Photon
Technical Architect_US
Photon - Dallas
Work at Photon
Overview
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Overview
Job Description
About the Role
We are seeking a seasoned Backend Architect with deep expertise in regulated financial systems , trading platforms , and end-to-end trading infrastructure to lead the architecture and backend development of a greenfield Futures Commodity Commissions Market (FCM) platform .
This product will power a federally regulated sports prediction market , akin to Robinhood's financial trading model, requiring full compliance with CFTC and NFA regulations. You will design, architect, and oversee the buildout of a highly scalable, secure, and compliant trading platform operating in a high-performance AWS cloud-native environment.
This role is critical in shaping the front-office (OMS), mid-office (clearing and settlement), and back-office (reporting and compliance) infrastructure from scratch. You'll be expected to act as both a strategic architect and a hands-on engineer .
Key Responsibilities
Architecture & System Design
Compensation, Benefits and Duration
Minimum Compensation: USD 72,000
Maximum Compensation: USD 252,000
Compensation is based on actual experience and qualifications of the candidate. The above is a reasonable and a good faith estimate for the role.
Medical, vision, and dental benefits, 401k retirement plan, variable pay/incentives, paid time off, and paid holidays are available for full time employees.
This position is available for independent contractors
No applications will be considered if received more than 120 days after the date of this post
About the Role
We are seeking a seasoned Backend Architect with deep expertise in regulated financial systems , trading platforms , and end-to-end trading infrastructure to lead the architecture and backend development of a greenfield Futures Commodity Commissions Market (FCM) platform .
This product will power a federally regulated sports prediction market , akin to Robinhood's financial trading model, requiring full compliance with CFTC and NFA regulations. You will design, architect, and oversee the buildout of a highly scalable, secure, and compliant trading platform operating in a high-performance AWS cloud-native environment.
This role is critical in shaping the front-office (OMS), mid-office (clearing and settlement), and back-office (reporting and compliance) infrastructure from scratch. You'll be expected to act as both a strategic architect and a hands-on engineer .
Key Responsibilities
Architecture & System Design
- Architect and lead development of a scalable and compliant backend system for binary trading markets (e.g., sports futures).
- Design and implement:
- Order Management System (OMS): Trade matching, limit orders, and execution.
- Clearing House Connectivity: Integration of trade flows and money movement with clearing partners.
- Compliance Subsystems: Regulatory checks (pre-trade, post-trade), CFTC/NFA reporting, and audit trails.
- Back Office Reporting: Generation of trade statements, end-of-day summaries, DCO (Derivatives Clearing Organization) communications.
- Work with Product, Compliance, Frontend, and Legal to define business and regulatory requirements.
- Collaborate with frontend engineers (SwiftUI, Jetpack Compose, Next.js) to define RESTful and event-driven APIs via AWS API Gateway.
- Partner with finance and operations teams to define MVP requirements for trade reconciliation and reporting.
- Build and mentor backend teams (onshore and offshore) through implementation, code reviews, and deployment.
- Produce architecture documentation, technical specifications, and estimation for Statements of Work (SOW).
- Evaluate and integrate third-party systems or vendors (e.g., FIS ) when needed.
- Design AWS-native architecture leveraging services like DynamoDB, Kafka, EC2, EKS, CloudWatch .
- Establish secure CI/CD pipelines with observability, logging, failover, and alerting.
- Ensure all components are compliant with CFTC, NFA , and industry-standard financial protocols.
- Languages: .NET Core, C++ (low-latency, high-throughput systems)
- Cloud: AWS (DynamoDB, EC2, Kafka, EKS)
- Data: Cloud-native pipelines, real-time messaging
- Architecture: Microservices, event-driven architecture
- Compliance: CFTC, NFA reporting workflows, KYC/AML frameworks
- DevOps: CI/CD pipelines, secure deployments, observability frameworks
- 12+ years of backend system design experience in regulated, high-performance environments .
- Proven expertise building systems for financial markets, commodities, or exchanges .
- Strong coding experience with C++ on .NET , especially for performance-critical systems.
- Deep knowledge of CFTC/NFA regulations and compliance reporting.
- Experience designing OMS, clearing workflows , and fund transfer protocols .
- Demonstrated success deploying AWS-native systems for real-time applications.
- Strong written and verbal communication; ability to document and explain complex systems to business and technical stakeholders.
- Experience building or integrating with third-party clearing vendors (e.g., FIS).
- Prior experience with prediction markets , sports betting , or gaming platforms .
- Knowledge of federally regulated environments vs. state-by-state compliance.
- Hands-on experience delivering Back Office systems with little external guidance.
- Strategic thinker with hands-on development expertise.
- SME-level understanding across Front Office (OMS) , Mid Office (Clearing/Funding) , and Back Office (Regulatory & Reporting) domains.
- Proactive problem solver who can operate in ambiguity and define product/tech direction.
Compensation, Benefits and Duration
Minimum Compensation: USD 72,000
Maximum Compensation: USD 252,000
Compensation is based on actual experience and qualifications of the candidate. The above is a reasonable and a good faith estimate for the role.
Medical, vision, and dental benefits, 401k retirement plan, variable pay/incentives, paid time off, and paid holidays are available for full time employees.
This position is available for independent contractors
No applications will be considered if received more than 120 days after the date of this post