Founding Principal Hardware Engineer

Redwood City, CA
Full-time
Visa Sponsorship

About the role

What you’ll do:

As founding principal hardware engineer, you will lead the design and in-production implementation of an exchange and co-located trading facility on a single silicon device. You will lead development of PAX core technology and set future design directions.

PAX ultra low-latency in-silicon matching engine:

PAX is building the world's first exchange and co-located trading facility on a chip. We will go-to-market using AWS F2 FPGA instances and follow-on with an ASIC design that combines network aggregation with exchange functionality.

PAX provides the fastest tick-to-trade and market data publication in the world, across all exchanges (e.g. faster than NYSE, Deutsche Börse, etc.).

Exchange integrated high frequency trading logic:

The PAX λ API provides traders with on-chip exchange integrated HFT decision logic. Using the λ API, traders can make markets or take arbitrage opportunities. The λ API enables traders to respond to market events the very instant the information is registered in the exchange matching engine.

PAX business model:

PAX sells access to its ultra-low latency λ API and offers trading otherwise for free. Existing exchanges typically offer rebates for liquidity providers ("makers") and charge fees to liquidity takers (the "maker/taker" fee structure). At PAX when λ and non-λ orders pair together, the free-tier order is given a cash rebate regardless of whether their order was characterized as making or taking. PAX is the first exchange to offer zero-fee trading and rebates for both making and taking.

Deep dives on PAX market structure & technology:

Relevant background:

Candidates with experience in high frequency trading (HFT) or at an exchange are encouraged to apply.

Skills:

  • SystemVerilog
  • FPGA or ASIC design experience
  • Rust and/or C++
  • HFT
  • Protobuf
  • Curiosity and ability to learn
  • Passion for trading and markets

About PAX Markets

More 𝛼, less latency: exchange and HFT on one chip.

Required skills

C++
Rust
Verilog
VHDL

Other roles at PAX Markets

Interested?

Let me introduce you to the founders.

Skip the process

Job details

Salary

$200,000 - $225,000

Equity

0.5% - 1%

Location

Redwood City, CA

Experience

3+ years

Company

NamePAX Markets
IndustryBanking and Exchange
Team Size6

Funding

Total raised

$500K

Last stage

Seed

Investors

Y Combinator

Founders

Pete Stevenson

Pete Stevenson

Co-Founder & CEO

LinkedIn
Benjamin Kilimnik

Benjamin Kilimnik

Co-Founder & CTO

LinkedIn

What happens next.

No applications, no recruiter spam. Just the intro.

01

Confirm the fit

A few questions to make sure this role is the right shape for you. Two minutes.

02

I pitch you to the company

I write the intro, send it to the founder, and handle the back-and-forth.

03

A meeting lands on your calendar

If they’re a yes, I book the chat. You show up — that’s the whole job-hunt.