Application Engineer, Aladdin Product Engineering, Vice President

About this role

At BlackRock, technology is the foundation of our business. As a VP, Application Engineer, you’ll lead by example — architecting, coding, and mentoring teams to build resilient systems that power our global Aladdin Accounting Retail fund operations. You’ll design and deliver enterprise-scale software with a focus on reliability, performance, and clean engineering practices.

This role is ideal for a technical leader who enjoys staying close to the code, guiding design decisions, and solving complex data challenges — all while fostering a culture of excellence and continuous improvement. You’ll also help the team explore and adopt emerging technologies, including AI-assisted engineering and Generative AI, where they can meaningfully improve engineering productivity, operational workflows, or user experience.

About Aladdin Accounting

- Aladdin Accounting is one of the fastest-growing commercial product businesses within Aladdin. 

- A major strategic area within Aladdin and one of BlackRock’s largest engineering investments.

- Responsible for the systems that ensure accurate, scalable, and efficient accounting across global operations.

- Expanding into data analytics and pipeline initiatives using Snowflake, Redis, and Kafka to manage high-volume, real-time data.

- Collaborates closely with Product, Operations, and other Engineering teams to deliver business-critical capabilities.

- Agile and collaborative environment that values technical depth, quality, and innovation.

Key Responsibilities

- Design and develop robust, high-performance back-end systems using Java 21+ and the Spring Boot ecosystem.

- Lead design discussions, code reviews, and architecture sessions with a hands-on approach.

- Build and maintain microservices and event-driven systems to process and distribute large-scale financial data with API-first approach.

- Develop data integration and pipeline components that connect systems across Snowflake, SQL Server, and real-time streaming platforms.

- Implement and optimize Redis-based caching and data stores for low-latency access patterns.

- Champion best practices for code quality, testing, automation, and performance tuning.

- Mentor engineers to elevate technical craftsmanship, problem-solving, and design thinking.

- Evaluate and apply emerging AI and GenAI capabilities where appropriate to improve software development, operational efficiency, and user experiences, while maintaining strong standards around security, validation, and maintainability.

- Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure technical solutions align with product goals and business outcomes.

Qualifications / Competencies

- B.S./M.S. in Computer Science, Engineering, or related discipline.

- 8+ years of professional experience in Java and object-oriented design.

- Strong knowledge of Spring Boot, REST APIs, and enterprise integration patterns.

- Deep expertise in SQL Server, including stored procedures, performance tuning, and data modelling.

- Experience with Redis for caching or data persistence.

- Hands-on exposure to Kafka or similar publish-subscribe systems for real-time event processing.

- Familiarity with Snowflake and data pipeline concepts (ETL, batch vs. streaming).

- Exposure to Generative AI and LLM concepts, including prompt engineering, AI-assisted development, or agentic AI patterns.

- Strong focus on clean architecture, maintainability, and production readiness.

- Excellent communication and leadership skills — able to guide teams and influence design direction.

Nice to Have

- Experience with Kubernetes, Docker, or cloud-native environments (AWS/GCP).

- Exposure to observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, Open Telemetry).

- Scripting experience in Python for automation or data analysis.

- Interest in applying AI capabilities responsibly within enterprise software and engineering workflows.

- Interest in financial systems, accounting, or investment technology.

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.

Guidance on AI use for candidates

At BlackRock, AI has long been part of how we work – enhancing decision-making, improving operations, and helping us deliver better outcomes for clients. We encourage candidates to use AI thoughtfully to learn, prepare, and work more effectively; but during our interview process, we want to focus on getting to know you through your own experiences, thinking, and judgment. To support you, we’ve provided guidance on when and how to use AI during our hiring process so you can approach each step with confidence and showcase your best self.

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.

To learn more about BlackRock, please visit Careers.BlackRock.com. We also encourage you to get to know us on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, X, and TikTok.

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