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Application Engineer, Vice President

Locations: London, United Kingdom

Overview of Technology roles

At BlackRock, technology has always been at the core of what we do – and today, our technologists continue to shape the future of the industry with their innovative work. We are not only curious but also collaborative and eager to embrace experimentation as a means to solve complex challenges. Here you’ll find an environment that promotes working across teams, businesses, regions and specialties – and a firm committed to supporting your growth as a technologist through curated learning opportunities, tech-specific career paths, and access to experts and leaders around the world.

Job description

About this role

Build technology that shapes global financial markets. Move fast, solve tough problems, and learn from hands-on leaders in engineering and finance.

At BlackRock, we’re hiring Software Engineers who love to innovate and solve complex problems. We value diversity and will support your growth—technically and personally.

We invest and protect over $13.9T (USD) and our technology helps millions of investors save for retirement, fund education, buy homes, and improve financial well-being.

As a technologist at BlackRock, you’ll pair the scale of a global leader with the pace and ownership of a modern engineering team building next-generation solutions.


What are Aladdin and Aladdin Engineering?

  • Build on Aladdin, BlackRock’s investment operating system used by BlackRock and leading financial institutions. It unifies risk analytics, portfolio management, trading, and operations to power informed decisions for investors worldwide.
  • Aladdin Engineering builds and runs the platform at global scale—tools managing trillions in assets, supporting millions of instruments, and processing millions of transactions daily for thousands of users.


Being a member of Aladdin Engineering, you will be:

  • Tenacious: Thrive in a fast-paced, complex environment.
  • Creative: Evaluate options and apply the right tech for the problem.
  • Collaborative: Communicate clearly and deliver as a team.
  • Curious: Learn quickly and apply new concepts.


Responsibilities include:

  • Collaborate across teams in a multi-office, multi-country environment.
  • Deliver high-performance, highly available, fault-tolerant systems.
  • Contribute to Aladdin’s global, multi-asset trading platform.
  • Partner with Product and users to shape the roadmap.
  • Design and build solutions to complex problems; remove roadblocks.
  • Apply strong engineering practices across the full SDLC.
  • Ensure resilience via code reviews, automated testing, DevOps, and production support.
  • Lead by example—mentor others and drive team productivity.
  • Foster an inclusive, high-performing culture through actions in hiring, management, and engagement.
  • Own project scope, priorities, timelines, and delivery using Agile methods.

Skills and Experience:

  • Strong core Java, OO design, and design patterns.
  • 8+ years of proven experience in backend software engineering.
  • Proven track record delivering high-quality, well-tested software.
  • Hands-on experience with Java, Spring Framework/Spring Boot, and Hibernate.
  • Deep understanding of concurrency; experience designing high-throughput distributed systems.
  • Experience with messaging/eventing (e.g., Kafka, JMS, MQ).
  • Strong relational database fundamentals.
  • Comfortable with modern engineering tools (Git, Maven) and unit/integration testing.
  • Strong analysis and architecture skills; bias for test-driven development.
  • Excellent problem-solving and communication skills.
  • Interest in finance/investment workflows and translating business needs into technical solutions.
  • Experience leading projects/teams or owning the design and quality of a significant system or component; strong partnership skills.


Nice to have and opportunities to learn:

  • Experience with SQL and/or NoSQL data stores (e.g., MS SQL, Sybase, Cassandra, Redis).
  • Cloud-native, event-driven microservices experience (design patterns, resilience).
  • Exposure to large-scale distributed systems and platforms (e.g., Kafka, MongoDB, Ignite).
  • Microservices and API development (REST, gRPC) and/or streaming integrations.
  • Experience in Agile teams and/or open-source contributions.
  • Optimization/algorithms or quantitative engineering experience.
  • Cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP) and container/IaC tooling (Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform/Ansible).
  • DevOps practices and tooling (e.g., Azure DevOps).
  • Experience with AI/ML products or research environments.
  • Front-end exposure (React, Vue, Angular) is a plus.
  • Evidence of strong engineering fundamentals (degree, certifications, and/or open-source track record).


Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).

Our benefits

To help you stay energized, engaged and inspired, we offer a wide range of employee benefits including: retirement investment and tools designed to help you in building a sound financial future; access to education reimbursement; comprehensive resources to support your physical health and emotional well-being; family support programs; and Flexible Time Off (FTO) so you can relax, recharge and be there for the people you care about.

Our hybrid work model

BlackRock’s hybrid work model is designed to enable a culture of collaboration and apprenticeship that enriches the experience of our employees, while supporting flexibility for all. Employees are currently required to work at least 4 days in the office per week, with the flexibility to work from home 1 day a week. Some business groups may require more time in the office due to their roles and responsibilities. We remain focused on increasing the impactful moments that arise when we work together in person – aligned with our commitment to performance and innovation. As a new joiner, you can count on this hybrid model to accelerate your learning and onboarding experience here at BlackRock.

About BlackRock

At BlackRock, we are all connected by one mission: to help more and more people experience financial well-being.  Our clients, and the people they serve, are saving for retirement, paying for their children’s educations, buying homes and starting businesses. Their investments also help to strengthen the global economy: support businesses small and large; finance infrastructure projects that connect and power cities; and facilitate innovations that drive progress.

This mission would not be possible without our smartest investment – the one we make in our employees. It’s why we’re dedicated to creating an environment where our colleagues feel welcomed, valued and supported with networks, benefits and development opportunities to help them thrive.

For additional information on BlackRock, please visit @blackrock | Twitter: @blackrock | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/blackrock

BlackRock is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.  We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to age, disability, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics at law.

Job Requisition #
R263792
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BlackRock Principles

We look to hire people that will embody our BlackRock Principles:

  • We are a fiduciary to our clients.

    This is the bedrock of our identity; it reflects our integrity and the unbiased advice we give our clients.

  • We are One BlackRock.

    We work collaboratively to create the best outcomes for our clients, our firm and the communities where we operate.

  • We are passionate about performance.

    We are relentless in innovating and finding better ways to serve our clients and improve our firm.

  • We take emotional ownership.

    We have a deep sense of responsibility to our clients and to each other.

  • We are committed to a better future.

    We are long-term thinkers, focused on helping people build a better tomorrow.

Orange and yellow blocks

Career path

We recognize that our technologists benefit from a tailored approach to navigating and advancing their careers in the ways they envision. Our tech career paths are specifically built to support vertical and horizontal trajectories – including Enterprise Leadership (team manager) and Tech Leadership (individual contributor) ‘tracks’ as well as various other career moves.

  • Engineer I (Analyst)
  • Engineer II/III (Associate)
  • Senior Engineer I/II (Vice President)
  • Lead Engineer
    (Vice President)
    Engineering Team Manager
    (Vice President)
  • Principal/Sr. Principal
    Engineer (Director)
    Engineering Team Director/ Sr. Engineering Team Director
  • Managing Director
    Managing Director
  • TECH
    LEADERSHIP
    ENTERPRISE
    LEADERSHIP

Benefits

We care about your overall well-being and design our benefits package to support you in various aspects of your life.

  • Financial well-being

    We offer resources designed to help you build a sound financial future for you and your family, like retirement savings plans and tuition reimbursement.

  • Pay for performance

    Our pay-for-performance philosophy includes a base salary and a discretionary annual bonus.

  • Physical well-being

    Our healthcare plans and resources help you focus on your physical health, so you and your family can feel your best.

  • Emotional well-being

    We support our people's mental health and emotional well-being by providing access to an Employee Assistance Program and a network of Mental Health Ambassadors.

  • Life management

    You'll be able to focus on moments that are important to you with benefits designed to support life in and outside of work with Flexible Time Off, parental leave and more.

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