Head of Engineering - Options
About this role
Head of Engineering: OptionsAbout KeyrockSince our beginnings in 2017, we've grown to be a leading change-maker in the digital asset space, renowned for our partnerships and innovation.Today, we rock with over 200 team members around the world. Our diverse team hails from 42 nationalities, with backgrounds ranging from DeFi natives to PhDs. Predominantly remote, we have hubs in London, Madrid, Brussels, Singapore , New York and Paris, and host regular online and offline hangouts to keep the crew tight.We are trading on more than 80 exchanges, and working with a wide array of asset issuers. As a well-established market maker, our distinctive expertise led us to expand rapidly. Today, our services span market making, options trading, high-frequency trading, OTC, and DeFi trading desks as well as asset and wealth management. Keyrock is looking to expand and establish itself as a full-service capital markets and asset & wealth management financial institution through both organic innovation and inorganic growth.But we’re more than a service provider. We’re an initiator. We have been pioneers in adopting the Rust Development language for our algorithmic trading systems, and champions of its use in the industry. We upgrade Web3 ecosystems by injecting liquidity into promising DeFi, RWA, and NFT protocols. And we push the industry's progress with our research and governance initiatives.At Keyrock, we're not just envisioning the future of digital assets. We're actively building it.Mission statementWe are looking for a Head of Engineering / Engineering Lead with strong experience in systematic options trading to lead our Options Engineering team.In this role, you will be responsible for leading the Options Engineering team, driving continuous improvement across the trading infrastructure, and supporting the evolution of our systematic options trading platform. This includes areas such as automated quoting, execution, risk controls, pricing workflows, and production reliability.We are primarily looking for candidates based in European time zones or the US East Coast time zone.We are looking for someone who can:Lead and grow an Options Engineering team of around 7 engineersBring hands-on experience in systematic options trading, ideally including options market-making, automated quoting, execution, and risk managementOwn and evolve an existing Rust-native systematic options trading platformProvide strong technical direction across trading infrastructure, system design, performance, reliability, and risk controlsWork pragmatically through complex engineering and trading-system challengesPartner closely with trading, quant, product, risk, and infrastructure stakeholdersBalance technical leadership with people leadership, delivery ownership, and operational disciplineRequired Experience7+ years of experience in systematic trading, options market-making or low-latency trading systemsStrong hands-on experience with Rust, C++, or CWillingness to become deeply proficient in Rust, if not alreadyStrong understanding of algorithmic options trading, including automated quoting, execution, pricing, risk controls, and market data workflowsExperience building or maintaining low-latency trading systems, ideally within options or derivatives marketsExperience working with SQL databases in production environments, with PostgreSQL preferredFamiliarity with functional testing, component testing, and production-grade validation practicesStrong understanding of distributed systems, service boundaries, and production reliabilityStrong knowledge of gRPC and experience working with Node.js-based services is preferredPrevious experience with crypto exchange connectivity and/or FPGA technologies is strongly preferredLeadership & Working StyleStrong team player with the ability to lead, mentor, and guide engineersPragmatic approach to problem-solving, system design, and implementationAble to balance latency, reliability, safety, complexity, and delivery speedComfortable making technical decisions under uncertaintyDemonstrates outside-the-box thinking while staying grounded in practical deliveryCommunicates clearly and effectively, especially in unfamiliar or ambiguous contexts where clarity is criticalAble to work closely with traders, quants, risk, product, and infrastructure stakeholdersStrong ownership mindset, especially for production trading systemsOur recruitment philosophyWe value self-awareness and powerful communication skills in our recruitment process. We seek fiercely passionate people who understand themselves and their career goals. We're after those with the right skills and a conscious choice to join our field. The perfect fit? A crypto enthusiast who’s driven, collaborative, acts with ownership and delivers solid, scalable outcomes.Our offerA competitive salary packageAutonomy in your time management thanks to flexible working hours and the opportunity to work remotelyThe freedom to create your own entrepreneurial experience by being part of a team of people in search of excellenceAs an employer we are committed to building a positive and collaborative work environment.
What this role is, and what else it is called
Employers in London advertise this kind of work as Engineering Manager, IT Manager, Chief Technology Officer and Director of Engineering too, so it is worth searching more than one wording. It is a head-of or director level IT Leadership & Management role in London, advertised as fully remote, so it is open to candidates working from home.
About hiring at Keyrock
Keyrock has 2 other live technology roles on its careers page, across IT Leadership & Management and Data, AI & Machine Learning. Of those, 33% are advertised as fully remote and 0% as hybrid. See all Keyrock roles, salaries and stack.
How this role compares to the market
554 live UK roles list C++ right now, from 149 employers. The median advertised salary is £55,000; 48% are advertised as remote. Browse C++ roles.
285 live UK roles list Rust right now, from 64 employers. The median advertised salary is £100,000; 65% are advertised as remote. Browse Rust roles.
London has 4,322 live IT vacancies across 1,364 employers, with a median advertised salary of £70,000. Browse London roles.
Head-of and director-level roles make up 227 of the live UK IT market and advertise a median of £90,000.
Market figures are today's snapshot of live UK roles on employer careers pages; see hiring trends.
Technologies mentioned
Detected on Keyrock's careers page. ProdReady Recruitment lists this vacancy as an aggregator and is not the employer; applications go to the employer's own site. More IT jobs in London.