VP, Engineering

ninjatrader • Chicago or Remote*

No Relocation

Posted: April 1, 2026

Job Description

What you'll do:

As VP of Product Engineering, you will own end-to-end engineering accountability for the platforms and systems that over 2.5 million traders depend on every day — including Desktop, Web, and Mobile trading applications, as well as the real-time backend infrastructure that powers them. Reporting directly to the CTO, you will lead a multi-director organization with a mandate to build a durable, high-performing engineering organization capable of predictable execution at scale while operating a 24x7 mission-critical trading platform. This role requires driving transformation while maintaining stability.

In this role you will:

Lead a multi-director engineering organization spanning client platforms (Desktop, Web, Mobile) and real-time trading systems; set the tone for engineering culture, accountability, and craft
Own performance management rigorously by establishing clear expectations, running structured calibrations, developing top performers, and addressing underperformance decisively
Build leadership bench strength through strategic hiring and developing existing managers into senior leaders
Partner with the CTO to translate business strategy into organizational design, headcount plans, and capability roadmaps
Establish and enforce elevated engineering standards across code quality, testing rigor, deployment safety, incident response, and on-call excellence
Drive measurable improvements in change failure rate, deployment frequency, and P1 incident trends to enable predictable execution
Champion DORA metrics and SDLC best practices to ensure consistent quality across all teams
Define and own the multi-year technical roadmap for client platforms and core trading systems including OMS, execution engine, market data, and exchange connectivity
Lead platform modernization efforts, including retiring legacy infrastructure, evolving the Scala/Akka trading core, and expanding cloud-native capabilities on GCP while maintaining 99.95%+ uptime
Enforce architectural guardrails and decision frameworks to ensure system coherence
Achieve 80–90%+ roadmap execution through strong planning, prioritization, and delivery cadences
Communicate engineering tradeoffs clearly to executive stakeholders and translate technical complexity into business terms
Partner with Product, Design, Risk, and Compliance to align engineering investments with company priorities
Champion AI-driven engineering initiatives including agentic development, AI-assisted code review, and debugging automation
Measure and report on AI tooling impact across cycle time, defect rates, and developer experience

What you'll need:

15+ years of software engineering experience, including 5+ years leading organizations with multiple Directors or Sr. Engineering Managers
Proven experience owning both client-facing platforms (web, mobile, or desktop) and backend distributed systems within the same role
Demonstrated success improving engineering quality through reduced defect rates, improved deployment safety, and strong SDLC practices
Experience in high-growth fintech, trading, payments, or similarly high-stakes environments where reliability has financial impact
Deep expertise in distributed systems, event-driven architecture, low-latency systems, and cloud-native infrastructure (GCP or equivalent)
Strong command of engineering delivery metrics such as DORA, change failure rates, and incident management
Executive-level communication skills with the ability to translate technical complexity into business outcomes
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience

Bonus points for:

Background in capital markets, brokerage, or futures and derivatives technology
Experience with real-time trading systems such as OMS, EMS, exchange connectivity, or market data infrastructure
Proficiency in C++, Java, Scala, Go, or similar programming languages
Experience implementing AI-powered developer productivity tools at scale
Experience navigating post-acquisition engineering integration

Compensation:

The salary range for this role will be $275,000.00 - $325,000.00 USD. In addition, this position will also receive an annual target bonus of 20%. Bonus pay at NinjaTrader is based on individual performance (50%) as well as company/team performance (50%).

Salary and bonus earnings are only two components of the total compensation package offered by NinjaTrader. NinjaTrader offers a 401K plan through ADP under which the company will match up to 3.5% of employee contributions. Annual paid time off allowance accrues at a rate of 23 days per year (some positions may qualify for more) plus seven paid holidays.

Location:

This role is based in Chicago, IL. *There may be remote flexibility for exceptional candidates in the following states: California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington DC, Wisconsin.

Hybrid:

For Chicago-based employees, we follow a hybrid work schedule: In-office Tuesday through Thursday, with remote work on Mondays and Fridays. In addition to these weekly remote days, we offer:

20 additional flex remote days annually
5 Company Wide Office-Optional weeks tied to major holidays

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