Distributed Compute Tech Lead

Company: Selby Jennings
Location: Chicago
Posted on: February 20, 2026

Job Description:

Job Description Job Description An elite high frequency trading firm is seeking a Distributed Compute Tech Lead to design and operate large-scale computing systems that powers quantitative research. This role focuses on improving research efficiency by building robust infrastructure, APIs, and libraries that abstract complexity and enable researchers to innovate faster. You will serve as a bridge across disciplines, collaborating with researchers, engineers, and leadership to shape technology direction and strategy for the firm's research platform. Key Responsibilities Architect and operate distributed or high-performance computing systems at scale, ensuring reliability, scalability, and performance. Design and implement APIs and libraries that abstract infrastructure complexity, making compute resources easily accessible to researchers. Optimize job scheduling and resource allocation using tools like SLURM and other HPC schedulers. Collaborate with researchers to identify bottlenecks and deliver solutions that accelerate research workflows. Partner with leadership and cross-functional teams to define technology strategy and influence long-term direction. Develop automation and orchestration tools for compute-intensive tasks. Establish best practices for distributed computing and mentor team members on HPC resource management. Required Qualifications Bachelor's degree in computer science or equivalent Minimum of 5 years of experience in architecting Distributed or High Performance Computing systems, and designing and scaling research clusters. Strong expertise in Python for building tools, automation, and APIs. Familiarity with C++ for performance-critical components. Extensive experience with job schedulers (e.g., SLURM) and distributed computing frameworks. Proven experience architecting and operating distributed or HPC systems at scale. Strong background in building developer-facing APIs or libraries that abstract infrastructure. Ability to collaborate across disciplines and influence technology strategy. Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-performance environment. Preferred Qualifications Experience in financial services or high-frequency trading environments. Knowledge of containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and cloud/HPC hybrid setups. Familiarity with performance profiling and tuning for large-scale systems. Company Description Operating as part of Phaidon International, Selby Jennings is a multi-award winning global recruitment organization focused on servicing the financial industry. By breaking down financial markets into individual niches and micro-specialisms, Selby Jennings powers a knowledge-led model, delivering global solutions into local markets. Every consultant is an expert in their field. Structuring our teams to mirror the demands of our clients and candidates, we identify, qualify and present the highest caliber candidates, as well as identifying the best market opportunities for leading finance professionals. We work in partnership with clients to tailor-make a suitable search model based on the type of assignment and client service level requirements, adopting a bespoke combination of solutions to ensure optimum reach into the active and passive market places. From our offices around the world, we recruit beyond international boundaries, pro-actively sourcing the best talent in the industry. Across contingent, retained, and project solutions, our service is unrivaled; speaking to our level of service provision, search accuracy, and flexibility. Company Description Operating as part of Phaidon International, Selby Jennings is a multi-award winning global recruitment organization focused on servicing the financial industry.\r\n\r\nBy breaking down financial markets into individual niches and micro-specialisms, Selby Jennings powers a knowledge-led model, delivering global solutions into local markets. Every consultant is an expert in their field. Structuring our teams to mirror the demands of our clients and candidates, we identify, qualify and present the highest caliber candidates, as well as identifying the best market opportunities for leading finance professionals.\r\n\r\nWe work in partnership with clients to tailor-make a suitable search model based on the type of assignment and client service level requirements, adopting a bespoke combination of solutions to ensure optimum reach into the active and passive market places.\r\n\r\nFrom our offices around the world, we recruit beyond international boundaries, pro-actively sourcing the best talent in the industry. Across contingent, retained, and project solutions, our service is unrivaled; speaking to our level of service provision, search accuracy, and flexibility.

Keywords: Selby Jennings, Cicero , Distributed Compute Tech Lead, IT / Software / Systems , Chicago, Illinois