Regional IT Lead (EMEA)

About Us

FlexTrade Systems is a provider of customized multi-asset execution and order management trading solutions for buy- and sell-side financial institutions. Through deep client partnerships with some of the world's largest, most complex and demanding capital markets firms, we develop the flexible tools, technology and innovation that deliver our clients a competitive edge. Our globally distributed engineering teams focus on adaptable technology and open architecture to develop highly sophisticated trading solutions that can automate and scale with your business strategies.

At FlexTrade, we hold our values close to heart, with pride and gratitude, as they guide us in everything that we do. We are dedicated to giving our clients a competitive edge, taking ownership of our responsibilities, being flexible to adapt to ever changing environment and technology, bringing integrity to ever interaction and we continue to improve, grow together and collaborate as one team. All of these while having fun truly makes FlexTrade a wonderful place to work.

The Team

As a financial services technology vendor that delivers mission critical Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) to our clients, FlexTrade’s IT Infrastructure Operations is vital to our business and foundational to customer success. You will be a vital asset to the leadership of FlexTrade’s IT Infrastructure Operations, who play an integral role in the business, keeping our revenue generating SaaS environment free from downtime. This ensures we can deliver a high level of service to our diverse set of clients, including large asset managers, hedge funds, banks and brokers which in turn maintains FlexTrade's reputation as a market leader in Electronic Trading space. This presents an exciting challenge for the Regional IT Lead.

We are actively seeking experienced candidates to lead our London based Network and IT Infrastructure team that supports FlexTrade’s EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa – incl. UK) based Operations.  The Regional IT Lead (EMEA) will lead a team of 4+ team members and report into the Global IT Infrastructure Operations Lead (based in Great Neck, NY). However, this leader will be expected to operate independently and be the primary point of contact for the business leaders and clients in EMEA for all matters relating to our SaaS hosting operations.

About You

The successful applicant will have experience in leading small teams as well as hands on knowledge of running and maintaining a SaaS hosting environment. This position is responsible for ensuring effective delivery of services and successful delivery of key infrastructure and network projects through both team management and direct contribution. This position will also be a key enabler driving collaboration with IT Infrastructure Operations Teams based in AMS and APAC.

Responsibilities

• Managing the SaaS infrastructure in multiple data centers

• Managing the Global O/S and Platform team.

• Provide strategic direction and oversight for the design, development, operation and support of IT systems to deliver FlexTrade’s solutions.

• Ensure effective service delivery and management through timely project delivery and working closely with our Client Services team to handle onboardings and client requests.

• Provide technical design and architecture knowledge on project implementations.

• Ensure that all implementations meet high standards for robustness, stability and scaling.

• Manage in rota and on-call coverage for the running of the FlexTrade SaaS environment.

• Manage team who handle service requests to ensure SLA’s are met.

• Manage, escalate and analyze incidents and problems for the production environment, assessing patterns, making recommendations, and providing appropriate communication.

• Work with other support groups (e.g., development, client services) to define workflows and update standard operating procedures.

• Provide leadership, coaching and direction to the local team, coordinate with the wider, global, infrastructure teams and foster a business-oriented culture and mindset.

• Working with the global team to identify critical infrastructure projects and advise on emerging technologies to ensure IT capabilities respond to the needs of FlexTrade’s business strategy.

• Engage with existing or prospective clients in EMEA seeking to evaluate or develop a better understanding of FlexTrade’s application hosting environment

• Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, information systems, or related field, or equivalent work experience.

• Deep understanding of current and emerging infrastructure technologies and how other enterprises are employing them.

• Experience running a SaaS Infrastructure

• Experience building/maintaining a SRE type organization for SaaS or MSP business.

• Team leadership and management experience

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts and technologies to business leaders, and business concepts to the infrastructure operations team.

• Experience in managing data center environments including installations, patching, lifecycle management, capacity management, process automation, orchestration etc.

• Strong technical depth in the following domain of the infrastructure stack, including

  • Physical Infrastructure Stack - Compute, Storage, Networking (e.g., Cisco)

  • Linux/Windows OS

  • Virtualization (e.g., VMWare); Citrix

  • Network Connectivity (VPLS, VPN, Leased Lines, Cross Connects)

  • Enterprise Security

  • Cloud Technologies incl Private/Hybrid Cloud (AWS, Azure, VMC)

  • Containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)

  • Monitoring Technologies

  • DevOps. Continuous Integration/Development processes (Jenkins)

• ITIL certification and/or technical certifications is a plus.

• Ability to drive organizational change and build infrastructure capabilities that effectively optimize operational efficiency and deliver innovative and agile solutions.

• Ability to accommodate late day / weekend work as necessary to facilitate infrastructure changes to the production environment in non-market hours

• Strong vendor management and partner relation skills

FlexTrade UK Ltd. conducts a pre-employment screening which consists of a Criminal History, Background and Credit Check for successful candidates.