Systems & Network Engineer

The Firm

XTX Markets is an algorithmic trading firm that actively trades tens of thousands of instruments on over eighty venues with a daily volume of almost three hundred billion USD. We partner with counterparties, exchanges, and e-trading venues globally to provide consistent liquidity in the Equity, FX, Fixed Income, Commodity & Options markets, helping market participants throughout the world obtain the best prices in the various assets classes we cover.

We leverage the talent of the people who work here, modern computational techniques and state-of-the-art research infrastructure to analyse large data sets across markets quickly and efficiently, to maximise the effectiveness of our proprietary trading algorithms. The models that drive our trading strategies have evolved considerably over the last 10 years, from econometric methods that gave our company its name, to trees, to neural networks, to modern deep learning architectures. We are actively seeking new methods and ideas.

At XTX Markets technology is our business and we are a diverse organisation which attracts outstanding talent from across all industry backgrounds. We are focused on teamwork and our people collaborate on all aspects of the business, working openly and with respect for each other, our clients and the market. Our culture is non-hierarchical and one where everyone is valued. We strive for excellence in everything we do.

The Role

At XTX, research is performed on our state-of-the-art high performance computing infrastructure (“HPC Cluster”), built from thousands of CPU and GPU optimized servers, hundreds of petabytes of high-density storage and flash arrays, connected by a high throughput, non-blocking network layer, which our Research Technology team has built in-house working side-by-side with our researchers to make the most performant, reliable and transparent system we can. 

We are now seeking a highly skilled and experienced Systems and Networks Engineer to work with our experienced teams to support the deployment, maintenance, and upkeep of our HPC Cluster.

The role is full-time, permanent based, with the primary work location in London.

The ideal candidate will possess a deep understanding of datacentre infrastructure and operations, industry best practices, and a proven track record in managing large-scale HPC and network infrastructure.

Our HPC Cluster is one of the largest in the world, drawing more than 15MW of renewably sourced power, and we are currently expanding the cluster by way of building and operating our own HPC campus in Kajaani, Finland.

Responsibilities

Infrastructure Deployment, Maintenance and Upkeep 

• Support the installation (inc. component integration) and support/maintenance of the HPC Cluster (servers, switches, cabling and so forth).
• Build and manage large scale campus network.
• Build and manage barebone servers.
• Troubleshoot systems and network problems.
• Automate system administration tasks.
• Test and evaluate new hardware platforms.
• Manage systems break fix life cycle.
• Handling and resolving technical issues and requests.
• Communicating with stakeholders about planned maintenance, downtime, or changes in the infrastructure.

Capacity Planning and Scalability 

• Support space and capacity planning to anticipate future growth and scalability requirements.
• Support the evaluation of current infrastructure utilization and plan for expansion or upgrades as needed.
• Work closely with stakeholders to assess business needs and align infrastructure resources accordingly.

Essential Attributes

• Previous direct experience in a similar setting with large-scale-compute, although previous experience in financial services is not necessary. We expect between 5-10 years of experience in a relevant setting as a guide.
• Deep experience with Linux administration, comfortable with command line and troubleshooting tools.
• Demonstrable experience with network administration (VLAN, GRE, OSPF, BGP etc).
• You will be comfortable setting up and configuring network switches from scratch; mass or automated installation preferred.
• You will be comfortable scripting/programming, particularly for automation. We use Python and Golang extensively.
• You will have practical experience with various databases.
• Familiarity with monitoring, telemetry, and configuration management tools.
• Familiarity with data centre operations.
• Familiarity with server hardware and troubleshooting hardware problems.
• An ideal candidate would also be interested in participating in platform design, which would involve selecting, specifying, or customising servers for XTX considering requirements such as power, cooling, and the pros and cons of different CPU/GPU/Storage SKUs.

Benefits

• Onsite gym, sauna, and fitness classes at no charge.
• Extensive medical benefits including an on-site doctor and therapist at no charge.
• Breakfast and lunch provided daily.
• Various supports for caregivers, including emergency dependent care.
• Beautiful Kings Cross office: https://vimeo.com/257888726
• 25 days paid holiday per year + statutory holiday and paid sick days.
• Generous Pension contributions.