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Rohan van der Walt: financial technology professional with 15+ years experience

Rohan van der Walt

Rohan van der Walt

Financial technology professional with 15+ years experience focused on Position and Risk management systems for trade lifecycle management.

Berlin, DE · Finance & Technology builder

  • Python
  • Front Arena
  • Murex
  • Docker
  • Ansible
  • React
  • Typescript
  • PostgreSQL
  • LLM
Let's chat
About me
  • I enjoy using technology to find pragmatic solutions to real-world problems in finance.
  • Other interests include startups, AI, Music (Live concerts)
  • I'm Berlin based ☕ let's meet for coffee!
Latest articles

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Work history

Most recent first

Senior ConsultantNov 2022 – Present
CFS Group · Berlin, DE · Full-time

Client: Hedge Fund. Responsible for the Front Arena ADS upgrade and backend migration from Windows to Linux. Set up a continuous testing framework (EADS + ATF) for automated end-to-end trade booking and reporting tests on every change. Reduced ADS startup time by 50% and server memory footprint by ~25%. Redesigned UAT/DEV environment builds, replacing a manual weekly prod sync with an automated daily sync.

Sabbatical: Jun 2024 – Jan 2025

Client: German Landesbank. Front Arena migration using AEF and ATF. Optimised the daily migration runtime from 3h down to 15min (90% improvement).

Client: Silicon Valley funded Cryptocurrency Startup. Product Development Lead. Technical due diligence during tech acquisition; set up initial backend & frontend infrastructure and CI/CD pipelines; scaled the team from 2 to 10 members.

  • FIS Front Arena
  • ADS
  • EADS
  • ATF
  • ADFL
  • ACM
  • Python
  • Azure DevOps
  • Powershell
  • Ansible
  • Docker
  • TeamCity
Senior Front Arena DeveloperOct 2019 – Oct 2022
Eqonex · Berlin, DE · Full-time

Built a Front Arena extension module for trade and instrument synchronisation (FX + Futures) across >10 cryptocurrency exchanges, plus realtime pricefeed integration (FIX).

Built a containerized Front Arena (ADS + ATS + SQL Server) pipeline for repeatable testing and development environments.

Technical lead on a PoC implementing Broadridge Itivity Tbricks as an alternative backend to Front Arena.

  • FIS Front Arena
  • Python
  • ADFL
  • ACM
  • Ansible
  • Docker
  • Broadridge Tbricks
  • FIX
  • Algorithmic Trade Execution
Senior Capital Markets Technology ConsultantOct 2017 – Sep 2019
Elenjical Solutions · Johannesburg, ZA · Full-time

Built a Python process automating Historical-VaR Stress Testing within Murex for the Market Risk team at a major insurance provider. Murex development and production support.

Opportunity lifecycle BI project: gathered requirements, designed and built the data pipeline aggregating Salesforce, Position Management (ACBS), Accounting and Risk data at a major investment bank.

  • Murex
  • MX.3
  • Value-at-Risk
  • Workflows
  • Apache Airflow
  • Python
  • PowerBI
Earlier roles, 2010–2017 (4)
Technical Business AnalystJul 2016 – Sep 2017
Investec Asset Management · Cape Town, ZA · Full-time

Designed and built a Portfolio Exposure Reporting solution in QlikView, giving fund managers detailed historical exposure breakdowns across risk ratings, regions and countries.

Assisted with business/technical requirements for Strategy Tagging and performance attribution, and on the Statpro Revolution proof of concept.

  • MSSQL
  • Transact-SQL
  • Strategy Tagging
  • StatPro Revolution
  • Qlikview
Front Arena Analyst DeveloperOct 2013 – Jun 2016
Absa Capital · Cape Town, ZA · Full-time

Requirements gathering and implementation for Equities and Prime Brokerage; assisted with quantitative back testing for alternative asset portfolios.

Money Market Dematerialisation: designed and implemented an ISIN Management workflow, Swift MT598 integration with Strate (SA central securities depository) via MQ.

  • FIS Front Arena
  • Python
  • ADFL
  • ACM
  • SWIFT
Murex ConsultantMay 2012 – Sep 2013
Excelian Luxsoft · Johannesburg, ZA · Full-time

Greenfields Murex Mx.3 implementation at a major insurance provider. Back-office workflow stream: customisations across the trade lifecycle (validation, confirmation, matching, settlement).

  • Murex
  • MX.3
  • Back-Office Trade Life Cycle
  • Confirmations
  • Settlements
  • MQ
Front Arena Analyst DeveloperJan 2010 – May 2012
Absa Capital · Johannesburg, ZA · Full-time

Developed solutions for Front Office, Risk and Back Office teams across the trade floor: Fixed Income, Currencies, Commodities, Equities, IRD, Swaps, Options, Credit and Equity Derivatives, Futures/Forwards and Prime Brokerage.

  • FIS Front Arena
  • Python
  • ADFL
  • ACM
  • XSLT
  • Prime Broker
Education
M.Sc in Business Mathematics & Informatics (Data-Mining)2008 – 2009
North-West University · Potchefstroom, ZA

Masters Degree in Business Mathematics & Informatics with a focus on Machine Learning (cum laude).

B.Sc in Business Mathematics & Informatics2005 – 2007
North-West University · Potchefstroom, ZA

Bachelor's Degree in Business Mathematics & Informatics (BMI).

Finance & Technology builderBerlin, DERSS