Head of Market Data Development and Engineering

About the role

In this role, you will be responsible for defining and executing the market data strategy, ensuring high-quality data services for trading and research purposes. You will manage a small team while also engaging in hands-on development to create scalable data architecture and APIs.

You will collaborate with various teams, including trading and quant research, to deliver comprehensive data solutions. Success in this position involves establishing strong vendor relationships, ensuring data quality, and optimizing costs while adhering to regulatory compliance.

The salary range for this position is between $90,000 and $150,000, which reflects the seniority and expertise required.

Skills that matter here

• Problem-solving: This role requires strong problem-solving abilities to navigate complex market data challenges.
• Communication skills: Effective communication is essential for engaging with both technical and business stakeholders.
• Regulatory compliance: You will ensure adherence to exchange licensing and evolving regulatory frameworks.
• Blockchain nodes: Familiarity with blockchain nodes is beneficial for managing crypto data.
• Analytical skills: Analytical skills are crucial for overseeing data quality and normalization.
• Market Data: Expertise in market data is fundamental for developing data strategies and architecture.

Who this role suits

• An experienced leader with over 10 years in market data platforms.
• Someone who thrives in a collaborative environment and can engage with diverse teams.
• A detail-oriented individual with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• A professional comfortable with both hands-on development and strategic oversight.

From the employer

What You’ll Do:

• Market Data Strategy & Architecture
• Define and execute a unified market data strategy across centralized crypto exchanges (CEX), decentralized venues (DEX), and traditional markets.
• Design scalable, low-latency data architecture supporting tick-level, order book, and on-chain data.
• Evaluate build vs. buy decisions for internal data platforms vs. external providers.

• Development Manager and hands on Development
• Lead a small team of developers and be hands on yourself.
• Design and build a Market Data API to front all data sources including custom feedhandlers, vendor platforms, Kdb+, and DataBricks.
• Manage the Market data messaging bus used by all internal applications in the firm.

• Crypto Market Data & Vendor Management
• Build relationships with crypto exchanges (e.g., Binance, Coinbase, Deribit, OKX), data aggregators, and node providers.
• Assist our vendor management team with commercial negotiations, licensing, and exchange agreements across both crypto and traditional markets.

• Data Quality, Normalization & Coverage
• Ensure high-quality, normalized datasets across fragmented crypto venues (symbol mapping, schema standardization, latency benchmarking).
• Oversee ingestion of real-time order book data, trades, reference data, funding rates, and on-chain metrics.
• Establish monitoring and alerting frameworks for data integrity and completeness.

• Cost Management & Optimization
• Manage and optimize the global market data budget across crypto and traditional vendors.
• Identify cost-saving opportunities through vendor consolidation, direct exchange connectivity, and internal data solutions.
• Implement usage tracking and chargeback models where appropriate.

• Infrastructure Partnership
• Partner with infrastructure teams to build the pipes necessary to bring in market data.
• Support hybrid environments (on-prem + cloud) and ensure resilience, redundancy, and scalability.
• Enable data access for research, backtesting, and production trading systems.

• Regulatory & Compliance Oversight
• Ensure compliance with exchange licensing, redistribution rules, and evolving crypto regulatory frameworks.
• Implement entitlement controls, audit trails, and governance policies across all data usage.

• Stakeholder Collaboration
• Work closely with trading, quant research, risk, and portfolio management teams to deliver data solutions.
• Support onboarding of new exchanges, instruments (perpetuals, options), and strategies.
• Act as the firm’s subject matter expert on both crypto and cross-asset market data.

• Leadership & Team Development
• Build and lead a high-performing development team.
• Establish best practices for market data onboarding, validation, and lifecycle management.
• Foster a culture of innovation, automation, and operational excellence.
• Embrace and champion the thoughtful adoption of AI to improve team performance and business outcomes.
• Leverage AI tools (e.g., generative AI, automation platforms, data copilots) to improve productivity, decision-making, and output quality in your day-to-day work.

What We’re Looking For:

• 10+ years of experience in custom development of real-time market data platforms within a trading firm, hedge fund, or financial institution.
• Knowledge of key market data vendors, exchanges, and licensing models.
• Strong understanding of trading workflows, asset classes (equities, futures, options, FX, fixed income), and data types (real-time, reference, historical).
• Experience with low-latency data systems, market data feeds, APIs, and streaming technologies.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to engage both technical and business stakeholders.

Bonus Points:

• Familiarity with on-chain data, blockchain nodes, and crypto data providers.

What We Offer:

• Competitive base salary and discretionary bonus.
• Company-paid health and protective benefits for employees and their eligible dependents.
• Free virtual coaching and counseling sessions.
• Opportunities to learn about the Crypto industry.
• Smart, entrepreneurial, and fun colleagues.
• Employee Resource Groups.
• Free coaching and counseling sessions through Headspace.