Nasdaq Futures Automated Trading System

Automated Futures Trading Signal → Broker Execution System I am looking for an experienced developer to build an automated trading execution system for Nasdaq futures (NQ/MNQ). What I Want to Build I currently receive trading signals in text/message format. I want software that can automatically read these signals, interpret the trading instruction, and execute the appropriate trade through my futures brokerage account. The objective is: Trading Signal → Parse Instruction → Validate → Execute Trade → Automatically Manage Position The system should be capable of operating 24 hours per day during futures trading hours, Monday–Friday, without requiring me to manually enter each trade. Example Signal A signal might look something like: SHORT NQ 20750 The system should recognise: * Instrument: NQ * Direction: Short * Entry: 20,750 It should then automatically place the appropriate order through my broker. I want position sizing and risk parameters to be configurable rather than hard-coded. For example: * Trade 6 MNQ contracts * Initial stop loss: 45 points * Initial profit target: 70 points I should be able to change these settings easily. Position Management This is particularly important. I do not simply want a basic entry + stop loss + take profit bot. Some trades may move 100, 200, 300, 400 or 500+ points, so I want the system to allow part of the position to remain open for larger moves. For example, with 6 contracts: Entry * Buy/sell 6 contracts. At +70 points * Close 3 contracts. * Move the stop on the remaining 3 contracts to breakeven. At +150 points * Potentially close another contract. Remaining position * Allow the final contracts to run with either a configurable trailing stop or further profit targets. These parameters must be configurable. Follow-Up Signal Instructions The signal provider may subsequently send messages such as: * “Scale out” * “Sell some” * “Take partials” * “Move stop to breakeven” * “Move SL to 20800” * “Close position” * “Exit all” * “Hold runners” I want the software to associate these follow-up messages with the existing position and modify the orders/position appropriately. The exact wording of signals may vary, so the parsing system needs to handle a defined range of message formats reliably. I am open to using either deterministic parsing/rules or an LLM-assisted parser, but trade execution should have strict validation rules before any broker order is submitted. Entry Logic I would also like configurable entry behaviour. For example, if a SHORT signal arrives at 20,750 but the market is currently 20,745, the system should follow predetermined rules rather than blindly executing at any price. Possible settings could include: * Maximum acceptable slippage from signal price * Market order * Limit order * Wait for price to return to the specified entry zone * Cancel signal if price has moved too far * Signal expiry after X minutes I would like the developer to help design this safely. Broker/API The system needs to connect to a futures broker/API that supports automated NQ/MNQ execution. I am open to discussing the best architecture depending on broker compatibility. The system should be designed so that the broker/execution layer can ideally be changed later without rebuilding the entire signal-processing system. Safety Controls Reliability and risk management are extremely important. I want safeguards including: * Maximum contracts per trade * Maximum total open exposure * Maximum daily loss * Maximum number of trades per day * Duplicate-signal protection * Signal expiry * Maximum permitted entry slippage * Automatic stop-loss placement * Reject malformed/ambiguous signals * Prevent accidental duplicate positions * Connection/API failure handling * Order rejection handling * Partial-fill handling * Broker/account position reconciliation * Emergency CLOSE ALL / KILL SWITCH * Detailed error logging If the system cannot confidently interpret a signal, I would rather it not trade than guess. Dashboard / Control Panel Ideally, I would like a simple dashboard where I can see: * Broker connection status * Current NQ/MNQ price * Current position * Entry price * Unrealised P&L * Stop-loss level * Profit targets * Signals received * Orders submitted * Filled/rejected orders * Daily P&L I should also be able to: * Enable/disable automatic trading * Close individual positions * Close everything immediately * Change contract quantity * Change stop distance * Change profit targets * Change scale-out rules * Change breakeven rules * Change maximum daily loss Trading Schedule The system should be capable of running throughout the futures trading week. It should correctly handle: * Exchange trading hours * Daily maintenance periods * Weekends * US market holidays * Futures contract expiry * NQ/MNQ contract rollovers I can manually control contract rollover if necessary, but I would prefer the architecture to make this straightforward. Logging Every action should be logged with timestamps, including: Original signal → Parsed instruction → Validation decision → Broker order → Broker response → Fill → Position modification → Exit This is important so that I can audit exactly what happened if something goes wrong. Testing I do NOT want the developer immediately connecting an untested system to a live futures account. Development should ideally progress through: 1. Signal parser testing 2. Historical/example signal testing 3. Broker paper/simulation account 4. End-to-end testing 5. Failure/reconnection testing 6. Small-size live deployment 7. Full deployment after validation Technical Expectations I am looking for someone with experience in at least some of the following: * Python / C# / appropriate trading-development language * Futures trading APIs * Broker APIs * WebSockets / real-time market data * Order-management systems * Automated trading systems * NQ/MNQ futures * Stop/limit/bracket orders * Position reconciliation * Reliable message parsing * Deployment/monitoring o