Hardware Strategy & Technology Partnerships Lead (Chicago)

Hudson River Trading (HRT) is a quantitative trading firm at the forefront of technological innovation in global financial markets. We build and deploy cutting-edge systems within one of the world’s most sophisticated computing environments for large-scale research and trading. Our research cluster is the backbone of our success—an HPC environment with GPU and CPU fleets larger than many national labs—and our people are our most important differentiator.We are seeking a Hardware Strategy & Technology Partnership Lead to bridge the gap between hardware engineering and the technology supply chain. In this role, you will be the primary architect of HRT’s relationships with OEMs, ODMs, and silicon vendors. The ideal candidate understands the CSPs’ business models and how they differentiate, and possesses the expertise to navigate both the bare-metal world and the hyper-scaler ecosystem to ensure HRT always has a competitive edge in compute power and efficiency. You understand the chip and server business at a molecular level—not just what an R200 GPU or a Venice processor can do, but how the supply chain, the margins, and vendor roadmaps dictate the industry’s future.ResponsibilitiesStrategic Relationship Management: Lead HRT’s primary relationships with top-tier silicon (CPU/GPU/Storage), server and cloud vendors. Partner with their engineering and product teams to influence roadmaps and secure early access to next-gen tech.Vendor Negotiations: Own the end-to-end commercial and technical negotiation process. Leverage your deep understanding of BOM (Bill of Materials) costs and industry margins to drive the best outcomes for HRT’s global infrastructure.Supply Chain Intelligence: Act as our internal SemiAnalysis/SemiAccurate equivalent. Stay ahead of industry trends, tracking foundry shifts, packaging innovations, and geopolitical impacts on the hardware market to advise our leadership on long-term strategy. Help us decide when to build, when to go to the cloud, and how to optimize our footprint across global data centers.Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work side-by-side with our R&D and Trading Tech engineers and data center teams to deeply understand HRT's technology and business, and translate that knowledge into long-term strategic and acquisition planning.QualificationsDeep Industry Knowledge: You have a feet on both sides profile, with a background that likely includes time at a major hardware vendor, a hyper-scaler, or a top-tier industry research firm.Technical Fluency: You can talk shop with hardware engineers about PCIe lanes, memory bandwidth, and thermal envelopes, but you can also walk into a boardroom and negotiate a multi-million dollar master purchase agreement.Market Strategy: You have a proven track record of solving complex infrastructure needs for large-scale compute environments.Entrepreneurial Spirit: You are a self-starter who is motivated by the excitement of being at the cutting edge of automation and hardware efficiency.This job is accepting ongoing applications and there is no application deadline.The estimated base salary range for this position is 200,000-300,000 USD per year (or local equivalent). The base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.This role will also be eligible for discretionary performance-based bonuses and a competitive benefits package which includes medical, dental, vision, basic life insurance, and enrollment in our company’s retirement savings plans. Employees will receive sick and parental leave, as well as other paid time off (including 20 vacation days and 10 paid holidays in the US). Please note that benefits and time off policies will vary across non-US locations.In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.CultureHudson River Trading (HRT) brings a scientific approach to trading financial products. We have built one of the world's most sophisticated computing environments for research and development. Our researchers are at the forefront of innovation in the world of algorithmic trading. At HRT we welcome a variety of expertise: mathematics and computer science, physics and engineering, media and tech. We’re a community of self-starters who are motivated by the excitement of being at the cutting edge of automation in every part of our organization—from trading, to business operations, to recruiting and beyond. We value openness and transparency, and celebrate great ideas from HRT veterans and new hires alike. At HRT we’re friends and colleagues – whether we are sharing a meal, playing the latest board game, or writing elegant code. We embrace a culture of togetherness that extends far beyond the walls of our office.Feel like you belong at HRT? Our goal is to find the best people and bring them together to do great work in a place where everyone is valued. HRT is proud of our diverse staff; we have offices all over the globe and benefit from our varied and unique perspectives. HRT is an equal opportunity employer; so whoever you are we’d love to get to know you.Please be advised: Use of AI tools during interviews or assessments is strictly prohibited, unless otherwise instructed or agreed upon. We employ various methods to evaluate the authenticity of candidate responses. If we determine that AI assistance was used during any stage of the hiring process, we reserve the right to immediately disqualify your candidacy or rescind any job offers extended.