About AQR Capital Management

AQR is a global investment management firm built at the intersection of financial theory and practical application. We strive to deliver superior, long-term results for our clients by looking past market noise to identify and isolate what matters most, and by developing ideas that stand up to rigorous testing. Our focus on practical insights and analysis has made us leaders in alternative and traditional strategies since 1998.

At AQR, our employees share a common spirit of academic excellence, intellectual honesty and an unwavering commitment to seeking the truth. We’re determined to know what makes financial markets tick – and we’ll ask every question and challenge every assumption. We recognize and respect the power of collaboration, and we believe transparency and openness to new ideas leads to innovation.

The Team

Technology is central to AQR’s success. As a Senior Software Engineer in Portfolio Implementation, you will lead the design and delivery of complex, mission-critical systems that turn investment ideas into reality. Working closely with researchers, portfolio managers, and engineering peers, you will drive large-scale technical initiatives while mentoring engineers and raising the bar for engineering excellence across the team.

Your Role

As a Senior Software Engineer in Portfolio Implementation, you will operate with broad ownership and technical authority across core investment systems, including:

Leading the design and implementation of portfolio implementation platforms that consume research outputs, perform constrained optimizations, and generate orders
Owning and evolving distributed, microservice-based systems that operate reliably at scale
Lead architectural design for high-performance, high-volume, highly available systems, making informed trade-offs across performance, flexibility, and maintainability
Delivering complex, cross-cutting initiatives that span multiple services, teams
Providing technical leadership to small teams (typically 2–5 engineers), including task planning, design reviews, and execution oversight
Mentoring and coaching engineers through code reviews, design discussions, and hands-on guidance
Partnering with a global team of researchers, portfolio managers and engineers to deliver robust, production-quality solutions on time

What You’ll Bring

Degree in Computer Science or a related technical field
7+ years of professional software engineering experience, with deep expertise in Java
Strong experience using Python in production or research-adjacent environments
Proven ability to design, build, and operate large-scale, distributed systems
Experience operating microservice-based architectures, using technologies such as Java, Elasticsearch, Redis, RabbitMQ / AMQ, and relational databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MS SQL Server)
Strong command of engineering best practices, including code quality, design documentation, peer code reviews, automated testing, and test coverage
Experience operating, tuning, and profiling high-performance systems in production environments
Experience with observability and monitoring platforms (e.g., New Relic) and using metrics to drive reliability and performance improvements
Ability to lead technical change, manage risk, and drive initiatives to completion in complex environments
Experience contributing to requirements capture, technical specification, and work breakdown
Ability to estimate work, plan delivery, and manage technical trade-offs
Interest in financial markets and the investment process

Who You Are

A strong technical leader who takes ownership of outcomes, not just implementations
Comfortable driving large, ambiguous initiatives from concept through delivery
Effective at mentoring and developing engineers, setting clear expectations and providing constructive feedback
Able to balance hands-on contribution with leadership and oversight
Collaborative, thoughtful, and effective working across disciplines and geographies
Committed to intellectual integrity, transparency, and openness