What sparked your interest in IMC? How did you come to know about us?

I first heard about IMC while studying computer engineering at university. I was interested in trading and joined the Algorithmic Trading Society, which IMC sponsored. When I found out there was a job where I could combine my love of electronics with my interest in trading, I applied immediately!

Can you describe what a typical day looks like for you?

In the Hardware team, we develop custom hardware for IMC's trading applications. Latency is key at IMC, so we focus on optimising our hardware descriptions to remove as many unnecessary delays or pipelines as possible. The work requires a lot of collaboration. We work together with traders, network engineers, performance engineers, and software engineers to improve IMC's execution on exchanges. Every couple of months, we each do a shift as “Engineer of the Week”. This involves providing instant support for issues in production and on exchanges. These weeks are a very exciting opportunity to get more exposure to IMC’s trading activities.

Which qualities or skills are essential for excelling in your role?

It’s essential to have a good understanding of what a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is and how it works. FPGAs can be particularly challenging to debug, so a thorough and analytical approach to debugging is also highly valuable. And software knowledge is also an advantage, as our hardware never operates in isolation.

Things happen fast at IMC. It’s part of what makes working here so exciting! Above all, an engineer should be able to respond quickly and decisively to issues as they arise and prioritise the most important issues.

What motivates you to perform at your best?

The opportunity to work on fascinating projects alongside a talented team of engineers is a key driver for me. There are so many incredibly interesting problems to solve: their constraints and complexity push me to come up with creative solutions, using technology at the cutting edge of what’s currently possible.

What about IMC impresses you the most?

The company's culture. It’s a friendly and open workplace, where people are open-minded to new ideas and always happy to answer questions.

Specific to the FPGA team, I was blown away by the release velocity we maintain for our hardware. It’s a matter of hours between making a change and testing the new hardware. Compare this to traditional hardware development, where the iteration cycle is measured in months or years, and you’ll understand my amazement!

What valuable advice do you have for individuals applying to IMC?

Ask questions and be curious. If you don’t know something, be honest. IMC has a very open culture that highly values honesty. It’s also the best way to learn.

Interested in a career at IMC?