Virtualization Engineer (OpenStack)

Location: Philadelphia Area
Department: Technology – Systems Engineering & Infrastructure

About the Role
We’re seeking an experienced Virtualization Engineer to design and build scalable infrastructure for our high-performance trading systems. In this role, you will lead the creation of our next-generation virtualization platform based on OpenStack, replacing an existing 7,500+ guest VMware environment. You’ll work closely with other infrastructure engineers and developers to integrate cutting-edge SAN storage and high-speed networking technologies. This is a hands-on position where you’ll shape a robust, low-latency virtual environment that meets the demanding needs of modern trading.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Automate Everything: Use Python and Bash scripting, along with CI/CD tools like Jenkins, to automate bare-metal and virtual server deployments, monitoring, and maintenance. You’ll expand our library of in-house tools to eliminate manual tasks and focus on performance improvements.
• Optimize Performance: Tune virtualization settings and network stacks for maximum throughput and ultra-low latency. Dive deep into kernel-level tweaks and perform root-cause analysis of system issues – no part of the stack is off-limits if it can improve performance.
• Collaborate Across Teams: Work closely with strategy developers and quantitative researchers to understand business needs. Partner with other infrastructure teams to implement scalable solutions leveraging SAN storage and high-speed networks, bridging the gap between trading strategy and technical execution.
• Build Next-Gen Platforms: Design and implement our next-generation VM infrastructure using OpenStack to replace the existing VMware setup. You will drive this major infrastructure transformation, delivering a more scalable and efficient virtualization platform for the firm.
• Monitor & Plan: Develop effective monitoring and capacity planning tools to keep our compute clusters running at peak performance. Track and visualize cluster capacity, forecast future resource needs, and ensure we stay ahead of growth demands for our trading environment.

What You Bring

• Education: You have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field.
• Experience: 5–7 years of experience building and managing Linux and/or Windows-based high-performance computing (HPC) systems in a production environment.
• Systems Mastery: Deep knowledge of operating system internals and performance tuning. You’re comfortable with kernel and I/O subsystem tweaks and skilled in tools like sysctl, strace, tcpdump, and netstat for debugging and optimization.
• Automation Skills: Hands-on scripting ability in Python and Bash, and experience with automation/CI tools (e.g. Jenkins). You write clean scripts to automate tasks and have a DevOps mindset for infrastructure management.
• Virtualization Expertise: In-depth experience with virtualization technologies, especially OpenStack (experience with similar platforms like Red Hat OpenShift, KubeVirt, or VMware is a plus). You understand how to build and manage cloud-scale virtual machine environments.
• Networking & Storage Savvy: Solid understanding of enterprise storage (SAN) and high-speed networking (low-latency, high-bandwidth) and how to integrate these into virtualized infrastructures. You can troubleshoot network/storage bottlenecks in a virtual environment.

Why This Role

• High Impact & Scale: Be at the forefront of a critical infrastructure overhaul. Your work will directly influence the performance and reliability of our trading platforms, handling thousands of VMs and high-throughput systems that operate in real time. Few opportunities offer this scale of impact in the virtualization space.
• Cutting-Edge Technology: Lead the adoption of OpenStack and other modern technologies in a mission-critical environment. You’ll have the freedom to explore and implement the latest in virtualization, automation, and optimization, driving innovation within the firm.
• Collaborative Culture: Join a global quantitative trading firm where technology, trading strategy, and research come together. You’ll collaborate with talented colleagues across Strategy, Research, and Infrastructure teams. We foster a culture of relentless problem-solving (we even embrace game theory and probabilistic thinking in how we work!), so your ideas and expertise will be valued from day one.
• Professional Growth: This role offers a dynamic, fast-paced environment that will stretch your skills and reward your initiative. You’ll gain deep insights into the trading industry while working on complex technical challenges, all within a team that supports continuous learning and career development.