Observability and Automation Engineer - #1699169

Group Overview

The TP ICAP Group is a world leading provider of market infrastructure.

Our purpose is to provide clients with access to global financial and commodities markets, improving price discovery, liquidity, and distribution of data, through responsible and innovative solutions.

Through our people and technology, we connect clients to superior liquidity and data solutions.

The Group is home to a stable of premium brands. Collectively, TP ICAP is the largest interdealer broker in the world by revenue, the number one Energy & Commodities broker in the world, the world’s leading provider of OTC data, and an award winning all-to-all trading platform.

Founded in London in 1866, the Group operates from more than 60 offices in 27 countries. We are 5,200 people strong. We work as one to achieve our vision of being the world’s most trusted, innovative, liquidity and data solutions specialist.

Liquidnet

Liquidnet is a next-generation agency execution specialist. Powered by technology that helps drive institutional alpha, our trading and liquidity network intelligently and securely connects the world’s investors with the world’s investments.

Established in 1999 on the belief that there was a better way to trade, Liquidnet's journey began with a vision to create a platform that goes beyond traditional transactional models.

We wanted to build a community where traders could connect, collaborate, and execute trades with confidence. Over the years, we've grown from a vision into a thriving ecosystem that empowers the buy side in ways never before imagined.

We are committed to making trading more efficient, intelligent, and accessible. Our purpose guides every decision we make, from the tools we develop to the relationships we nurture with our Members.

Role Overview

This is a varied role working across a multitude of observability tools to ensure smooth operation of Liquidnet’s Production trading platforms and underlying infrastructure supporting them. The role is responsible for early identification of issues, correlating multiple issues across hardware and software and ensuring clear runbooks are created and followed at all times.

Liquidnet employ an offshore ‘Network Operational Centre’ (NOC) in India who perform ‘eyes on glass’ monitoring of systems, raising alerts to the relevant teams as per runbook definition. This role provides a level of oversight and guidance to the offshore team, but is embedded within the wider Production Support organisation so that it can provide realtime statistics and input towards root cause analysis, particularly during major incidents. Input is critical on major incident bridges and post-mortems to ensure continuous improvement to the observability of systems.

Liquidnet currently operate on-prem however over the next 2 years, there is a major transformation programme that will see all non-latency-sensitive applications moving to the Cloud, so experience in observability across both setups is crucial. A consolidation project is also underway across the observability tooling stack within the TP ICAP group that is likely to have an impact on the Liquidnet tooling and working practices.

Lastly, there is a big drive to automate as much as possible at Liquidnet and so this role would contribute to this by automating smoke checks and other manual workflows. So the ideal candidate would combine a scripting and automation skillset with a ruthless desire to reduce TOIL and repetitive, low-value tasks.

Role Responsibilities

• Day to day oversight of the offshore NOC (alongside the role’s manager in New York)
• Day to day and responsibility for monitoring tooling, ensuring robust design and prescribed documentation is followed at all times
• Actively engage and participate on incident bridges, helping to identify root cause as quickly as possible through realtime status updates and monitoring
• Participate in post-mortems to ensure monitoring quality is continually evaluated and any gaps identified within incidents are closed as quickly as possible
• Onboard new workflows and systems into the observability stack, ensuring adherence to standards. This includes building bespoke solutions where vendor products fall short
• Working with DevOps and Deployment teams to ensure system changes are agreed from an observability perspective and not causing unnecessary risk
• Contributing towards Automation and AI workstreams with a particular focus on the automation of post-deployment checks and smoke testing of application workflows to remove the requirement for manual work
• Occasional weekend work will be required during major upgrades and out of hours testing
  
  

Experience / Competences
Essential

• At least 5 years hands-on experience within a SysOps or NOC team, ideally within a financial institution (buy-side, sell-side, venue/platform provider)
• Working knowledge of Cloud based infrastructure and application monitoring, ideally with AWS certification (Cloud Practitioner, SysOps Administrator or other)
• Proven hands-on automation and scripting experience (PERL, Python, Powershell, Bash etc)
• Basic application support experience within a Unix / Linux environment
• Experience of supporting Windows Server environments
• Experience in troubleshooting network problems: i.e. firewall and routing problemsProven track record of implementing and maintaining a robust and flexible monitoring solution across a complex technical environment
• Proactive, tenacious individual with ability to solve complex issues
• Willingness to challenge the status quo and bring about positive change
• Capable of balancing multiple conflicting priorities and managing stakeholder expectations honestly and appropriately
  
  

Desired

• Knowledge of OTEL and STATSD protocols
• Knowledge of DevOps principles and workflows, including collaboration with Development teams
• Experience with automation tools (Ansible, Puppet etc)
• Experience supporting message-based architecture (Solace, Tibco, MQ etc)
• Experience with industry-standard monitoring tools (ITRS, Prometheus or similar)
• Working knowledge and experience working with SNMP and iLo protocols
• AWS-certified to SysOps Administrator level
• Basic knowledge of the FIX protocol and workflows
• Experience within MSSQL, Oracle or Sybase database environments
• Experience working within an ITIL framework, ideally with ITIL Foundation qualification
  
  

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Not The Perfect Fit?

Concerned that you may not meet the criteria precisely? At TP ICAP, we wholeheartedly believe in fostering inclusivity and cultivating a work environment where everyone can flourish, regardless of your personal or professional background. If you are enthusiastic about this role but find that your experience doesn't align perfectly with every aspect of the job description, we strongly encourage you to apply. You may be the ideal candidate for this position or another opportunity within our organisation. Our dedicated Talent Acquisition team is here to assist you in recognising how your unique skills and abilities can be a valuable contribution. Don't hesitate to take the leap and explore the possibilities. Your potential is what truly matters to us.

Company Statement

We know that the best innovation happens when diverse people with different perspectives and skills work together in an inclusive atmosphere. That's why we're building a culture where everyone plays a part in making people feel welcome, ready and willing to contribute. TP ICAP Accord - our Employee Network - is a central to this. As well as representing specific groups, TP ICAP Accord helps increase awareness, collaboration, shares best practice, and holds our firm to account for driving continuous cultural improvement.

Location

UK - City Quays - Belfast