About BestEx Research
BestEx Research is an award-winning, high-growth, profitable algorithmic trading technology fintech company that executes over a trillion dollars in notional volume algorithmically for institutional clients. With 75 employees across offices in the US, London, Singapore, and India, we build the systems that power best-execution trading at global scale. We are expanding rapidly and looking for a technology leader to drive our next phase of growth.
The Role
We are looking for a CTO based in India to lead all software engineering and DevOps operations across our Indian offices. This is a senior leadership role reporting directly to the CEO, with full ownership of the technology organization in India and a seat at the table on company-wide technical strategy.
You will lead multiple engineering teams spanning market data systems, trading engines, strategy containers, simulation infrastructure, front-end/AMS platforms, and DevOps — ensuring that BestEx’s technology is scalable, reliable, and positioned at the cutting edge.
This is not a figurehead role. We need someone who combines deep technical credibility with the ability to build and lead high-performing teams, set culture, and deliver.
What You’ll Do
Technical Leadership & Architecture
- Own the overall technical architecture and technology roadmap across all trading systems and infrastructure
- Provide hands-on architectural guidance to engineering teams - market data, trading systems, strategy/simulation, front-end (AMS), and DevOps
- Ensure systems are scalable, maintainable, well-documented, and built to institutional-grade reliability standards
- Evaluate and introduce new technologies (e.g., AI/ML, modern data infrastructure) where they create real competitive advantage
- Establish and enforce engineering best practices — code quality, testing, CI/CD, monitoring, incident response, and documentation
- Collaborate closely with the quantitative research team to translate strategies into production-grade systems
Team & Culture
- Manage and grow engineering teams in Bengaluru (trading software) and Kerala (DevOps)
- Recruit, retain, and develop top engineering talent in a competitive market
- Set the engineering culture — high standards, ownership, transparency, and mutual respect
- Be the kind of leader that strong engineers want to work for
- Manage project timelines, priorities, and delivery commitments across multiple workstreams
Organizational
- Report directly to the CEO and serve as the senior technology voice in company leadership
- Coordinate with global teams across US, London, and Singapore offices
- Balance operational excellence (keeping the wheels running) with forward-looking investment in new capabilities
What We're Looking For
Must Have
- 15+ years of software engineering experience, with significant time in leadership/management roles overseeing multiple teams
- Deep expertise in C++ - this is non-negotiable. Our core trading infrastructure is built in C++, and you must be able to architect, evaluate, and guide low-latency system design at a high level. You don’t need to write code daily, but you need to think in C++ fluently enough to make the right architectural decisions
- Proven track record of building, scaling, and leading engineering organizations (not just individual teams)
- Strong architectural instincts - you can design systems that are performant, resilient, and maintainable at scale
- Experience with low-latency, high-throughput, or mission-critical systems (financial trading systems strongly preferred)
- Excellent people leadership - you set high standards, earn respect, and create an environment where talented engineers do their best work
- Hands-on enough to evaluate technical decisions and mentor senior engineers, strategic enough to set direction
- Experience managing geographically distributed teams
- Strong communication skills and comfort working directly with C-level leadership
Strongly Preferred
- Direct experience with electronic/algorithmic trading systems - market data, order management, execution, FIX protocol, exchange connectivity
- Familiarity with quantitative trading workflows and collaboration with research teams
- Experience with modern DevOps practices, cloud infrastructure, and containerization at scale
- Exposure to AI/ML technologies and a practical perspective on where they add value
The Right Person
- Leads from the front - not a delegator who disappears behind process
- Combines technical depth with organizational maturity
- Is decisive but collaborative
- Cares about building something real, not just managing headcount
- Thrives in a lean, high-impact environment (we are 75 people, not 7,500)
Compensation & Benefits
We offer a highly competitive package reflecting the seniority and importance of this role, including:
- Base salary - top of market for India-based technology leadership
- Performance bonus - meaningful annual cash bonus tied to individual and company performance
- Equity participation - ownership stake in a profitable, high-growth firm
*BestEx Research is an equal opportunity employer.*
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