drive resolution effort through completion • Strong knowledge in Java and/or Python • If Java is language of strength, a baseline knowledge in Python is required • Experience in the Financial Industry (options experience) is a strong plus       Compensation The salary range for this role is listed below. This role is also eligible for an annual discretionary bonus. The discretionary bonus will be dependent upon the individual’s skills, experience, qualifications, and firm performance.  Salary Range $150,000 — $250,000 USD Most teams at CTC, with the exception of Trading, follow a hybrid workplace model, subject to change based on business need. Our Benefits  We strongly believe in the well-being of our employees and their families so we offer outstanding benefits to support you both professionally and personally. These benefits include generous time off, insurance coverage, paid parental leave, free breakfast and lunch (plus healthy snacks, of course), wellness reimbursement, and a variety of other benefits focused on providing the best employee experience.  (Disclaimer: interns and contractors are not eligible for benefits at CTC)  Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion At CTC, we aim to cultivate a workplace that celebrates diversity and each person feels included, engaged and empowered. Where each of us feels we belong. We are committed to having a diverse workforce and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. CTC does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.  If you have a disability and believe you need a reasonable accommodation in order to search for a job opening or to apply for a position, please contact us at info@chicagotrading.com. Note that emails sent to this email account for non-disability related issues, such as following up on an application, will not receive a response. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Information submitted by job applicants may be subject to review and analysis by automated systems, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), as part of the recruitment process. Such systems are utilized to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our hiring procedures. Applicants are advised that any information provided may be evaluated by AI tools to ensure an equitable and thorough assessment.

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