Software Engineer at Cboe in Chicago, IL

Software Engineer
Location: Chicago, IL
Job Description:
Building trusted markets — powered by our people
At Cboe Global Markets, we inspire our people to solve complex challenges together because what we do matters. We provide the financial infrastructure that powers the global economy. As a leading provider of market infrastructure and tradable products, Cboe delivers cutting-edge trading, clearing and investment solutions to market participants around the world.
We’re building meaningful ways to support professional and personal development while strengthening the trust we’ve earned as a global market leader. Our teams are empowered to share ideas, actively pursue them and bring on a challenge. As champions of internal mobility and access to opportunity, we encourage our people to “go for it” and equip our managers with the training to coach their teams to the next level. We strive to provide employees a safe space to network, share ideas and create opportunities.
To support strong partnership and team connection, this role follows a four day in office work model.
Location Overview
Cboe HQ is located in the historic Old Post Office district, it’s a landmark that blends classic architecture with modern amenities. The building features expansive spaces with high ceilings and large windows, offering an abundance of natural light and panoramic views of the city skyline and the Chicago River.
With its prime location in the heart of downtown, the OPO Building provides easy access to major transportation hubs, including Union Station and multiple CTA lines, making it convenient for commuters. The building is home to a variety of amenities, including restaurants, a fitness center, and collaborative
What We Do
Our Software Engineers design, develop, deploy, and support high-performance market surveillance systems that monitor trading activity across multiple global markets. We process massive datasets from equities, options, and futures exchanges in the U.S. and Europe. Our platforms are engineered to analyze billions of events per day, ensuring scalability and resilience as data volumes grow. Our mission is to deliver actionable insights that empower analysts to maintain fair, orderly, and compliant market operations. As a team, we value analytical thinking, humility, and continuous learning while solving complex challenges.

Job Summary
We are seeking a software engineer to design and build high-performance, distributed systems that process and analyze massive streams of trading data for regulatory surveillance. This role involves developing scalable data pipelines, implementing complex rules engines, and optimizing relational and Snowflake databases for large-scale workloads. You will work with technologies such as Java, Python, Snowflake, Kafka, and Linux. You will also use AI tools like Anthropic's Claude to accelerate your own development work and to design and build agentic workflows that automate engineering, SDLC, and surveillance analyst tasks. The ideal candidate has strong problem-solving skills, deep knowledge of data structures and algorithms, and experience building systems that handle billions of events daily in low-latency environments.

Responsibilities:
Collaborate with end-users to gather and refine functional requirements for complex, data-driven systems.
Produce detailed project documentation, including architecture diagrams, functional specifications, technical designs, and test plans.
Design, develop, test, and implement scalable data processing pipelines, rules engines, and database solutions leveraging Snowflake and relational databases.
Optimize system performance for large-scale, low-latency workloads handling billions of events daily.
Work closely with infrastructure teams to deploy and maintain applications on Linux-based environments.
Coordinate with cross-functional teams for new application development, troubleshooting, and system enhancements.
Leverage AI tools such as Anthropic's Claude to drive personal and team productivity gains across coding, testing, and documentation.
Design, build, and maintain agentic workflows that automate repetitive engineering and surveillance tasks, integrating LLMs responsibly into production and internal tooling.
Take ownership of projects as individual contributor, adapting to dynamic requirements.
Research emerging technologies, tools, and design patterns, including advances in AI and agentic systems, to improve scalability, resilience, and performance.
Provide ongoing application support and communicate technical concepts clearly to non-technical stakeholders.
Participate in a 24/7 production on-call rotation to ensure system reliability and uptime.
Participate in recruitment process as and when required for new engineering hires

Qualifications:
Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or related field
2+ years of software engineering experience in high-performance or distributed systems
Strong proficiency in Java and Python for backend development
Experience with Linux environments and at least one scripting language (e.g., Bash, Shell)
Hands-on experience with SQL and Snowflake for large-scale data processing
Familiarity with streaming and big data technologies such as Apache Kafka a plus
Solid understanding of data structures, algorithms, and performance optimization techniques
Ability to design and implement scalable, low-latency systems handling billions of events daily
Experience using AI coding assistants such as Anthropic's Claude for productivity and building agentic/LLM-powered workflows
Excellent written and verbal communication skills for cross-functional collaboration
Self-motivated with the ability to work independently and manage multiple projects concurrently
Experience in finance, trading, exchange, or related fields is a plus
Benefits and Perks of working for Cboe Global Markets
We value the total wellbeing of our people – including health, financial, personal and social wellness. We believe standard benefits like health insurance and fair pay are a given at any organization. Still, you should know we offer:
Fair and competitive salary and incentive compensation packages with an upside for overachievement
Generous paid time off, including vacation, personal days, sick days and annual community service days
Health, dental and vision benefits, including access to telemedicine and mental health services
2:1 401(k) match, up to 8% match immediately upon hire
Discounted Employee Stock Purchase Plan
Tax Savings Accounts for health, dependent and transportation
Employee referral bonus program
Volunteer opportunities to help you give back to your communities
Some of our associates’ favorite benefits and perks include:
Complimentary lunch, snacks and coffee in any Cboe office
Paid Tuition assistance and education opportunities
Generous charitable giving company match
Paid parental leave and fertility benefits
On-site gyms and discounts to other fitness centers
Paid Time Off
More About Cboe Global Markets
We’re reimagining the future of the workplace by focusing on what matters most, our people. Our journey is an inclusive one. We’re investing deeply in leadership programs and career development initiatives that ensure everyone has an equal chance to succeed.
We work with purpose, solving problems with ingenuity, collaboration, and a lot of passion. We’re an engaged and excited team connecting markets across borders and embracing growth in all its forms to achieve incredible outcomes.
Learn more about life at Cboe on our website and LinkedIn.
Equal Employment Opportunity
We're proud to be an equal opportunity employer who does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment based on any legally protected characteristic, including race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or veteran status. We are committed to fostering a workplace where all individuals are valued and respected.

This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship now or in the future.
Salary Ranges (applicable for US locations only)
At Cboe, we are committed to providing a competitive, transparent, and market‑informed total rewards program. The anticipated base salary range for this role is $107,525-$139,150, with actual compensation determined by job‑related factors such as skills, relevant experience, education, internal alignment, and location.
This role may also be eligible for annual incentive compensation and, where applicable, participation in Cboe's long-term equity programs.
Additional information about Cboe's total rewards program, including benefits and other compensation components, can be found here: Total Rewards at CBOE.​

Any communication from Cboe regarding this position will only come from a Cboe recruiter who has a @cboe.com email or via LinkedIn Recruiter. Cboe does not use any other third party communication tools for recruiting purposes.