Meet a Network Engineer

How would you describe the breadth of your role?

My role on paper is Network Engineer; however, in practice, I try to be a total solution developer and work very closely with our critical trading teams on solution development. The total Networking team consists of engineers, operations, and provisioning. I consider the SIG Network as MY network; I take care and pride in our design, stability and support.

Networking also meets at least twice a week to share information and go over new issues, initiatives, technologies and projects. I believe we need to constantly research new technologies to stay competitive in the markets. We provide the critical data path to the teams that keep the firm profitable, so we have to think outside of traditional networking to keep our edge. We are always trying to reduce latency and improve stability. Most designs are the brain-child of a group of engineers, rather than the vision of one. We value each other’s opinions and views – it keeps us effective as a team.

Tell us about your typical day.

I arrive to work early most days during the week. I like to check in with the teams I am directly involved with to ensure morning processes are operating as expected. We have a daily scrum to go over issues and changes from the night before and the upcoming day. We provide a brief update to ensure all teammates are well informed. The rest of the day consists of designing and supporting the global SIG network, meeting with our ‘Specialist’ teams and working on line-of-business initiatives and issues.

What do you think makes your role unique?

The Network Engineering team is responsible for providing the data path for all communications. We attempt to learn about all aspects of the applications used during SIG’s daily activity. There are many different applications and requirements for each. I work as a specialist for the Algorithmic Trading Desk. Although I am technically a Network Engineer, I try to involve and embed myself with all aspects of the daily activities of the Algo team – it provides a solid foundation for making informed engineering design decisions.

In your opinion, what is the best perk we offer?

Wearing shorts all summer!