Jobs › Hudson River Trading

Trading Systems Engineer

Hudson River Trading · Chicago, IL · Trading Tech

Posted Oct 1, 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

Tell me about the worst production incident you've handled. What did you do in the first ten minutes?

What they are checking: Whether they stay unfazed under pressure and know how to stabilize first and investigate second.

Tell me about something manual you automated. How did you decide it was worth automating?

What they are checking: Their instinct for automation and whether they weigh the cost of building tooling against the time it saves.

What would you do

A trading server in another region starts showing latency spikes a few minutes after the market opens. Walk me through how you find the cause.

What they are checking: Whether they troubleshoot across hardware, kernel, network and application layers in a calm, ordered way.

How would you roll out a kernel upgrade to a worldwide fleet of trading machines without disrupting trading?

What they are checking: Whether they plan staged rollouts, testing and rollback for systems that run around the clock.

A vendor's network card firmware has a bug that keeps hurting you, and they keep pushing back. How do you hold them accountable?

What they are checking: Whether they can build a clear case with data and push a vendor to act without burning the relationship.

You're midway through a big infrastructure project and a production issue pulls you away for two days. How do you keep the project on track?

What they are checking: How they balance urgent operational work with long projects, which is the shape of this job.

About the work

What Linux kernel and BIOS settings would you look at when tuning a box for ultra low-latency trading?

What they are checking: Hands-on knowledge of CPU isolation, interrupts, power states and similar knobs that decide microseconds.

How do you benchmark a change to the trading stack so you can trust the result?

What they are checking: Whether they control for noise and variance, since bad benchmarks lead to bad tuning decisions.

How would you tell the difference between a hardware fault and a software fault when a server keeps rebooting?

What they are checking: Practical diagnostic skill using logs, hardware counters and isolation tests to avoid chasing the wrong layer.

What tools would you use to see where a process spends its time, from user space down into the kernel?

What they are checking: Familiarity with profiling tools like perf and tracing, which this team uses to tune the stack.

Which language do you reach for to automate infrastructure work, and why that one?

What they are checking: Whether they code comfortably and choose tools on purpose rather than out of habit.

Practice this interview out loud.

Offer builds a real interview for this exact role at Hudson River Trading from your resume and this job description, asks the questions one at a time, and tells you what landed. The first one is free.

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The full job description

As published by Hudson River Trading.

Hudson River Trading (HRT) is seeking a Trading Systems Engineer to join our growing Trading Systems Infrastructure team. This team designs, builds, and maintains the infrastructure that powers our global trading, and is responsible for ensuring optimal performance and uptime of the ultra low-latency operating systems, automation software, and development tools that allow our trading strategies to run worldwide 24/7. As a Trading Systems Engineer, you’ll work on projects focusing on our real-time production trading environment and tackle problems that require high availability, high throughput, and ultra low-latency solutions. The ideal candidate possesses a passion for coding and automation, is eager to learn new skills to help build an elegant stack, and has the ability to handle challenging technical issues within a dynamic and fast-paced environment. Responsibilities • Design, manage, automate, and optimize worldwide Linux-based trading infrastructure by planning and executing complex technical projects and tasks • Troubleshoot hardware and software issues across the stack&nbsp; • Design and implement system installations and upgrades&nbsp; • Deploy, configure, and test internal and external applications&nbsp; • Remain unfazed by production-critical issues, resolving them quickly and efficiently • Benchmark and tune the performance of the trading stack&nbsp; • Hold vendors accountable on performance and reliability issues, with the ability to confidently go toe-to-toe with a vendor's Tier 2 engineering team during an escalation • Join an on-call rotation schedule to cover trading hours and weekend shifts, as needed Qualifications • 7+ years of relevant experience supporting a live production environment (especially trading) • Expert in installing, configuring, and troubleshooting Linux systems, from hardware and networking to kernel to applications&nbsp; • Knowledge of Debian/Ubuntu is desirable • Project Management Skills • Proficiency with configuration management tools, particularly SaltStack – strong knowledge of Puppet, Ansible, Chef, or CFEngine is also desirable • Advanced programming experience focusing on automation and integration; Python is strongly preferred • Advanced shell (bash) scripting experience • Significant experience managing and debugging production trading services • Strong cross-functional communication and organization skills • Proven ability to manage assigned projects efficiently, ideally using JIRA • Architect-level cloud experience in AWS or GCP is desirable, but not required This job is accepting ongoing applications and there is no application deadline. The estimated base salary range for this position is 150,000 to 250,000 USD per year (or local equivalent). The base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. This role will also be eligible for discretionary performance-based bonuses and a competitive benefits package which includes medical, dental, vision, basic life insurance, and enrollment in our company’s retirement savings plans. Employees will receive sick and parental leave, as well as other paid time off (including 20 vacation days and 10 paid holidays in the US). Please note that benefits and time off policies will vary across non-US locations. In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information. Culture <span data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Hudson River Trading (HRT) brings a scientific approach to trading financial products. We have built one of the world's most sophisticated computing environments for research and development. Our researchers are at the forefront of innovation in the world of algorithmic trading. \n\nAt HRT we come from a variety of disciplines: mathematics and computer science, physics, and engineering, media and tech. We’re a community of self-starters who are motivated by the excitement of being at the cutting edge of automation in every part of our organization - from trading, to business operations, to recruiting and beyond. Our culture celebrates great ideas whether they come from HRT veterans or new hires. At HRT we’re friends and colleagues – whether we are sharing a meal, playing the latest board game, or writing elegant code. We embrace a culture of togetherness that extends far beyond the walls of our office.\n\nFeel like you belong at HRT? Our goal is to find the best people and bring them together to do great work in a place where everyone is valued. HRT is proud of our diverse staff; we have offices all over the globe and benefit from our varied and unique perspectives. HRT is an equal opportunity employer; so whoever you are we’d love to get to know you."}" data-sheets-userformat="{"2":13185,"3":{"1":0},"10":1,"11":4,"12":0,"15":"IBM Plex Sans","16":11}" data-sheets-textstyleruns="{"1":0}{"1":328,"2":{"2":{"1":2,"2":16711935}}}{"1":402}{"1":917,"2":{"2":{"1":2,"2":16711935}}}{"1":945}">Hudson River Trading (HRT) brings a scientific approach to trading financial products. We have built one of the world's most sophisticated computing environments for research and development. Our researchers are at the forefront of innovation in the world of algorithmic trading. At HRT we welcome a variety of expertise: mathematics and computer science, physics and engineering, media and tech. We’re a community of self-starters who are motivated by the excitement of being at the cutting edge of automation in every part of our organization—from trading, to business operations, to recruiting and beyond. We value openness and transparency, and celebrate great ideas from HRT veterans and new hires alike. At HRT we’re friends and colleagues – whether we are sharing a meal, playing the latest board game, or writing elegant code. We embrace a culture of togetherness that extends far beyond the walls of our office. Feel like you belong at HRT? Our goal is to find the best people and bring them together to do great work in a place where everyone is valued. HRT is proud of our diverse staff; we have offices all over the globe and benefit from our varied and unique perspectives. HRT is an equal opportunity employer; so whoever you are we’d love to get to know you. Please be advised: Use of AI tools by an applicant during interviews or assessments is strictly prohibited, unless otherwise instructed or agreed upon. We employ various methods to evaluate the authenticity of candidate responses. If we determine that AI assistance was used by an applicant during an interview or an assessment, we reserve the right to immediately end the interview or assessment, disqualify the applicant’s candidacy and/or rescind any job offers extended. <span data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Hudson River Trading (HRT) brings a scientific approach to trading financial products. We have built one of the world's most sophisticated computing environments for research and development. Our researchers are at the forefront of innovation in the world of algorithmic trading. \n\nAt HRT we come from a variety of disciplines: mathematics and computer science, physics, and engineering, media and tech. We’re a community of self-starters who are motivated by the excitement of being at the cutting edge of automation in every part of our organization - from trading, to business operations, to recruiting and beyond. Our culture celebrates great ideas whether they come from HRT veterans or new hires. At HRT we’re friends and colleagues – whether we are sharing a meal, playing the latest board game, or writing elegant code. We embrace a culture of togetherness that extends far beyond the walls of our office.\n\nFeel like you belong at HRT? Our goal is to find the best people and bring them together to do great work in a place where everyone is valued. HRT is proud of our diverse staff; we have offices all over the globe and benefit from our varied and unique perspectives. HRT is an equal opportunity employer; so whoever you are we’d love to get to know you."}" data-sheets-userformat="{"2":13185,"3":{"1":0},"10":1,"11":4,"12":0,"15":"IBM Plex Sans","16":11}" data-sheets-textstyleruns="{"1":0}{"1":328,"2":{"2":{"1":2,"2":16711935}}}{"1":402}{"1":917,"2":{"2":{"1":2,"2":16711935}}}{"1":945}">You can review our Global Applicant Privacy Notice , which explains how we process applicant information. &nbsp;

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