Head of Engineering

Keyrock was founded in 2017 and has quickly grown from 3 to around 170 people today. As an industry recognized liquidity provider and market maker, Keyrock is a leading European creator of algorithmic trading technology in the digital asset space. With VC backing and a constantly expanding global client base, Keyrock is one of Belgium’s fastest-growing fintech companies.

We’re currently active on over 80 exchanges and count numerous marketplaces and asset issuers among our clients, including some of the best-known companies in the crypto space.

Keyrocks beating heart is its technical team filled with software engineers, digital scientists and PhDs, who themselves are supported by university professors, industry-leading experts and a strong management team. Over the years Keyrock has become a company that is both idealistic and practical.

As the Head of Engineering at Keyrock, you will be responsible for leading our engineering team in the development and maintenance of our trading and back-office systems. We are seeking an experienced individual who thrives in fast-paced environments and possesses a deep understanding of building scalable, resilient, and performant systems. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of managing people, fostering a collaborative work environment, and driving product-centric initiatives.

• Lead and manage a team of talented engineers, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence.

• Drive the design, development, and maintenance of high-concurrency, high-performance trading and back-office systems.

• Collaborate closely with product management to align engineering efforts with product goals and roadmap.

• Implement and enforce best practices in software development, including code reviews, testing methodologies, and deployment strategies.

• Ensure the scalability, reliability, and security of our systems by implementing robust architectures and engineering practices.

• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to team members, fostering their professional growth and development.

• Stay abreast of industry trends and emerging technologies, identifying opportunities for innovation and improvement.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive continuous improvement and operational excellence.

• Collaborate with System Architect and other Engineering managers to align with our company-wide technical strategy.

• Bachelors or Masters degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or relevant field experience.

• Proven experience building and maintaining high-concurrency, high-performance trading and back-office systems.

• Strong proficiency in programming languages such as Rust, Node.js (JavaScript/TypeScript) and Python.

• Proficient in data-intensive systems.

• Experience managing and leading engineering teams, with a focus on fostering collaboration and professional growth.

• Deep understanding of software engineering best practices, including agile methodologies, DevOps principles, and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams.

• Strong problem-solving skills and a passion for building scalable, reliable, and secure systems.

• Experience working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment within the financial industry is a plus.

We would like the successful candidate to be based in the UK or Europe. Remote and flexible work options are available.

Our recruitment philosophy

We believe the most important aspect of our recruitment process is self-awareness: we are looking for people who have a clear understanding of themselves and what they are looking for in their professional career. That means that we expect to work with people who not only have the right skills, but who have also made the conscious decision to look for a company in our industry and with our characteristics and are willing to ask questions and learn in a context that may not be familiar to them.

Our offer

• A competitive salary package with exceptional variable compensation upside, including benefits that you choose and manage according to your needs and those of your family (car/bike, meal vouchers, health insurance, 25 days off, etc.)

• We are open to you having a B2B contract or a full time permanent position

• Autonomy in your time management thanks to flexible working hours and the opportunity to work remotely

• The freedom to create your own entrepreneurial experience by being part of a team of people in search of excellence who all receive stock options from the first year

• A ton of fun in a thriving and multicultural environment, with colleagues enjoying regular team building activities

• Monthly wellbeing allowance

• Professional development support

• Career growth plans

• Team building and social events (both remote and in person)

• Access to world class tools to do your job

• IT allowance to purchase the equipment you need to do your job

Keyrock offers you both a career and a large range of benefits that we will gladly discuss in the course of the application process.

As an employer we are committed to build an inclusive, diverse and non-discriminating work environment. We welcome employees of all backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, creed and sexual orientation. We hire, reward and promote entirely based on merit and performance.