Financial Services Technology
Low Latency Engineer Jobs & Careers
Looking for your next Low Latency Engineer opportunity?
HOK Consulting connects Low Latency Engineers with investment banks, trading firms, hedge funds, exchanges, market makers and financial technology businesses building high-performance electronic trading systems.
Whether your experience covers C++, Java, multithreading, Linux, FIX Protocol, market connectivity, algorithmic trading or performance optimisation, explore current opportunities or upload your CV to join HOK’s technology talent network.
Current Low Latency Engineer Jobs
Explore current Low Latency Engineer opportunities available through HOK Consulting.
Can’t see the right Low Latency Engineer role?
If there are currently no suitable Low Latency Engineer vacancies listed, upload your CV and tell us what you’re looking for. Our team can contact you when a relevant permanent, contract or interim opportunity becomes available.
What Does a Low Latency Engineer Do?
Low Latency Engineers design, build and optimise software and infrastructure where processing speed, predictable performance and minimal response times are critical.
Within financial services, these engineers are particularly important in electronic and algorithmic trading environments, where systems must process market data, trading signals, orders and executions with extremely low levels of latency.
Low Latency Engineers may work on trading engines, market data platforms, exchange connectivity, order routing, pricing systems and other performance-sensitive applications, often collaborating with quantitative developers, traders, FIX Developers, network engineers and production support teams.
Low Latency Engineer Skills & Experience
Technical requirements vary between organisations and trading environments, but Low Latency Engineer roles commonly involve experience across areas such as:
- Low-Latency Software Engineering
- C++
- Java
- Rust
- Python
- Multithreading
- Concurrent Programming
- Lock-Free Programming
- Linux
- TCP/IP
- UDP
- Multicast Networking
- FIX Protocol
- Electronic Trading
- Algorithmic Trading
- Market Data
- Exchange Connectivity
- Order Routing
- Event-Driven Architecture
- Memory Management
- CPU and Memory Profiling
- Performance Testing
- Performance Optimisation
- High Availability
- Capital Markets
Some Low Latency Engineers specialise primarily in application development, while others work closer to operating systems, networking, hardware or exchange connectivity.
Strong knowledge of concurrency, memory management and performance profiling is particularly valuable because seemingly small inefficiencies can have a significant impact within latency-sensitive trading environments.
Typical Low Latency Engineer Responsibilities
- Designing and developing latency-sensitive trading applications
- Optimising software for speed, throughput and predictable performance
- Developing market data processing and order execution systems
- Building exchange and trading venue connectivity
- Reducing processing delays across critical trading workflows
- Profiling CPU, memory, networking and application performance
- Developing highly concurrent and multithreaded applications
- Investigating performance bottlenecks and production latency
- Optimising memory allocation and application architecture
- Working with FIX, market data and electronic trading protocols
- Collaborating with traders, quantitative developers and infrastructure engineers
- Supporting high-performance production trading systems
Responsibilities vary according to whether the position focuses on trading applications, market data, exchange connectivity, execution platforms, networking or wider low-latency infrastructure.
Low Latency Engineer Salary Expectations
Low Latency Engineer salaries vary according to experience, location, programming language, capital markets knowledge and the performance requirements of the systems being developed.
Permanent Low Latency Engineer
Around £100,000 per year
Current England low-latency skills median
Contract Low Latency Engineer
Around £725 per day
Current UK low-latency contract median
Senior Low Latency Engineers with specialist C++, Java, electronic trading, algorithmic trading or market connectivity experience may command considerably higher packages, particularly within London investment banking, hedge fund and quantitative trading environments.
Salary information is provided as a general market guide using current vacancies requiring low-latency expertise. Individual salaries and contract rates vary according to seniority, technical specialism, trading environment and location.
Low Latency Engineer Career Progression
Low Latency Engineers can progress into senior engineering, architecture and technical leadership positions within trading technology and high-performance systems.
Typical Low Latency Engineer Career Path
Alternative Career Paths
Low Latency Engineers may also progress into roles such as:
- FIX Developer
- Trading Technology Engineer
- Quantitative Developer
- Electronic Trading Architect
- Principal Software Engineer
- Engineering Manager
The right progression depends on whether you want to specialise further in high-performance software, move closer to quantitative or trading systems, take ownership of platform architecture or progress into engineering leadership.
Your Next Move
Looking for Your Next Low Latency Engineer Opportunity?
If you’re considering your next permanent position, contract assignment or interim opportunity, send HOK Consulting your CV.
Tell us about the low-latency systems you’ve built, your preferred programming languages, your trading or markets experience and the type of opportunity you’re looking for.
Specialist Recruitment
Financial Services Technology Recruitment
Low Latency Engineering forms part of HOK Consulting’s wider Financial Services Technology recruitment expertise, connecting organisations with specialists across electronic trading, capital markets, FinTech, banking and high-performance financial technology.
Hiring?
Recruiting Low Latency Engineers?
HOK Consulting supports investment banks, hedge funds, trading firms, exchanges, market makers and financial technology businesses looking for experienced Low Latency Engineers across permanent, contract and interim requirements.
Whether you’re developing an electronic trading platform, improving execution performance, building exchange connectivity or strengthening a high-performance engineering team, speak to HOK about your requirements.