RE: Career advice - High Frequency Trading network engineer

1. Bash, perl in that order... a cron job to read some log files, send a
trade summary latency report. poll a host and compare it's time to ntp

2. Lots of custom smokeping and homemade alerts in smokeping... latency
> 1ms to the fix tcp trading targets, etc, can't reach trading targets, etc.

3. Lots of python scripts to watch and alert on different things with
different java or C, C++ programs, check ptp times etc.

There are many variables and many shops have their own in house favorites... I
do #'s 1 & 2. I have seen #3 in my servers I manage pretty often. Some of the
more advanced shops do it all in java and C++.

From: marc abel [mailto:marcabel_at_gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2013 5:11 PM
To: Abdul
Cc: Joseph L. Brunner; Cisco certification; ccie2323
Subject: Re: Career advice - High Frequency Trading network engineer

What sort of things are you linux scripting in HFT? What language?
On Jan 13, 2013 3:59 PM, "Abdul"
<rslab007_at_gmail.com<mailto:rslab007_at_gmail.com>> wrote:
Joe,

Your description is so spot I had to share it. Great stuff.

I too have worked in both arenas, and the lone thing I might add to the
gentleman who sent the initial inquiry is the following:

Don't be fooled to believing an HFT bubble within an investment bank would be
run like a true HFT firm (ie Hedge Fund or small prop trading firm).

It may be HFT, you will do loads of the usual low latency stuff (switches,
fpgas, linux scripts, multicast market data, exchange provisioning etc) BUT
you will STILL be subject to the massive infighting, corporate politics and
archaic/slow change control process. And don't let me even start to talk about
"security processes" (notice I make no mention of security technologies for in
the big Financial banks, they are very different silos)..

Outside of my little nugget above, Joe's advise covers it all.

- Abdul

On Jan 13, 2013, at 9:51 AM, "Joseph L. Brunner"
<joe_at_affirmedsystems.com<mailto:joe_at_affirmedsystems.com>> wrote:

> I can answer you on that - I have done both -
>
> The Blue Pill
>
> An investment bank is often a very slow job, staged configs by different
teams, pigeon holing (only being allowed to work on singular repetitive tasks)
and lots of political infighting... At a big bank, you'll be underpaid, under
challenged and often, find you are quite replaceable when Dell or HP get's the
contract to outsource your job. There will be MANY middle managers who can't
do you job, don't understand your job - but LOVE to leave at 4pm and take all
the credit the next day when you stayed until 11pm for a change over. There
will be people that you will KNOW can NEVER EVER EVER have the job they have
ANYWHERE else. You will find things like 4 weeks of meetings to change a
firewall rule, 3 weeks of meetings to change a catalyst line card - and all
along - you'll be forced to explain to people in meetings who again REALLY
DON'T CARE about the technology and are NOT passionate about it - but will go
out of their way to hammer you with stupid questions - just to make !
 th!
> emselves look smart.... they will make snarky comments about "all those
letters after your name" and "well, anyone can get certified, it doesn't mean
they have experience" (but have NOT one single certification themselves). I
can't think of one big bank I have worked at or interviewed at where there was
not at least 50% of the people (managers, directors) that could and SHOULD be
cut and anyone would ever notice they were not there. they offered and did
NOTHING. Remember, this is an industry which through its own MISMANAGEMENT had
to be bailed out at taxpayer expense... sounds like fun?
>
> However, I offer you the red pill...
>
> As an HFT network engineer, I'm constantly challenged to do more with less -
HFT shops are very LEAN, we don't have any fat - we can't afford it. We get
all the greatest equipment - we just have to make it work really well. We work
very closely with some of the smartest people anywhere - quantitative
analysts, programmers and traders - we are VERY appreciated - they are very
proud of us as we are of them. We learn things like fpga's, linux scripts and
automation, solarflare and dozens of other technologies other than basic
"route and switch". We have to do things with Multicast and Market Data to get
feeds from many different sources to the trading systems as "fast as
possible". We do meetings with vendors who just came to market and are asked
by our traders to make and prove critical decisions and come up with
challenging test plans for new potential equipment like 40gbe switches. This
allows us to work with the VERY LATEST technologies and compare and contrast
them to tr!
 ad!
> itional approaches. We get "right into the action" and learn and see trading
strategies and development - so we have to learn to keep secrets (BIGTIME). We
can't even tell our wives or friends when, what or how our firm trades. You
are given awesome levels of responsibility and often the pay is great. There
are people I met in HFT I would say are uniquely passionate, creative and take
so much pride in their work that I step up to an even higher level and take
even more pride in mine. I have never experienced any bad people or lazy
people in HFT. That's the best part of a lean, nimble company - we get to see
each other work up close - and we know right away who should and should not be
there.
>
> If working for a big investment bank is getting to mow the grass at an NFL
stadium - working for an HFT or prop shop is like being allowed to play
Quarterback in the playoffs...
>
> Thanks,
>
> Joe
> #19366
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nobody_at_groupstudy.com<mailto:nobody_at_groupstudy.com>
[mailto:nobody_at_groupstudy.com<mailto:nobody_at_groupstudy.com>] On Behalf Of
ccie2323
> Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2013 6:52 AM
> To: ccielab_at_groupstudy.com<mailto:ccielab_at_groupstudy.com>
> Subject: OT: Career advice - High Frequency Trading network engineer
>
> Hi all,
>
> Would like some thoughts on HFT project network engineer role, the role is
for a investment bank mainly to build new network infrastructure for the
organization. How is the role as compared to a investment bank campus project
network engineer. Which role will give better experience and career
advancement, i have more then 5 years of enterprise network engineer
experience.
>
>
> Blogs and organic groups at http://www.ccie.net
>
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Received on Sun Jan 13 2013 - 22:23:05 ART