Sr. Software Engineer, Backend - NT Connect at NinjaTrader · Chicago

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JOIN US ON OUR MISSION TO BECOME THE #1 RETAIL TRADING PLATFORM IN THE WORLD

Welcome to the dynamic world of NinjaTrader! As an industry-leading trading platform and futures broker, we're empowering traders to take control of their financial destiny. How do we do it? We provide cutting-edge products and services that enhance the trading journey. Whether a seasoned pro or just starting out, NinjaTrader equips traders with award-winning software and brokerage services to navigate the world's leading financial markets with confidence.

Our growth story is nothing short of exhilarating. Since 2003, NinjaTrader has been dedicated to understanding and supporting traders on their journey toward trading triumph. Through those efforts, our user base has grown to over 2 million users and we have become the number one rated futures brokerage worldwide.

But we're not stopping there. We're constantly evolving, pushing boundaries, and modernizing the futures industry. Our commitment to innovation means users will always have access to dynamic tools, real-time support, and a community of like-minded traders.

So, why work at NinjaTrader? Here, you're not just part of a team; you're part of a movement. We empower employees to reach new heights in their careers by providing a dynamic culture focused on social connection, professional development, and employee recognition initiatives. Sounds too good to be true? Take it from our employees.

Join us as we redefine what's possible in trading, advocate for our customers, and continue our journey toward becoming the world's top retail-focused trading platform in the world.

What you'll do:

NinjaTrader is seeking a Sr. Software Engineer to join our NT Connect team—our API-based brokerage integration layer that powers connections with introducing brokers, fintech partners, and third-party platforms. In this pivotal role, you will help design, build, and evolve the backend services that underpin our partner integrations, brokerage APIs, and trading infrastructure. As a senior engineer on the team, your work will have a direct impact on partner success, trader outcomes, and revenue growth.

You will collaborate closely with Engineering, Product, QA, and cross-functional partners to deliver high-quality, scalable solutions for our broker partners. If you are passionate about distributed systems, real-time systems, API platforms, and the intersection of technology and financial markets, this is an outstanding opportunity to make a meaningful impact.

In this role you will:

• Design, develop, and maintain high-quality backend services that power the NT Connect brokerage API platform, ensuring scalability, reliability, and low-latency performance
• Architect and implement RESTful and WebSocket APIs for partner integrations, including introducing brokers, fintech partners, and third-party trading platforms
• Deploy and manage backend services in a Kubernetes/GCP environment, with a focus on availability, resilience, and observability
• Implement robust monitoring, logging, and alerting solutions using industry-standard observability tooling (e.g., OpenTelemetry) to track and analyze system performance in real time
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to deliver end-to-end solutions that meet partner requirements, compliance standards, and business goals
• Uphold and elevate engineering quality through code reviews, test coverage, CI/CD pipelines, release readiness, and incident response
• Drive architectural decisions and technical roadmap planning, helping shape the evolution of the NT Connect platform
• Leverage AI coding agents (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code) and modern developer tooling to accelerate delivery, improve code quality, and raise the team’s engineering velocity

What you'll need:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience)
• 8+ years of software development experience with distributed, backend systems, preferably in a high-performance or near real-time environment
• Strong proficiency in one or more JVM-based languages (Scala, Java, or Kotlin); experience with reactive, message-driven frameworks is highly valued
• Proven experience designing and building RESTful APIs and WebSocket services for external partners or B2B platforms
• Experience with Kubernetes and cloud infrastructure (preferably GCP), with a focus on scalability and high availability
• Deep understanding of modern distributed systems and ability to troubleshoot across the full stack (HTTP/HTTPS, WebSockets, TLS, TCP/IP, DNS)
• Strong understanding of security best practices for exposed APIs and backend services: authentication, authorization, data isolation, encryption, and audit logging
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to take full ownership of projects—from design through deployment, maintenance, and iteration
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; a collaborative team player who seeks feedback and drives continual improvement
• Demonstrated use of AI coding agents and tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code, or equivalent) to meaningfully improve personal and team productivity — treating AI-assisted development as a standard part of the modern engineering workflow

Bonus points for:

• Familiarity with financial systems and trading concepts: orders, fills, margin, account lifecycle, and regulated workflows (KYC/AML, reporting)
• Experience with FIX protocol, market data feeds, or brokerage integration patterns (FCM, clearing, or embedded finance platforms)
• Background in multi-tenant SaaS platform architectures, partner onboarding, and API rate limiting strategies
• Experience working in a regulated fintech, trading, or brokerage environment
• Familiarity with Pub/Sub messaging systems (e.g., GCP Pub/Sub) and event-driven architectures
• Familiarity with Node.js, particularly for API integration or SDK-adjacent backend work

Compensation:

The salary range for this role will be $100,000.00 - $150,000.00 USD. In addition, this position will also receive an annual target bonus of 10%. Bonus pay at NinjaTrader is based on individual performance (50%) as well as company/team performance (50%).

Salary and bonus earnings are only two components of the total compensation package offered by NinjaTrader. NinjaTrader offers a 401K plan through ADP under which the company will match up to 3.5% of employee contributions. Annual paid time off allowance accrues at a rate of 18 days per year (some positions may qualify for more) plus seven paid holidays.

Location:

This role is based in Chicago, IL. We are not open to remote candidates for this role

Hybrid:

For Chicago-based employees, we follow a hybrid work schedule: In-office Tuesday through Thursday, with remote work on Mondays and Fridays. In addition to these weekly remote days, we offer:

• 20 additional flex remote days annually
• 5 Company Wide Office-Optional weeks tied to major holidays

Our Core Benefits Include:

• Generous PTO
• 7 Paid Holidays Annually + 5 Conditional Holidays Annually
• 1 Service Day Annually
• 401k with 3.5% Company Match
• Paid Parental Bonding Leave
• Health, Vision, Dental Coverage
• Life and Disability Insurance Covered 100% by NinjaTrader

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, or veteran status. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.