What APAC Trading Firms Look for When Hiring Technology Professionals

By Frazer Ashman, Senior Consultant, Tribus

If you work in technology and are considering a move into trading or financial markets, it can be difficult to know exactly what firms are looking for.

We speak to engineers, quant developers and trading technology specialists across APAC every week, and the same questions come up regularly. Does the company on your CV matter? Which programming languages are in demand? Is a move from a hedge fund to a prop trading firm realistic? And what can you actually expect to earn?

There isn't one answer to all of these questions, but there are some consistent themes in the market.

Does your current employer matter?

It matters, but probably not in the way you might think.

Having a recognisable name on your CV can help, particularly when you're applying to a highly competitive firm. But once you're speaking to a technical hiring manager, the conversation quickly moves on to what you have actually worked on.

A strong engineer from a smaller firm who has spent several years working on complex, low-latency systems can be much more relevant to a trading firm than someone from a well-known technology company whose experience isn't particularly close to the problems they are trying to solve.

The type of environment you've worked in does matter.

Someone coming from a modern, performance-critical environment will generally find the move into electronic trading more straightforward than someone whose experience has mainly been with legacy systems or batch processing.

The key is being able to explain the technical problems you've worked on and the part you played in solving them.

Which programming languages are in demand?

It depends heavily on the role.

For low-latency and trading systems positions, C++ remains one of the most important skills in the APAC market. Firms are looking for engineers who understand much more than the language itself, including performance, concurrency, memory management and systems architecture.

Python is much more widely used across the industry and is particularly common in quantitative research, data engineering, infrastructure and other front-office technology roles.

We're also seeing more interest in Rust, particularly for performance-sensitive applications. The supply of experienced Rust engineers remains relatively limited, which is one reason compensation for these candidates can be high.

But having a particular language on your CV isn't enough by itself.

The strongest candidates tend to have genuine depth in one or two areas and can explain the decisions they've made throughout their career. A hiring manager is much more interested in how you used C++ to solve a difficult engineering problem than simply seeing “C++” listed under your technical skills.

What are trading firms looking for in senior hires?

At senior level, firms want evidence rather than a list of responsibilities.

If you tell a hiring manager that you helped build a trading platform, they'll want to know what you actually did.

What was the problem? What did you own? What changed as a result?

Perhaps you reduced latency, improved system reliability, rebuilt part of an infrastructure platform or solved a difficult scaling issue. Whatever it was, being able to explain the outcome makes a much stronger impression than simply describing the project.

Experience working close to live trading can also be valuable.

Engineers who understand how their systems interact with traders, market data and execution tend to have a much better understanding of the environment they're moving into.

Prop trading or hedge fund?

This is another question we get regularly, and the answer really comes down to the type of work you want to do.

At a proprietary trading firm, technology is directly tied to the firm's trading activity. Engineers can have significant ownership of the systems they build, from market connectivity and execution through to the infrastructure supporting trading strategies.

A multi-strategy hedge fund can look quite different.

Large firms may have hundreds of portfolio managers and investment teams, all with different requirements. The technology challenge is therefore often about building infrastructure that can support a much broader and more complex organisation.

That can mean working on data platforms, research environments, infrastructure, cybersecurity, developer tooling or trading systems.

Neither route is necessarily better. They're simply different environments, and candidates should think about the kind of problems they want to spend their time solving.

What are technology salaries like in APAC?

Compensation varies considerably depending on the location, role, seniority and firm.

Sydney is an established market for trading technology. Production and application support engineers can earn around AU$180K–AU$300K in total compensation, while SRE and trading infrastructure positions can reach AU$250K–AU$450K+.

For senior Linux and low-latency engineers, packages can move beyond AU$400K.

At the very top end of the market, highly experienced C++ engineers across APAC can reach total compensation of US$1 million or more.

Hong Kong is another particularly active market for trading technology. At smaller proprietary trading firms, strong candidates can see base salaries starting at around HK$1.4 million, with total compensation potentially considerably higher depending on the role and performance.

We're also seeing strong packages for specialist skills. Rust engineers can command around US$300K–US$400K, while experienced Python engineers working in front-office roles can earn approximately US$200K–US$450K.

The overall package is important too.

Sign-on bonuses and buyouts are increasingly common, particularly when a candidate is leaving behind a significant bonus. Relocation support is also often available for candidates moving between countries.

Do you need to be based in APAC?

Not necessarily.

One of the interesting things about APAC trading technology recruitment is how international the market has become.

The right candidate for a particular C++ or trading infrastructure role may simply not be available in Hong Kong, Sydney or Singapore. Firms therefore regularly look overseas, particularly for specialist engineering positions.

Around 75% of our APAC placements last year involved a geographic move.

For candidates, this can work in their favour. If your skills are difficult to find locally, being open to relocation can significantly increase the number of opportunities available to you.

Relocation packages can cover flights, visas and accommodation, depending on the firm and the circumstances of the move.

What about counteroffers?

If you're an experienced technology professional in trading or financial markets, there's a good chance your current employer will make a counteroffer when you resign.

Before accepting one, it's worth going back to the reason you started looking.

If you're leaving because you want different technology, greater responsibility, a change of environment or better career progression, a salary increase may not address the underlying issue.

Money can obviously be a factor, particularly when you're walking away from a deferred bonus.

This is something we recommend candidates raise early in the recruitment process rather than waiting until they've received an offer. Depending on the situation, the new firm may be able to help through a sign-on bonus or buyout.

Having that conversation early gives everyone a much clearer picture of what's possible.

What makes a candidate stand out?

The candidates who do well in this market tend to be very specific about their experience.

They can explain what they built, the problems they encountered and how they solved them. They know the systems they've worked on inside out and can explain the reasoning behind their technical decisions.

That's particularly important when interviewing with highly technical trading firms. The people interviewing you are often engineers themselves, so vague answers aren't going to get you very far.

Preparation matters too.

Understanding the firm you're interviewing with, the markets it operates in and the type of technology it uses will help you have a much more useful conversation than simply turning up with a list of technical skills.

Ultimately, firms want to understand two things: can you solve the problems they have, and have you already worked on problems of a similar level of complexity?

Looking at APAC trading technology opportunities?

The APAC market continues to offer opportunities for C++, Python and Rust engineers, quant developers, data engineers, SREs and other technology specialists with financial markets experience.

The right opportunity will depend on your background, technical specialism and the type of environment you're looking for.

Tribus works with trading firms, hedge funds and technology teams across Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney and the wider APAC market.

If you're considering a move, get in touch with the Tribus team to discuss the market and where your experience could fit.

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