Chicago Trading Company (CTC) is a premier proprietary trading firm specializing in options market making. Our collaborative culture fuels innovation in quantitative research, systematic trading strategies, and cutting-edge trading technology. For over three decades CTC has provided critical liquidity across derivatives exchanges worldwide - making them fairer, more transparent, and more efficient.

We strive to be the most innovative firm in the industry today, tomorrow, and long into the future while upholding ethical excellence. We believe that CTC makes a positive impact on the markets, the lives of our employees, and all the communities to which we belong. Started in 1995 by a team of forward-thinking Traders, we are proud to call ourselves an industry leader that keeps making markets and each other better.

The Delta One team is looking for a Team Lead to own business-critical technical initiatives and manage a team of engineers within the delta trading execution group. You'll be a hands-on manager developing and maintaining high-performance valuation, execution, and post-trade systems. Working closely with Traders, Quants, and Technologists, you'll help drive the evolution of delta trading from a risk management function into a true alpha-generating strategy — integrating delta trading with volatility trading to capitalize on increased liquidity and tighter spreads. By mentoring your team, managing cross-functional projects, and upholding the highest standards of software engineering, you'll play a pivotal role in ensuring our delta trading infrastructure remains fast, efficient, and competitive.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Technical Leadership & Development

Design and build high-performance delta one trading systems
Lead technical design discussions and drive architectural decisions
Work closely with traders, quants, and technologists to drive ideas from inception to production in a timely and robust manner
Ensure operational safety and uphold the highest standards of software engineering by thoroughly testing code, following a coherent and maintainable design and architecture, and adhering to best practices — prioritizing carefully planned, well-structured solutions over ad hoc implementations

People & Project Management

Lead and mentor a small team of engineers, supporting their professional growth and day-to-day technical work
Manage multiple concurrent projects, ensuring timely delivery while maintaining quality and reliability
Help establish team priorities in alignment with broader business and trading objectives
Foster a collaborative, high-performance team culture consistent with CTC's values

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

A minimum of 5 years of experience working in a production environment using modern C++
Demonstrated experience developing and maintaining large-scale C++ systems
Deep knowledge of low-level systems programming, optimization, and hardware/software co-design
Strong fundamentals in computer architecture and networking protocols
Experience writing multithreaded and distributed systems with an affinity for delivering clean, performant code
Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, balancing competing priorities without sacrificing quality
Ability to quickly triage issues and drive the resolution effort through completion

NICE TO HAVE

Experience managing or mentoring engineers (2–4 people), with a passion for developing talent and building strong teams
Experience working in the trading industry

COMPENSATION

The salary range for this role is listed below. This role is also eligible for an annual discretionary bonus. The discretionary bonus will be dependent upon the individual’s skills, experience, qualifications, and firm performance.

Salary Range

$225,000—$250,000 USD

Most teams at CTC, with the exception of Trading, follow a hybrid workplace model, subject to change based on business need.

OUR BENEFITS

We strongly believe in the well-being of our employees and their families so we offer outstanding benefits to support you both professionally and personally. These benefits include generous time off, insurance coverage, paid parental leave, free breakfast and lunch (plus healthy snacks, of course), wellness reimbursement, and a variety of other benefits focused on providing the best employee experience.