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Software Engineer (Entry-Level) - Python

Akuna Capital · Chicago, IL · Engineering

Posted Jul 14, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Sep 20, 2026

Apply at Akuna Capital

Likely interview questions for this role

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

Behavioral

Tell me about a time you had to learn something completely new very quickly, maybe outside your coursework, to finish a project.

capacity to self-teach given no finance background is required but fast onboarding is expected

Tell me about a time you disagreed with a teammate about how to design or fix something. What happened?

collaborative maturity and whether they can hold a technical position without being rigid or passive

Tell me about a time you had to change your code quickly because requirements shifted at the last minute. How did you handle it?

adaptability to rapidly changing conditions, which the posting flags as an essential function of the role

Tell me about a personal or school project you built from scratch that you're proud of. What was hard about it and how did you push through?

genuine passion for building systems ground-up and persistence through difficulty, both called out explicitly in the posting

Technical

Walk me through a project where you used object-oriented design in Python. What classes did you create and why did you structure it that way?

whether the candidate actually understands OOP principles beyond textbook definitions, since the posting explicitly calls out object-oriented Python development

Say you have a large list of trades coming in continuously and you need to detect duplicates efficiently. How would you approach that in Python?

practical data structure and algorithm judgment under a performance lens, relevant to processing large volumes of trading data

What is the difference between a process and a thread, and when would you choose one over the other in a system that needs to react quickly?

foundational systems knowledge tied to the low-latency, high-performance nature of the systems this role touches

Describe a distributed system you've built or worked with, even a small one. What made it distributed, and what problems did that introduce?

whether the candidate's claimed distributed systems experience is real and specific rather than a buzzword on a resume

Here's a bug: a piece of code works fine in testing but occasionally produces wrong results in production under high load. How would you go about diagnosing it?

debugging methodology and comfort with concurrency-related bugs, which matter heavily in trading infrastructure

How do you decide what to unit test in a piece of code, and how do you think about testing something that depends on live, fast-moving data?

whether the candidate can write a testable, maintainable codebase as described in the posting, not just working code

Situational

If you had to explain a technical decision you made to someone non-technical, like a trader who just wants the problem solved, how would you go about that?

ability to translate engineering tradeoffs for a trading audience, since the posting stresses working with traders to gather requirements

How would you design a small system to detect and alert when market data feeds stop arriving as expected?

systems thinking applied to a scenario close to real Akuna problems like exchange gateways or data capture

Suppose a trader asks you to build a tool but their description of what they need is vague or incomplete. What do you do before writing any code?

requirements-gathering instinct and whether they jump to code before understanding the actual problem

Practice this interview out loud.

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The full job description

As published by Akuna Capital.

<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW256449397 BCX0"> About Akuna:   Akuna Capital is an innovative trading firm with a strong focus on collaboration, cutting-edge technology, data driven solutions, and automation. We specialize in providing liquidity as an options market maker, meaning we are committed to providing competitive quotes that we are willing to both buy and sell. To do this successfully, we design and implement our own low latency technologies, trading strategies, and mathematical models.  Our Founding Partners first conceptualized Akuna in their hometown of Sydney. They opened the firm’s first office in 2011 in the heart of the derivatives industry and the options capital of the world – Chicago. Today, Akuna is proud to operate from additional offices in Sydney, Shanghai, Singapore, and London.  What you’ll do as an Entry-Level Python Software Engineer at Akuna:  Python software engineers at Akuna have the opportunity to join either our Post Trade Technology, Data Engineering, or Crypto teams, working alongside other software engineers and traders to design and implement elegant solutions to complex and interesting problems. You’ll use cutting-edge technology while working on high-performance systems that process and analyze large volumes of trading and market data. We offer a team-based approach to trading and software engineering, believing that productive integration of the two groups is vital for success in this industry.   Akuna is looking for software engineers who are motivated and willing to reach for creative solutions when faced with novel problems. We value innovation and hard work and want our engineers to make an impact on the firm. Whether you are interested in trading infrastructure, algorithms, exchange gateways, or data capture and analysis, there’s engaging work to be done. If you are excited to jump in and make a difference, Akuna could be the place for you.  Requirements for this role:  <ul> <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Pursuing a bachelor’s, master’s, or Ph.D. in a technical field (computer science/engineering, math, physics, or equivalent) </li> </ul> <ul> <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1">Graduating by August 2027 </li> </ul> <ul> <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1">Major GPA of 3.5 or above </li> </ul> <ul> <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="1">Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required on the first day of employment including F-1 students using OPT or STEM </li> </ul>  Previous experience in finance or trading is not required. Many of our engineers joined Akuna with little-to-no prior knowledge of the markets, and we pride ourselves on our ability to onboard those new to the industry. Training and continuous education are provided for all engineers to ensure they can build the requisite technical and non-technical skillset for success.  Qualities That Make a Great Python Software Engineer Candidate:  <ul> <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Strong programming skills in Object-Oriented Python Development </li> </ul> <ul> <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1">Demonstrated experience with distributed systems </li> </ul> <ul> <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1">Strong analytical and problem-solving skills </li> </ul> <ul> <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="1">Ability to communicate with the trading team, obtain requirements, find solutions, and implement them in a clean and concise way </li> </ul> <ul> <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="5" data-aria-level="1">Ability to create an easily understood and testable codebase that can change as quickly as market conditions require </li> </ul> <ul> <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="6" data-aria-level="1">Ability to react quickly and accurately to rapidly changing market conditions, including the ability to quickly and accurately respond and/or solve math and coding problems, is an essential function of the role </li> </ul> <ul> <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="7" data-aria-level="1">Passion for innovation and building systems from the ground up </li> </ul> <ul> <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="8" data-aria-level="1">Adaptability in an ever-changing environment </li> </ul> <ul> <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="9" data-aria-level="1">Self-starter attitude with the ability to work independently </li> </ul>   **Resumes must be submitted in PDF format.   In addition to the above technical skills, Akuna values diversity of experience and perspective. We believe that engineers with varied backgrounds and interests allow us to approach problems from unique angles and to uncover innovative, optimal solutions. We want everyone to feel empowered to apply; we welcome your application, and we strongly encourage you to take the first steps in joining us in the future!  By applying to this role, you are indicating this is your top preference and acknowledge you will not be considered for other Quant and/or Tech roles at Akuna this recruiting season. This acknowledgement does not limit applications to Trading roles - in addition to this role, you may apply to any Trader roles of interest.   We are an AI-friendly company and encourage employees to leverage AI in their daily work. However, AI assistance is not permitted during interviews or assessments. Our interview process is designed to evaluate your individual skills and judgment, and the use of AI tools will result in disqualification from the hiring process. In accordance with the Illinois Equal Pay Act, the minimum annualized base salary starts at $145,000. Exact compensation offered may vary based on many factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s experience, qualifications, and skill set. The minimum base salary herein was determined in good faith by Akuna Capital LLC.    </div>

Apply at Akuna Capital

Software Engineer (Entry-Level) - Python

Likely interview questions for this role

Practice this interview out loud.

The full job description

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Expression of Interest: 2027 Trading Sneak Peek Weeks