Systems Engineer

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, and London.

What you'll do as a Systems Engineer at Akuna: 

We are looking for a Systems Engineer to be responsible for Akuna’s Linux server platform health. This person will participate in the design, deployment, and maintenance of our high-performance platform to support our trading environment. They will also automate daily software and hardware tasks while writing and maintaining scripts and tools. The ideal candidate will be self-motivated, proactive, and able to take ownership of projects and problems with minimal supervision. In this role, you will: 

• Manage Akuna’s Linux server infrastructure in cloud, domestic, and global data centers 
• Be responsible for low latency trading system server operations  
• Collaborate with other teams including Performance Engineering and Data Center Operations to investigate new products and optimize the environment 
• Maintain multi-vendor, tier-based storage solutions 
• Manage and maintain trading system messaging middleware 
• Provide additional day-to-day support including system analysis, monitoring, and performance tuning, as well as developer workstation support 

Qualities that make great candidates: 

• Degree in Computer Science or related experience 
• 4-6 years of systems engineering experience  
• Linux kernel tuning experience  
• Experience in automation of daily software and hardware related tasks 
• Experience with system monitoring and configuration management tools (Terraform, Ansible, Foreman, git, and Icinga/Nagios) 
• Advanced experience with a variety of Linux distributions (Ubuntu, RedHat, etc.) 
• Experience with scripting, automation and orchestration tools such as Python and Bash 
• Knowledge of database systems, including PostgreSQL 
• Knowledge of L1-L4 layers of the OSI model 
• Experience in troubleshooting multicast and TCP related performance issues 
• Experience with Git or a similar version control tool 
• Experience with automating infrastructure builds, such as CFEngine, NetBoot, Conda, Kickstart and Ansible customization 
• Experience with SOAP and REST APIs a plus
• AWS or other cloud experience is a plus 
• The 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 are essential functions of the role

In addition to technical skillsets, Akuna values the unique perspectives people can bring to the table to collaboratively solve complex problems and drive Akuna forward. We want all groups to feel empowered to apply, even if you don’t meet every qualification. We welcome your application and encourage you to take the first steps toward your future with us!