Engineering Team Lead - Aladdin Trading, Director - (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

About this role

About BlackRock:
Are you interested in building innovative technology that crafts the financial markets? Do you like working at the speed of a startup, and solving some of the world’s most exciting challenges? Do you want to work with, and learn from, hands-on leaders in technology and finance?

At BlackRock, we are looking for Software Engineers who like to innovate and solve sophisticated problems. We recognize that strength comes from diversity, and will embrace your outstanding skills, curiosity, and passion while giving you the opportunity to grow technically and as an individual.

We invest and protect over $11 trillion (USD) of assets and have an extraordinary responsibility to our clients all over the world. Our technology empowers millions of investors to save for retirement, pay for college, buy a home, and improve their financial well-being.

Being a technologist at BlackRock means you get the best of both worlds: working for one of the most sophisticated financial companies and being part of a software development team responsible for next generation technology and solutions.

Team Overview:

Join the Aladdin Engineering team as a Director of Trade Engineering, where you will lead the design, development, and evolution of our Order and Execution Management Systems (OEMS). This role is central to our strategy for delivering scalable, resilient, and high-performance trading infrastructure across asset classes and geographies.

As the engineering lead for OEMS, you will shape the future of trade lifecycle management—from order generation and routing to execution and post-trade workflows. You’ll guide the architecture and implementation of systems that handle billions in daily trading volume, ensuring they meet the highest standards of reliability, latency, and observability.

This leader works across engineering, product, and support teams to ensure that our trading platform is not only high-performing but also operationally resilient. The role requires close collaboration with teams across the globe, navigating time zones, cultures, and organizational structures to drive alignment and execution. You will be expected to lead cross-functional initiatives that span multiple teams and products, and your decisions will influence dozens of engineers and impact thousands of users across internal and external Aladdin clients.

A key focus of this role is the modernization of our trading infrastructure. You will set the strategic direction for EMS capabilities and FIX infrastructure—re-architecting legacy systems, adopting cloud-native and open-source technologies, and implementing advanced observability frameworks that improve system transparency, performance, and scalability. Your leadership will help drive innovation in execution quality, trade placement logic, and connectivity with liquidity venues—ensuring our platform remains competitive, compliant, and client-centric in a rapidly evolving market landscape.

You will also ensure that engineering efforts align with firm-wide standards for diagnostics, monitoring, and operational excellence. By integrating observability into every layer of the trading stack, you will empower engineering and trading teams with real-time insights and actionable intelligence that enhance system reliability and user experience.

This role demands a visionary mindset—someone who can anticipate market trends, regulatory shifts, and client needs, and translate them into actionable engineering strategies. You will be empowered to shape the future of trading infrastructure in Aladdin, influencing not only how trades are placed and executed, but also how our systems scale, adapt, and evolve in a rapidly changing financial landscape.

What are Aladdin and Aladdin Engineering?

• You will be working on BlackRock's investment operating system called Aladdin. Aladdin is used both internally within BlackRock and externally by many financial institutions. Aladdin combines sophisticated risk analytics with comprehensive portfolio management, trading, and operations tools on a single platform to power informed decision-making and create a connective tissue for thousands of users investing worldwide.
• Our development teams reside inside the Aladdin Engineering group. We collaboratively build the next generation of technology that changes the way information, people, and technology intersect for global investment firms. We build and package tools that manage trillions in assets and supports millions of financial instruments. We perform risk calculations and process millions of transactions for thousands of users every day worldwide!

Being a member of Aladdin Engineering, you will be:

• Tenacious: Work in a fast paced and highly complex environment
• Creative thinker: Analyze multiple solutions and deploy technologies in a flexible way.
• Great teammate: Think and work collaboratively and communicate effectively.
• Fast learner: Pick up new concepts and apply them quickly.

Responsibilities Include:

• Set and execute the strategic vision for EMS capabilities and FIX infrastructure across Aladdin’s trading platform.
• Lead engineering teams in building and scaling high-throughput, low-latency, multi-asset trading systems.
• Drive modernization efforts through cloud-native architecture, open-source adoption, and advanced observability tooling.
• Collaborate globally across engineering, product, and trading teams to deliver fault-tolerant, high-availability systems.
• Own the full lifecycle of engineering initiatives—from design and development to deployment and feedback—working closely with traders to assess impact and usability.
• Partner with product management and business stakeholders to define and evolve the roadmap for OEMS and FIX connectivity.
• Design and deliver innovative solutions to complex trading challenges, proactively identifying risks and resolving roadblocks.
• Apply rigorous software engineering practices including automated testing, CI/CD, code reviews, and DevOps integration.
• Lead project execution using Agile methodologies, ensuring timely delivery of priorities and milestones.
• Foster a culture of technical excellence by mentoring and growing engineering talent, and driving continuous improvement in team productivity and system quality.
• Represent OEMS in cross-functional leadership forums and client-facing engagements.

Qualifications:

• B.E./B.Tech./MCA or equivalent in Computer Science or related field.
• 10+ years of experience in software engineering, with 5+ years in leadership roles.
• Proven track record of managing engineering teams and delivering complex trading systems.
• Deep expertise in FIX protocol, market data feeds, and trading algorithms.
• Strong foundation in Java or C++, with experience in real-time systems and performance optimization.
• Experience with microservices, messaging middleware, and distributed systems.
• Familiarity with observability frameworks (e.g., OpenTelemetry, Grafana) and streaming architectures.
• Experience working in global organizations and managing distributed teams.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to translate business needs into scalable technical solutions.
• Ability to build strong relationships with cross-functional teams and stakeholders.

Skills and Experience:

• Proven experience leading engineering teams and delivering complex, high-quality software projects.
• Experience with FIX protocol, market data feeds, and trading algorithms.
• Proficiency in microservices, REST APIs, and distributed systems.
• Expertise in TCP, Multicast, streaming protocols, and middleware architectures.
• Hands-on experience with JavaScript and TypeScript, including Node.js.
• Skilled in modern frontend frameworks (React, Angular) and micro front-end architectures.
• Strong knowledge of open-source technology stacks (Spring, Hibernate, Maven, JUnit).
• Experience with relational and NoSQL databases.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Interest or experience in finance, investment processes, and translating business needs into scalable technical solutions.

Nice to have:

• Understanding of performance optimization techniques (low/no GC, off-heap caching, kernel bypass, cache locality, CPU pinning, Linux customizations).
• Experience with optimization, algorithms, or quantitative processes.
• Experience with DevOps practices and tools (Azure DevOps).
• Experience with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP).
• Experience with AI-related projects or working in an AI research environment.
• Certifications, advanced degrees, or open-source contributions demonstrating mastery of software engineering principles.

For Toronto, Canada Only the salary range for this position is CAD$185,000.00 - CAD$265,000.00 . Additionally, employees are eligible for an annual discretionary bonus, and benefits including healthcare, leave benefits, and retirement benefits. BlackRock operates a pay-for-performance compensation philosophy and your total compensation may vary based on role, location, and firm, department and individual performance.

Our benefits

To help you stay energized, engaged and inspired, we offer a wide range of benefits including a strong retirement plan, tuition reimbursement, comprehensive healthcare, support for working parents and Flexible Time Off (FTO) so you can relax, recharge and be there for the people you care about.

Our hybrid work model

BlackRock’s hybrid work model is designed to enable a culture of collaboration and apprenticeship that enriches the experience of our employees, while supporting flexibility for all. Employees are currently required to work at least 4 days in the office per week, with the flexibility to work from home 1 day a week. Some business groups may require more time in the office due to their roles and responsibilities. We remain focused on increasing the impactful moments that arise when we work together in person – aligned with our commitment to performance and innovation. As a new joiner, you can count on this hybrid model to accelerate your learning and onboarding experience here at BlackRock.

About BlackRock

At BlackRock, we are all connected by one mission: to help more and more people experience financial well-being.  Our clients, and the people they serve, are saving for retirement, paying for their children’s educations, buying homes and starting businesses. Their investments also help to strengthen the global economy: support businesses small and large; finance infrastructure projects that connect and power cities; and facilitate innovations that drive progress.

This mission would not be possible without our smartest investment – the one we make in our employees. It’s why we’re dedicated to creating an environment where our colleagues feel welcomed, valued and supported with networks, benefits and development opportunities to help them thrive.

For additional information on BlackRock, please visit @blackrock | Twitter: @blackrock | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/blackrock

BlackRock is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity to all applicants and existing employees, and we evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity/expression), sexual orientation, age, ancestry, physical or mental disability, marital status, political affiliation, religion, citizenship status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. View the EEOC’s Know Your Rights poster and its supplement and the pay transparency statement.

 

BlackRock is committed to full inclusion of all qualified individuals and to providing reasonable accommodations or job modifications for individuals with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation/adjustments are needed throughout the employment process, please email Disability.Assistance@blackrock.com. All requests are treated in line with our privacy policy.

BlackRock will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records in a manner consistent with the requirements of the law, including any applicable fair chance law.