Senior Software Engineer - NewMarkets Japan

About the role

This Senior Software Engineer position at Alpaca focuses on developing and maintaining critical systems specifically for the Japanese financial market. The role involves designing highly scalable and mission-critical brokerage systems, as well as enhancing middle and back-office services. This includes working with gRPC microservices, REST and gRPC APIs, and integrating with third-party vendors to support the company's expanding presence in Japan.

The engineer will collaborate closely with Alpaca's core teams to evolve the foundational framework of their services. A key aspect of this role is coordinating with local regulators, vendors, partners, and business stakeholders in Japanese. The work also includes troubleshooting incidents and bugs to ensure system integrity and performance, contributing to the operational reliability of the platform.

Success in this role means delivering robust, high-availability financial applications that meet regulatory compliance in Japan. It requires a deep understanding of financial systems and accounting principles for transaction reconciliation. The engineer will also participate in regional recruitment efforts and mentor team members on engineering practices, contributing to the overall growth and expertise of the team.

The annual salary for this role ranges from $98,000 to $162,000 USD, in addition to stock options.

Skills that matter here

• Go: This role requires proficiency in Go for designing and developing financial systems and microservices.
• gRPC: The engineer will develop and enhance middle and back-office systems using gRPC microservices and APIs.
• REST APIs: The position involves developing and enhancing systems that utilize REST APIs for various integrations.
• double-entry accounting: A strong understanding of accounting principles, including double-entry accounting, is necessary for transaction reconciliation within financial systems.
• financial systems: The role demands proven experience in designing and developing complex financial systems, particularly for brokerage operations.
• high-availability applications: The engineer will build scalable, high-availability financial applications to ensure continuous service.

Who this role suits

• A person who thrives on designing and implementing complex, mission-critical financial systems.
• Someone who is comfortable coordinating with various stakeholders, including regulators and partners, in a regional context.
• An individual who enjoys troubleshooting and maintaining system integrity, participating in on-call rotations.
• A mentor who can guide teammates on engineering principles and practices.

From the employer

Your Role:

As a Senior Engineer, you will be responsible for:

• Designing, implementing, and maintaining the systems and services that form Alpaca's foundation.
• Contributing to regional recruitment initiatives and driving cross-functional team projects.
• Mentoring teammates with respect to our engineering principles and practices.
• Participating in operational reliability engineering during regional business hours.

Things You Get To Do:

• Design highly scalable, mission-critical brokerage systems for the Japan market.
• Develop and enhance middle- and back-office systems, including gRPC microservices, REST and gRPC APIs, and third-party vendor integrations.
• Collaborate with Alpaca's core teams to enhance and transform the core framework.
• Coordinate in Japanese with local regulators, vendors, partners, and business stakeholders.
• Troubleshoot incidents and reported bugs to maintain system integrity and performance.
• Participate in on-call rotations and assist with timely engineering projects.

Who You Are (Must-Haves):

• Native or JLPT N1 level fluency in Japanese.
• Business-level English fluency.
• Proven experience in designing and developing complex financial systems.
• Strong understanding of accounting principles and transaction reconciliation.
• Experience in building scalable, high-availability financial applications.
• Familiarity with regulatory compliance requirements in financial markets, preferably in Japan.
• Proficiency in at least one statically typed language (e.g. Go, Rust, Java).
• Strong communication skills to collaborate effectively with global teams.
• Strong computer science fundamentals and proven software engineering architecture experience.

How We Take Care of You:

• Competitive Salary & Stock Options
• Health Benefits
• New Hire Home-Office Setup: One-time USD $500
• Monthly Stipend: USD $150 per month via a Brex Card