Electronic Trading Salaries: What the US Market Tells Us About APAC

By Ollie Chapman, Principal Consultant, Tribus

Recent analysis from eFinancialCareers gives an interesting indication. Using 875 H-1B salary filings from a number of leading US electronic trading firms, the data shows just how much value firms are placing on specialist technology and quantitative skills.

The average reported salaries were:

• Research: $206,061

• Trading: $200,315

• Engineering: $183,768

• All roles: $191,443

These are reported salaries rather than total compensation, so they don't include bonuses, which can make a significant difference at the top trading firms.

At Jane Street, for example, the reported average salary was $298,900 for trading, $300,000 for research and $262,498 for engineering.

At Citadel Securities, it was $242,500 for trading, $266,498 for research and $228,204 for engineering.

It's also worth remembering that this is H-1B salary data, so it represents a particular group of employees rather than the average pay of everyone working at these firms.

Engineering is right up there

It's easy to look at electronic trading and think about traders and quants first.

But engineering salaries in the data are significant too.

At Optiver, the reported average engineering salary was $162,433, compared with $156,596 for trading.

At Tower Research, engineering was reported at $171,042, versus $145,671 for trading.

That isn't particularly surprising when you look at how much of modern trading depends on technology.

Low-latency systems, market data, exchange connectivity and trading infrastructure all need highly specialised engineers behind them.

So what does this tell us about APAC?

The US figures shouldn't be treated as a direct salary benchmark for Hong Kong, Singapore or Sydney.

What they do show is the level of competition for specialist trading technology talent globally.

We're seeing that competition in APAC too.

The profiles firms are competing hardest for include:

• C++ and low-latency engineers

• Electronic trading specialists

• FPGA engineers

• Quant developers

• Market data specialists

• Exchange connectivity engineers

• Trading infrastructure professionals

The common thread is that these aren't generic technology roles. The candidate needs to understand the systems and the trading environment they're operating in.

The combination of engineering and trading experience matters

There are plenty of very good software engineers in the market.

There are far fewer who have strong engineering skills and understand trading systems.

That's particularly noticeable in Python and data engineering, which are two areas I focus on.

A Python developer who has worked alongside a front-office trading team is a very different proposition from someone who has only used Python outside financial markets.

The same goes for data engineering.

If you've worked with live market data, trading systems or front-office teams, you understand the environment in a way that someone coming from a completely different industry may not.

And firms recognise that difference.

What does this mean if you're working in trading technology?

If you're a C++, Python, FPGA, quant development, data engineering or infrastructure specialist, it's worth looking beyond the job title when assessing your market value.

The systems you've worked on, how close you've been to trading and the complexity of the problems you've solved can be just as important as the technology listed on your CV.

That's particularly relevant in APAC, where the pool of experienced trading technology specialists can be relatively small, and firms are increasingly willing to look internationally for the right person.

At Tribus, we work with trading firms and technology professionals across Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney and the wider APAC market.

If you're considering your next move and want to understand where your experience sits in the current market, get in touch for a confidential conversation.

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