looking for HFT firms -- very experienced programmer with knowledge of hardware, networks, etc

[Sig]

I'd recommend you use LinkedIn. Do a search there for "High Frequency Trading Developer". It will simultaneously give you a list of people already doing this and the firms they work for, plus you can get an idea of size of the firms by the number of people who show up. Find any/all of the people you have a nexus with and either link up with them or send them a brief in-mail describing what you're doing asking if they're willing to have a 10 minute call with you to pick their brain on the field. If you pick people that you have something in common with, like the same undergrad school for example, you'd be surprised at how many respond to a cold-call email. When you get the call, don't ask for a job, just again give the brief intro of yourself and what you're looking to do and ask them to talk about themselves, their job, how they got there, what recommendations they have for someone starting out, and always, always ask for one other person they recommend you talk to. You'll find that they love to talk about their favorite person, themselves, and most people like to help out those coming up behind them if, like you, they're no threat. Eventually if this is for you you'll find out about a position coming open or the person to talk to in order to get on the list of those they call when they need someone.
Please do report back on your success. My feeling is that they're going to discriminate against you and go for hot young minds with degrees from a top 5 university or someone who's already worked in finance when they were a hot young mind, mostly because I've seen them do that on the finance side. However I'd hope that the developer side is more of a meritocracy, and although it's hard work it's relatively cheap to network and put your name out there with potentially high professional and financial rewards, so I'd certainly encourage you to give it a try.

 

[Lee-]

I try not to brag much, but I am a hot (although not young) mind. I'm CTO for a tech startup in Chicago (I work remotely aside from a few weeks a year I go to Chicago), although I only have 4 developers for now (trying to hire). I'm an inventor on a few patents, have published research, and am currently contracted to write a book (although this is on a web technology rather than anything related to high performance computing).

You also need to consider my age in a positive way -- I taught myself basically what a BSc in CompSci teaches you while I was still in high school. At that time there weren't a lot of developers and people focused on languages like C, C++, and even assembly. I started using Linux in 1997 (Slackware). Today there is a massive amount of developers, but they mainly know languages that abstract them from the hardware. They don't even know what the difference between stack and heap memory are or really understand what a system call does and how that differs from another type of function. Inline functions, pointers, pages, what are those? They have no idea.

So when I went to university I decided to do comp eng (hardware) since I already was very familiar with software having written a number of little software projects, mainly revolving around raw sockets and various network protocols (IRC was a big interest at the time). For a time I was also reverse engineering software, which is why I originally learned x86 assembly and details of how a CPU functioned (from a software level).

In undergrad I learned even more about hardware. I learned FPGAs (we used VHDL). I built a 32bit MIPS compatible CPU in VHDL, and a 16bit CPU at the silicon level (I mean, we actually had to effectively draw out n-diffused and p-diffused layers crossing polysilicon layers to form transistors, adjust the channel width to control resistance/capacitance which in turn affects switching speeds, bouncing, and other electrical characteristics). I further took additional theoretical math courses to get a minor in mathematics in addition to the mathematics and statistics classes I had to take as part of comp eng (diff eq, multivar calc, fourier and laplace transforms, linear algebra, real analysis, statistics)

With all of this in mind, I feel that HFT is precisely the career fit for me and a HFT firm would receive a benefit from having me on their team. This knowledge of both hardware and software, how they intersect and how one affects the other is something that few developers these day know. They only seem to know languages that abstract them not just from the hardware, but from the operating system itself. The operating system (system calls, memory management, etc) can have a noticeable impact on latency. I also have a demonstrated ability to do new things (by way of the patented work and research I've done that was published and/or presented at research conferences). Combine this with my ability to understand mathematics beyond what the average developer does makes me an ideal candidate (aside from my age, but like I said, I think a lot of these younger developers have a substantial hole in their knowledge base that is not only relevant, but absolutely fundamental to working on low latency systems).

I actually know someone who was in the HFT world as a developer and he said he could get me meetings with some people next time I'm in Chicago, but I suspect I'll need to do this on my own. He's been out of the game for a few years now, so I don't really know how many people who are still working he knows or how much it's going to help me. Still, I'd prefer to get a job on my own merits, not because of someone I know -- not saying I'm going to ignore his assistance, I think I need all the assistance I can get, it's just that I'm doing this additional research and applying in addition.

I'm still trying to collect names of companies, I will certainly try this LinkedIn method -- I've never been big on social networks and barely have any connections on there, so didn't think it was a good method for me, but it will at least help me find company names.

 

[Lee-]

To add, as I said earlier, I'm not doing this because I'm trying to make a lot of money, although that would obviously be a nice side benefit. A few of the companies actually had salary ranges listed and I already make at the high end of those ranges. With the increase in cost of living in Chicago, I'll actually be at a net loss (not counting bonuses, but I haven't a clue what those would be) especially considering the wasted time commuting. That is of course unless the bonuses are large enough to make up for that, but idk.

I'm wanting to do this because it takes advantage of my knowledge base and skills that my current career is wasting. I need the challenge and feel that I would excel at it. I do not want to be a trader. I'm not one of these people who thinks they have some great method of trading. I'm a developer and I know without question I have the skills necessary to excel in this field.

 

[Sig]

I try not to brag much, but I am a hot (although not young) mind. I'm CTO for a tech startup in Chicago (I work remotely aside from a few weeks a year I go to Chicago), although I only have 4 developers for now (trying to hire). I'm an inventor on a few patents, have published research, and am currently contracted to write a book (although this is on a web technology rather than anything related to high performance computing).

You also need to consider my age in a positive way -- I taught myself basically what a BSc in CompSci teaches you while I was still in high school. At that time there weren't a lot of developers and people focused on languages like C, C++, and even assembly. I started using Linux in 1997 (Slackware). Today there is a massive amount of developers, but they mainly know languages that abstract them from the hardware. They don't even know what the difference between stack and heap memory are or really understand what a system call does and how that differs from another type of function. Inline functions, pointers, pages, what are those? They have no idea.

So when I went to university I decided to do comp eng (hardware) since I already was very familiar with software having written a number of little software projects, mainly revolving around raw sockets and various network protocols (IRC was a big interest at the time). For a time I was also reverse engineering software, which is why I originally learned x86 assembly and details of how a CPU functioned (from a software level).

In undergrad I learned even more about hardware. I learned FPGAs (we used VHDL). I built a 32bit MIPS compatible CPU in VHDL, and a 16bit CPU at the silicon level (I mean, we actually had to effectively draw out n-diffused and p-diffused layers crossing polysilicon layers to form transistors, adjust the channel width to control resistance/capacitance which in turn affects switching speeds, bouncing, and other electrical characteristics). I further took additional theoretical math courses to get a minor in mathematics in addition to the mathematics and statistics classes I had to take as part of comp eng (diff eq, multivar calc, fourier and laplace transforms, linear algebra, real analysis, statistics)

With all of this in mind, I feel that HFT is precisely the career fit for me and a HFT firm would receive a benefit from having me on their team. This knowledge of both hardware and software, how they intersect and how one affects the other is something that few developers these day know. They only seem to know languages that abstract them not just from the hardware, but from the operating system itself. The operating system (system calls, memory management, etc) can have a noticeable impact on latency. I also have a demonstrated ability to do new things (by way of the patented work and research I've done that was published and/or presented at research conferences). Combine this with my ability to understand mathematics beyond what the average developer does makes me an ideal candidate (aside from my age, but like I said, I think a lot of these younger developers have a substantial hole in their knowledge base that is not only relevant, but absolutely fundamental to working on low latency systems).

I actually know someone who was in the HFT world as a developer and he said he could get me meetings with some people next time I'm in Chicago, but I suspect I'll need to do this on my own. He's been out of the game for a few years now, so I don't really know how many people who are still working he knows or how much it's going to help me. Still, I'd prefer to get a job on my own merits, not because of someone I know -- not saying I'm going to ignore his assistance, I think I need all the assistance I can get, it's just that I'm doing this additional research and applying in addition.

I'm still trying to collect names of companies, I will certainly try this LinkedIn method -- I've never been big on social networks and barely have any connections on there, so didn't think it was a good method for me, but it will at least help me find company names.

Just to clarify, if it was me looking to hire I'd definitely consider hiring you over the guy who just graduated top of his class at MIT. All the points you make are valid and definitely what you'd want to put forward on your job hunt. I'm just letting you know that there is a bias, in my opinion an unfair bias, against someone like you. Knowing that in advance will allow you to address it up front, which should help you.
I'd also mention that usually these kind of biases impact you most at the screening stage, meaning your application won't even be looked at because you're more than X years out of school or didn't go to one of the schools on their list. Same thing with recruiters, the companies give them a narrow set of criteria and if you don't match they won't put you in front of them as a candidate. If you can get to an actual human for an interview or even a chat, you can quickly dispel them. Hence even more of a need to actively network vice responding to job openings. Not only are these type of openings almost never posted, but if you responded to one you'd almost certainly never get to the point where you were able to showcase your experience and what you could bring to the table. Good luck on your search!

 

[Lee-]

Just to clarify, if it was me looking to hire I'd definitely consider hiring you over the guy who just graduated top of his class at MIT. All the points you make are valid and definitely what you'd want to put forward on your job hunt. I'm just letting you know that there is a bias, in my opinion an unfair bias, against someone like you. Knowing that in advance will allow you to address it up front, which should help you.
I'd also mention that usually these kind of biases impact you most at the screening stage, meaning your application won't even be looked at because you're more than X years out of school or didn't go to one of the schools on their list. Same thing with recruiters, the companies give them a narrow set of criteria and if you don't match they won't put you in front of them as a candidate. If you can get to an actual human for an interview or even a chat, you can quickly dispel them. Hence even more of a need to actively network vice responding to job openings. Not only are these type of openings almost never posted, but if you responded to one you'd almost certainly never get to the point where you were able to showcase your experience and what you could bring to the table. Good luck on your search!

I will need to come up with a way to succinctly address this in my cover letter or adjust my resume to emphasize this somehow. Thank you for your insight on this!

Surprisingly many jobs actually are listing that they want a degree and/or experience (with 5-7+ being common) and while a lot say they prefer someone with finance experience, a lot of them also say no finance experience required. This combination of not necessarily requiring a degree (meaning that I didn't go to a top school may not matter), wanting > 5-7 years exp (so my age might not matter much), and not requiring experience in finance I think means I may have a shot. So I'm focusing on compiling a list of companies with relevant (and interesting) sounding jobs and then I'll start applying.

 

[burnbabyburn]

Ok a couple of comments. I have been a part of a few HFT firms (a couple that failed and a couple that have been doing fairly well), even a few well known ones.

You need to realize that HFT is essentially a "cottage industry", in that the firms are relatively small, even some of the largest HFT firms are maybe 500 - 1000 people. KCG is substantially bigger but that's more because Getco took over KCG. So the standard saying goes, you need to go "find" HFT firms rather than they come and look for you (through job ads, etc).

In my opinion, the "best" source of HFT firms are the Exchange membership announcements, where all exchanges regularly (CME does it monthly) post which firms have successfully become member. Then go to their website and look for anything "technical" and just plain google them (if their ppl have posted about low latency trading, say, 9 times out of 10, they are trying to do HFT). Then you build up a list of potential "targets" fairly fast.

You need to do a lot of "research" about what exactly is a "HFT firm" and the industry that these firms operate in. For instance, do you know what exactly "proprietary trading" (Principled trading) is? Why would a HFT firm become member of exchanges? Unfortunately like most jobs, having some background helps, otherwise you would just trying to become a "technologist", of which unfortunately the "Brand name" of your university education tend to help a great deal. For pure technologists, HFT firms tend to hire mostly from top flight universities (now, please refrain from arguing, "why would you hire from only MIT/Princeton/Stan/Berkerley, my xxxx college / my real world education is just as good ... that's a diff discussion").

You also need to do a lot of "footwork" since you would be so new to the industry. Go to a few conferences (be warned, I would venture 80% of these people who talk at generic conferences about "low latency" or even "high frequency market making", have zero clue what they are talking about, but they know more than you! So go to conferences, and (1) figure out what the industry about, and then (2), find something interesting to say.

If you hang around Chicago (or London, or NY), these conference "scene" long enough, you are bound to know someone who can give you name of a HFT firm to talk to. This is no different from years ago, people would get a job as a Runner / Clerk simply by hanging around Ceres @ CBOT, and talk to anyone with a trading jacket, it is just that HFT guys doesn't wear trading jackets. But by my estimate, if you go to a conference, and look at the guys who doesn't say very much, have glasses, wears jeans and comfortable shoes, and ask questions about market structure (if any), and then tend to leave early during sessions, my experiences is that they are around 50% likely working for Proprietary Trading firms.

Take everything I say with a grain of salt.

 

[2rosy]

unfortunately the "Brand name" of your university education tend to help a great deal.

birds of a feather. I used to think MIT was a large school because there were so many people from there.