KDB+ Developer

Role: KDB+ Developer Location: London, UK (Hybrid) Employment type: Contract Key Responsibilities KDB+ Engineering & Performance • Develop and enhance server-side KDB+/q components across tick capture, ETL, and query layers • Optimise performance across real-time and historical data workflows, with a focus on latency, throughput, and scalability • Implement efficient data models and storage strategies aligned to high-volume market data use cases Platform Engineering & Delivery • Design and build scalable solutions for real-time and batch data ingestion • Contribute to the ongoing re-architecture of the KDB+ platform, improving resilience and extensibility • Deliver high-quality code through disciplined SDLC practices, testing, and peer review • Ensure robustness across data pipelines, including fault tolerance, recovery, and data integrity Stakeholder Engagement • Work closely with traders, quants, and technologists to translate requirements into performant data solutions • Engage in problem-solving aligned to real trading use cases rather than abstract engineering tasks • Communicate clearly on delivery progress, trade-offs, and technical constraints System Optimisation & Support • Continuously improve platform performance, stability, and operational efficiency • Support users in accessing and querying large-scale datasets effectively • Identify and address bottlenecks across data ingestion, storage, and query layers Required Experience & Skills KDB+ / q Expertise • Strong experience developing server-side KDB+ applications in enterprise or trading environments • Deep understanding of KDB+ internals, including: • Table structures (flat, splayed, partitioned, attributes) • Functional programming constructs and adverbs (each, over, etc.) • Parallel processing (peach, secondary processes) • Interprocess communication (hopen, synchronous vs asynchronous messaging) • High-volume data ingestion techniques (0:, read0/read1, named pipes, .Q.fs, .Q.fps) • Experience with established KDB+ frameworks (e.g. TorQ or equivalent) Systems & Engineering Fundamentals • Strong grounding in concurrency, algorithms, and data structures • Experience working with distributed, low-latency data systems • Solid Linux/Unix and shell scripting capability • Exposure to Java and/or Python is advantageous Domain Expertise • Experience with electronic trading platforms or market data systems • Understanding of cross-asset trading workflows and data lifecycles