Senior Director of Engineering

About Bakkt

Bakkt is architecting the future of finance, fueling a revolutionary "finternet" built on the transformative power of cryptocurrency. We're unlocking novel avenues for accessing, trading, and engaging with digital assets, forging a more interconnected and efficient financial ecosystem for individuals and institutions alike. Join us at the vanguard of this groundbreaking evolution!

The Opportunity

Bakkt (NYSE: BKKT), a regulated US FinTech company, is launching a next generation exchange platform. We are seeking a visionary and results-driven Senior Director of Engineering to lead the scaling of this next-generation product . This strategic role requires an experienced hands-on leader who thrives in high-throughput, low latency systems, and is capable of managing the design, development, and deployment of robust systems, all within a highly secure and regulated environment.

What You'll Do

• Design, architect, and optimize high-throughput backend systems supporting 24/7 workloads and consistently achieving 100k TPS across trading, clearing, funding, and custody pipelines.
• Drive technical execution: review system designs, define specs, estimate timelines, ensure reliable, compliant, and high-quality delivery.
• Establish and enforce best practices for microservices, event-driven architecture, API standards, cloud-native systems, and high-availability design.
• Continuously improve performance, observability, and resilience, with a focus on mission-critical services running under strict uptime requirements.
• Leverage AI tooling (LLM-assisted coding, automated reviews, test generation) to improve developer velocity and overall code quality—AI-assisted engineering is required.
• Work closely with Product, Security, Compliance, SRE, and DevOps to deliver secure, scalable infrastructure.
  
  

What You'll Bring

• 10 years of progressive experience in software engineering, with significant experience in a leadership role (Director or higher) overseeing full-stack development.
• Mastery of Scala, Java, Go, or other performance-oriented backend languages.
• Proven expertise, including backend systems, API development, databases, and cloud infrastructure (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Strong foundation in Computer Science fundamentals and scalable system design.
• Exceptional curiosity, problem-solving abilities, and a drive to learn new technologies.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for collaborating with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to operate in a secure, regulated environment (e.g., FinTech, Crypto, Trading).
• Hands-on experience using AI tools (e.g., Copilot, Cursor, LLM-based tooling) as part of the development workflow.
  
  

Bonus Points

• Experience with blockchain integrations, custody/wallet infrastructure, or trading engine design.
• Background in quant trading systems, risk engines, or market infrastructure.
• Experience with Kafka and Kubernetes.
• Fluency in Mandarin
  
  

What We Offer

If you're a highly motivated and ambitious individual looking to kickstart your career in a dynamic startup environment that's shaping the future of finance, we encourage you to apply!