Platform Engineering, Aladdin Engineering, Director (Open)

About this role

Role Brief:

Are you interested in building innovative technology that shapes the financial markets? Do you like working at the speed of a startup, but want to tackle some of the world’s most sophisticated problems? Do you want to work with, and learn from, hands-on leaders in technology and finance?

At BlackRock, we are looking for an engineering team lead who loves to innovate and tackle sophisticated problems. We recognize that strength comes from diversity, and will embrace your unique skills, curiosity, and passion while giving you the opportunity to grow technically and as an individual. With over USD $11 trillion of assets we have an exceptional responsibility, our technology empowers millions of investors to save for retirement, pay for college, buy a home and improve their financial well-being.

Being an engineering team lead at BlackRock means you get the best of both worlds: working for one of the most sophisticated financial companies and being part of a software development team responsible for next generation technology and solutions.

About team:

Our Platform Engineering division is at the forefront, crafting the foundation for Aladdin, an operating system crafted for investment managers. This system integrates real-time management of information, people, and technology, and is utilized by numerous financial institutions both internally and externally. This team is a foundational part of protecting our estate and driving new revenue and scale channels for our clients and BlackRock.

The position is for a hands-on engineering team lead for API and Identity Infrastructure within Platform Engineering, focusing on advancing our API-first culture as well as advancing our authentication system at the firm. 

As the Engineering Lead you will:

• Provide strategic leadership to build a high-performance engineering team. You will grow technology leaders and connect the team to Aladdin Engineering’s mission and outcomes. You will nurture engineering culture and ultimately drive execution.

• Grow your technical knowledge and leadership skills to become one of the most productive technology teams at BlackRock; be an encouraging leader across the entire engineering organization

• Work in partnership with our product managers, users/client base and engineering teams to implement a product and technical roadmap.

• Be an encouraging leader across the engineering organization to evangelize leading engineering practices, efficiency and tooling.

• Become a guide in the BlackRock user/provider model and develop technical expertise of the Aladdin platform; provide engineering best practices leadership across the team.

• Take ownership of the technical vision and execution for our API and Identity Infrastructure, directly impacting the security, scalability, and extensibility of the Aladdin platform.

• Drive significant improvements in the reliability, performance, and security of our authentication systems and API ecosystem.
   

What you'll need:

• Minimum of 5+ years of experience leading and managing engineering teams, coupled with 10+ years of overall technical experience in Financial Services or Technology.

• Proven expertise in designing, developing, and deploying scalable and resilient systems using Java and GoLang, with a strong understanding of asynchronous processing and distributed architectures. Demonstrated ability to dive deep into code and troubleshoot complex technical issues.

• Experience with Python for scripting and automation, and familiarity with modern front-end frameworks like Angular for full-stack understanding.

• In-depth experience in building full stack applications from front-end to back-end.

• Several years’ worth of experience in running Agile teams and can show your passion to improve yourself and your squads

• Successful deliveries of technology focused products through the entire product development lifecycle.

• Showcase high-level designs & blueprints along with the business value that these have achieved in your experience

• Deep experience taking technical designs and translating them into measurable stories for your squad.

• Demonstrated deep understanding and practical experience with a diverse range of authentication and authorization mechanisms, including but not limited to: OAuth 2.0/OpenID Connect, Basic Authentication, Certificate-Based Authentication, Mutual TLS (mTLS), and Transport Layer Security (TLS/SSL).

• Experience designing and implementing secure APIs and microservices.

• Strong understanding of security principles and best practices.

• Experience with gRPC, including defining service contracts using Protocol Buffers and implementing gRPC clients and servers.

• Hands-on experience in configuring, managing, and integrating with enterprise-grade Identity Providers such as Keycloak, Okta, or Azure AD.

• Familiarity with SAML, JWT, and PKI infrastructure.

• Goal setting, in alignment with Business, Technology and BlackRock goals
   

Who you are:

• A passionate advocate for modern engineering practices, with a proven ability to influence and drive adoption of these practices across the organization.

• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build consensus and influence decision-making at all levels.

• Excited to learn about new technologies and strive to reach new levels of efficiencies in the platform we provide.

• While providing leadership, remain hands-on with critical technical challenges, architecture reviews, and proof-of-concepts to guide the team and ensure technical excellence.

• Participate in code reviews and contribute to key architectural decisions, setting a high standard for code quality and engineering practices.

For San Francisco, CA Only the salary range for this position is USD$215,000.00 - USD$275,000.00 . Additionally, employees are eligible for an annual discretionary bonus, and benefits including healthcare, leave benefits, and retirement benefits. BlackRock operates a pay-for-performance compensation philosophy and your total compensation may vary based on role, location, and firm, department and individual performance.

Our benefits
To help you stay energized, engaged and inspired, we offer a wide range of benefits including a strong retirement plan, tuition reimbursement, comprehensive healthcare, support for working parents 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 workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity to all applicants and existing employees, and we evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity/expression), sexual orientation, age, ancestry, physical or mental disability, marital status, political affiliation, religion, citizenship status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. View the EEOC’s Know Your Rights poster and its supplement and the pay transparency statement.

 

BlackRock is committed to full inclusion of all qualified individuals and to providing reasonable accommodations or job modifications for individuals with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation/adjustments are needed throughout the employment process, please email [email protected]. All requests are treated in line with our privacy policy.

We recruit, hire, train, promote, pay, and administer all personnel actions without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding), sex stereotyping (including assumptions about a person’s appearance or behavior, gender roles, gender expression, or gender identity), gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, mental or physical disability, ancestry, medical condition, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship status, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable law. We interpret these protected statuses broadly to include both the actual status and also any perceptions and assumptions made regarding these statuses.BlackRock will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records in a manner consistent with the requirements of the law, including any applicable fair chance law.