📍 Job Overview
Job Title: UI: Engineering Manager - C#/.NET
Company: Akuna Capital
Location: Chicago, IL
Job Type: Full-time
Category: UI Engineering Management
Date Posted: 2025-06-09T16:33:32
Experience Level: 5+ years
Remote Status: On-site
🎨 Role Summary
- Lead and mentor a team of C# developers focusing on mission-critical trading interfaces.
- Drive the technical direction, architecture, and UI/UX design principles for high-performance trading applications.
- Collaborate closely with traders and quantitative researchers to translate complex financial requirements into intuitive and efficient user interfaces.
- Ensure the delivery of high-quality, scalable, and operationally excellent software solutions within a fast-paced trading environment.
🖼️ Primary Responsibilities
- Lead, mentor, and manage a team of C#/.NET engineers, fostering a collaborative and high-performing environment.
- Collaborate with stakeholders, including traders and quantitative researchers, to gather requirements and define the product roadmap for trading interfaces.
- Provide technical leadership and guidance on software architecture, design patterns, and best practices for building robust and performant user interfaces using WinForms and WPF.
- Oversee the development lifecycle, ensuring code quality through reviews, implementing testing strategies, and maintaining operational excellence for critical trading applications.
- Translate intricate trading requirements and market dynamics into actionable technical specifications and development plans for the team.
- Contribute to the hands-on development of the trading GUI, particularly on complex architectural or performance-critical components.
🎓 Skills & Qualifications
Education: Bachelor's, Master's, or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or a related technical field is required. Advanced degrees are preferred, particularly for their emphasis on analytical and problem-solving skills relevant to complex systems.
Experience: A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in C#/.NET software development is essential. Prior experience in team leadership or mentoring is strongly preferred and will be a key factor in evaluating candidates. Experience building user interfaces, specifically with WinForms and WPF, is critical.
Required Skills:
- Extensive professional experience with C# and the .NET framework.
- Proven understanding of software design principles, architectural patterns, and best practices.
- Experience in user interface design principles and development, specifically with WinForms and WPF.
- Strong leadership and mentoring abilities, with experience guiding engineering teams.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to effectively communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Experience working with high-performance and real-time systems.
- Demonstrated ability to quickly and accurately solve complex technical and mathematical problems.
Preferred Skills:
- Prior experience in the finance industry, particularly with trading systems or options market making.
- Experience with low-latency system design and optimization.
- Familiarity with modern UI frameworks or design patterns beyond WinForms/WPF is a plus, though not the primary focus.
🎨 Portfolio & Creative Requirements
Portfolio Essentials:
- While a traditional design portfolio showcasing visual design or UX research might not be the primary focus, candidates should be prepared to present examples of complex C#/.NET applications they have built or led, particularly those involving user interfaces (WinForms/WPF).
- Highlight projects where you were responsible for architectural decisions, performance optimization, and ensuring code quality in UI-heavy applications.
- Include examples of how you have translated technical requirements into functional and usable interfaces, even if the aesthetic design was not your primary responsibility.
- Be prepared to discuss the technical challenges faced in building real-time or high-performance UI systems and how you addressed them.
Process Documentation:
- Document the technical design and architectural decisions made in past UI development projects, explaining the rationale behind your choices.
- Describe your approach to ensuring code quality, implementing testing strategies, and managing technical debt in user interface projects.
- Illustrate your collaboration process with stakeholders (like traders or product owners) to define requirements and iterate on UI functionality.
💵 Compensation & Benefits
Salary Range: The minimum base salary for this position starts at $130,000 USD per year, as stated in the job description in accordance with the Illinois Equal Pay Act. The exact compensation may vary based on factors including the candidate's experience, qualifications, and skillset. This estimate aligns with industry standards for Engineering Manager roles with 5+ years of experience in the financial technology sector in Chicago, IL, considering the specialized domain and technical requirements. Research includes salary data from sources like Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, and Payscale for similar roles in the Chicago area financial technology market.
Benefits:
- Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plans.
- Opportunities for a discretionary performance bonus as part of the total compensation package.
- Access to a range of benefits detailed on the Akuna Capital website, likely including retirement plans (e.g., 401k), paid time off, and other potential wellness or professional development benefits.
- Specific details regarding benefits can be found here: https://akunacapital.com/our-culture#benefits.
Working Hours: This is a full-time, on-site position. While specific daily hours aren't listed, roles in trading environments often require availability during market hours and may involve occasional work outside of standard business hours to support critical systems. Expect a commitment of approximately 40 hours per week, with potential for additional hours as needed by trading demands.
🎯Team & Company Context
🏢 Company & Design Culture
Industry: Akuna Capital operates within the Capital Markets industry, specifically specializing as an options market-maker. This requires a strong focus on low-latency technology, data-driven decision-making, and automation. The design implications here are centered on building highly performant, reliable, and intuitive interfaces that provide traders and quantitative researchers with real-time market insights and control over automated systems.
Company Size: With 201-500 employees globally (according to LinkedIn), Akuna Capital is a mid-sized firm. This size often translates to a dynamic environment where individuals can have a significant impact, and communication lines may be relatively direct. For design/UI engineering, it likely means working closely with trading and quant teams in a less siloed structure than larger organizations.
Founded: Founded in 2011, Akuna Capital is a relatively young firm in the financial trading space. Its history suggests a modern approach to technology and trading, emphasizing innovation and agility. This can influence the design culture by fostering a willingness to adopt new technologies and methodologies to gain a competitive edge.
Team Structure:
- The role is for an Engineering Manager leading a team of C# developers dedicated to the core trading GUI.
- The team likely collaborates closely with trading desks, quantitative research teams, and potentially other engineering teams responsible for backend trading systems.
- The reporting structure will involve reporting to a higher-level engineering or technology leader within the organization.
Methodology:
- Given the fast-paced nature of trading, the team likely employs agile methodologies (e.g., Scrum or Kanban) to deliver features and respond to market changes quickly.
- Development practices will emphasize code quality, performance testing, and system reliability due to the critical nature of trading applications.
- Collaboration with traders and quants will involve rapid feedback loops and iterative development cycles.
Company Website: https://www.akunacapital.com
📈 Career & Growth Analysis
Design Career Level: This role is positioned as an Engineering Manager, which is a leadership track within the technology organization. It represents a progression from a senior individual contributor role, focusing on leading and mentoring a team while contributing to technical strategy and product direction. In the context of UI engineering, this level signifies responsibility for the technical health, performance, and evolution of key user-facing systems.
Reporting Structure: The Engineering Manager will likely report to a Director of Engineering, Head of Technology, or a similar leadership position within Akuna Capital's technology hierarchy. This places the role within the management layer responsible for delivering specific technical domains, in this case, the trading GUI.
Design Impact: The impact of this UI engineering role is significant and direct. The trading GUI is the primary tool used by options market makers to understand market conditions, assess risk, and manage automated systems. The performance, usability, and reliability of this interface directly affect the efficiency and profitability of Akuna's trading operations. The Engineering Manager's leadership and technical decisions will have a tangible impact on the firm's core business.
Growth Opportunities:
- Potential advancement to higher-level engineering leadership roles, such as Director or Head of Engineering, overseeing larger teams or broader technical areas.
- Opportunities to deepen expertise in financial markets and trading technology, becoming a subject matter expert in UI for trading systems.
- Expansion of responsibilities to include architectural oversight for a wider range of trading applications or platforms.
- Mentorship and leadership development opportunities through managing and growing the engineering team.
🌐 Work Environment
Studio Type: Akuna Capital's Chicago office serves as a primary hub for their trading and technology operations. As an on-site role, the work environment will be within a professional office setting, likely with areas dedicated to trading desks and engineering teams. The atmosphere in a trading firm is typically fast-paced and dynamic, requiring quick communication and collaboration.
Office Location(s): The primary location for this role is Chicago, IL, specifically at Akuna Capital's office. The exact address is likely within a central business district, common for financial firms. Accessibility via public transportation and availability of amenities in the surrounding area would be typical for such a location.
Design Workspace Context:
- The workspace will likely be designed to facilitate close collaboration between the UI engineering team, traders, and quantitative researchers.
- Proximity to trading desks would be beneficial for real-time feedback and understanding user needs directly.
- Access to multiple monitors and powerful computing resources would be standard, given the nature of developing trading interfaces.
Work Schedule: This is an on-site, full-time position. While standard business hours are expected, the demands of the financial markets may require flexibility. Be prepared for a work schedule that aligns with market hours and potential needs for support or development outside of typical 9-to-5.
📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process
Design Interview Process:
- Initial Screening: Expect an initial call with a recruiter to discuss your background, experience, and interest in the role. Be prepared to briefly highlight your relevant C#/.NET and leadership experience, particularly in building user interfaces or working with real-time systems.
- Technical Interviews: The process will likely involve multiple technical interviews focusing on your C#/.NET expertise, software design principles, data structures, algorithms, and potentially system design related to high-performance or UI applications. Coding exercises or technical problem-solving sessions are probable.
- Leadership and Behavioral Interviews: Interviews will assess your leadership style, team management experience, communication skills, and ability to collaborate with stakeholders. Be prepared to discuss how you mentor team members, handle conflicts, and drive project execution.
- Stakeholder Interaction: You will likely interview with traders or quantitative researchers to evaluate your ability to understand their needs, translate requirements, and communicate technical concepts effectively.
- Managerial Interview: A final interview with the hiring manager or a higher-level leader will likely cover your overall fit with the team and company culture, your vision for the role, and your long-term career goals.
Portfolio Review Tips:
- Focus your portfolio or presentation on demonstrating your technical expertise in C#/.NET UI development. Showcase the architecture, performance considerations, and technical challenges you overcame in past projects.
- Prepare case studies that highlight your process for gathering requirements from non-technical stakeholders (like traders) and translating them into technical solutions.
- Be ready to walk through the code and technical design of a significant UI project you led or contributed to heavily.
- Emphasize any experience with real-time data processing and displaying dynamic information in user interfaces.
Challenge Preparation:
- Prepare for technical coding challenges focused on C#/.NET, algorithms, and data structures.
- Be ready to discuss system design problems related to building scalable and performant user interfaces, especially in a real-time data environment.
- Practice explaining your technical thought process clearly and articulating your design decisions during coding or system design exercises.
ATS Keywords: C#, .NET, WPF, WinForms, UI Development, Software Engineering, Engineering Manager, Team Lead, Technical Leadership, Mentoring, Financial Technology, Trading Systems, Options Trading, Market Making, Low Latency, Real-Time Systems, High-Performance Computing, Software Architecture, Design Patterns, Agile, Scrum, Kanban, Jira, Confluence, Git, CI/CD, SQL, Multithreading, Data Structures, Algorithms, Problem Solving, Communication Skills, Stakeholder Management, Product Ownership, Quantitative Research, Risk Management, User Interface Design, UX Principles (Technical), Performance Optimization, Code Quality, Scalability, Operational Excellence.
🛠 Tools & Technology Stack
Primary Design Tools:
- C#/.NET: The core programming language and framework for developing the trading GUI. Deep expertise is required, including understanding of language features, libraries, and performance optimization techniques.
- WinForms/WPF: The primary UI frameworks used for building the trading interface. Strong proficiency in at least one, ideally both, is essential, including understanding of their respective strengths, weaknesses, and best practices for building complex, data-intensive applications.
- Visual Studio: The integrated development environment (IDE) for C#/.NET development.
Collaboration & Handoff:
- Git: Likely used for version control and collaborative code development.
- Jira/Confluence: Common tools for project management, issue tracking, and documentation within agile teams.
Research & Testing:
- While specific research tools aren't mentioned, the role involves collaborating with quantitative researchers, implying the use of internal or external tools for data analysis and backtesting.
- Testing will involve unit testing, integration testing, and performance testing frameworks within the .NET ecosystem.
👥 Team Culture & Values
Design Values:
- Innovation and Agility: Akuna emphasizes being a "new wave" in tech and trading, suggesting a culture that values innovative solutions and the ability to adapt quickly to market changes. For UI engineering, this means a willingness to explore new technical approaches to improve the trading interface's performance and functionality.
- Data-Driven Decisions: The firm's focus on data-driven solutions implies that UI design and functionality decisions are likely informed by performance metrics, user feedback from traders, and analysis of how the interface is used.
- Collaboration: Akuna highlights a strong focus on collaboration. In this role, this means close interaction with traders, quants, and other engineering teams to deliver integrated solutions.
- Performance and Reliability: Given the nature of high-frequency trading, there is an inherent cultural value placed on building high-performance, reliable, and robust systems. The UI must be responsive and dependable under demanding market conditions.
Collaboration Style:
- Expect a collaborative environment where communication between engineering and trading teams is frequent and direct.
- Agile methodologies likely shape the collaboration, with daily stand-ups, sprint planning, and regular feedback sessions.
- A culture of technical excellence is likely present, encouraging code reviews, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement within the engineering team.
⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities
Design Challenges:
- Performance Optimization: Building a UI that can handle real-time, high-volume market data with minimal latency is a significant technical challenge. This requires deep understanding of performance optimization techniques in C#/.NET and UI frameworks.
- Translating Complex Requirements: Converting the nuanced and often rapidly changing needs of experienced traders and quantitative researchers into intuitive and functional UI features requires strong communication and technical translation skills.
- Maintaining and Evolving Legacy Code: While innovation is valued, working with existing WinForms and WPF codebases may present challenges in terms of modernization, refactoring, and integrating new technologies.
- Balancing Technical Depth with Product Direction: As an Engineering Manager, you'll need to effectively balance hands-on technical contributions with strategic thinking about the product roadmap and team priorities.
Learning & Development Opportunities:
- Opportunities to deepen expertise in high-performance computing and low-latency system design within a demanding financial context.
- Enhanced understanding of financial markets, trading strategies, and quantitative analysis through close collaboration with domain experts.
- Development of leadership and management skills by leading and mentoring a technical team.
- Potential to contribute to the architectural evolution of critical trading systems.
💡 Interview Preparation
Design Process Questions:
- Be prepared to discuss your approach to building performant and scalable user interfaces in C#/.NET, specifically addressing how you handle real-time data feeds and minimize latency. Provide concrete examples from past projects.
- Explain your process for gathering requirements from technical and non-technical stakeholders and translating them into technical specifications and UI implementations.
- Describe your experience with software design patterns and architectural principles as they apply to building maintainable and extensible UI applications. Be ready to discuss the trade-offs of different approaches.
Company Culture Questions:
- Research Akuna Capital's values and recent news. Be prepared to discuss why you are interested in working for a trading firm and specifically Akuna Capital.
- Ask questions about the collaboration between the engineering team and the trading/quant teams. Understand how feedback is incorporated into the development process.
- Inquire about the team's methodology (e.g., Agile practices) and how projects are prioritized and managed.
Portfolio Presentation Strategy:
- Select 2-3 projects that best demonstrate your C#/.NET UI development expertise, particularly those involving complex data display, performance considerations, or real-time updates.
- For each project, clearly articulate the technical challenges you faced, the architectural decisions you made, and the impact of your work. Focus on the "how" and "why" from an engineering perspective.
- If possible, be prepared to show code snippets or walk through the technical implementation details of key components.
📌 Application Steps
To apply for this design position:
- Submit your application through this link on the Akuna Capital careers page.
- Tailor your resume to highlight your C#/.NET development experience, leadership roles, and any prior work in finance or with high-performance systems. Use relevant ATS keywords from the list provided.
- Prepare to discuss specific examples of complex UI applications you have built or managed, focusing on the technical challenges and solutions.
- Research Akuna Capital's business and technology approach to demonstrate your understanding of their domain and why you are a good fit.