Custom Trading Software & Strategy Engineering
You have a strategy idea and you want someone to build the engine that runs it — a backtester, execution adapters, a risk layer, and a live dashboard — on hardware you own, not rented from a SaaS vendor by the month. That is what we do. We engineer the software you own to run on the machine you own, in Python or C++, and we build the tooling that lets you test your edge honestly. The strategy and the risk decisions stay entirely yours.
What we build, and what stays yours
The line is clean and we keep it that way. We build the tooling — the backtesting engine, the data pipeline, the execution adapters, the risk and kill-switch layer, and the dashboard. You keep the strategy — the signals, the parameters, the sizing, the decision to go live. We are the engineers behind your system, not the source of your edge.
That distinction is the whole point of owning your stack. The code is yours, it runs on your hardware, and your watchlist and logic never leave your building to sit on a vendor's servers. To put that software on a machine built for the job, see our backtesting server builds.
Read this first — what we do not do
TIS builds the trading software and hardware you own — we do not provide financial advice, trading signals, or guaranteed performance, and we do not manage money. Backtested or modeled results do not predict future returns. Trading involves substantial risk of loss. We engineer the tools that let you test and run your strategy rigorously; the strategy, the risk, and the results are yours.
The components of an owned trading stack
A complete stack is five layers. We build any one of them or all of them, and they all run on hardware you own.
Data layer
Ingestion and storage for the prices, bars, and tick history your research and execution depend on — built point-in-time correct so a backtest never sees what it could not have known.
Backtesting engine
The engine that replays your strategy over history with real costs and slippage modeled, so the test reflects what the market would actually have done — not a frictionless fantasy.
Execution & adapters
The code that turns a signal into an order against your broker or data API, wired to paper-trading first so it is proven on simulated fills before a real order ever goes out.
Risk & kill-switch layer
Per-trade and daily loss limits, exposure caps, and a tested kill switch baked in from the start — the unglamorous layer that protects capital when something goes wrong.
Dashboard & monitoring
A local web dashboard for live P&L, positions, risk, feed lag, and system health, so you can see the whole system at a glance on a screen in your own building.
Optional local AI
On your own GPU: sentiment triage over news and filings, or a private research assistant over your notes — no per-token fees, no leaking your watchlist to an API vendor.
Backtesting done right — walk-forward, costs, slippage
Most backtests lie, and they lie in predictable ways. A backtester is only worth building if it is honest, so we build the discipline in: walk-forward validation that trains on a past window, freezes the parameters, then tests on the next unseen window — mimicking real deployment instead of letting the model peek at the answer. We model transaction costs and slippage, because a strategy that looks great with frictionless fills can fall apart once real costs are charged.
We also engineer against the classic traps — look-ahead bias (using data that would not have been available at that moment), survivorship bias (testing only on assets that still exist), and overfitting (a model that learns noise and shines in-sample but fails live). None of this guarantees your strategy works; it guarantees the test tells you the truth about it. The deeper method lives on machine learning for the stock market, and for heavy parameter sweeps see GPU-accelerated backtesting.
Execution & broker / API integration
Once the strategy is validated, it needs a way to act. We build execution adapters against documented broker and data APIs and stay vendor-neutral about which one you choose — the adapter is a layer we engineer to your broker, not a lock-in to ours. The order logic, position tracking, and reconciliation all live in your code.
We always wire up paper trading first. Before a single real order goes out, the system runs against simulated fills so you can watch its behavior, confirm the plumbing, and catch the surprises while they cost nothing. Going live is a deliberate switch you flip, not a default.
A risk & kill-switch layer, baked in
One runaway script can erase a year of careful work, so the safety layer is not an afterthought — it is built in from the start. We engineer per-trade and daily loss limits, exposure caps, and circuit breakers that pause activity when predefined thresholds are breached, plus a tested kill switch that can halt the whole system fast.
We are honest about the kill switch's tradeoffs too: a hair-trigger one causes false trips, so the right design uses multi-step or time-delayed activation and gets tested regularly rather than trusted blindly. For the full safety and monitoring layer, see trading risk systems & dashboards.
Local AI components — optional, and honest about them
If your workflow wants it, we add local AI on your own GPU: a FinBERT- or Llama-class model scoring news, filings, and earnings-call sentiment, or a private research assistant over your own notes and data. Because it runs locally, there are no per-token fees and your watchlist never leaves the building.
We frame this honestly. Sentiment scoring is a research and triage tool, not a buy-or-sell signal service. Published machine-learning-trading results — the kind cited in FinBERT or FinLlama studies — are research claims that hold under specific conditions, not outcomes you should expect; markets shift regime, edges decay, and no model is guaranteed to predict prices. We build the same kind of custom AI on the automation side too: see AI development services.
How a TIS build engagement works
We run every build the same disciplined way, from first conversation to ongoing support:
- Spec — we map your strategy idea to the components and the hardware it actually needs, and tell you plainly what is and is not worth building.
- Build — we engineer the software in Python or C++ and assemble the machine it runs on, owned outright with no SaaS subscription.
- Burn-in — every machine we ship is burn-in tested so it holds up through hours-long backtests and full trading sessions.
- Install — we set it up on-site across Houston, Katy, Fulshear, Sugar Land, Richmond, Rosenberg and Missouri City.
- Support — we stay on call for changes, broker-API updates, and hardware help; the code stays yours throughout.
Each layer of the stack — what we build, what stays yours
We engineer the tooling on the left. Every decision on the right is yours, and so is the result.
| Stack layer | What TIS builds | What stays yours |
|---|---|---|
| Data layer | Ingestion + point-in-time tick/bar storage | Which feeds and symbols you capture |
| Backtester | Walk-forward engine with cost & slippage modeling | The strategy, parameters, and how you read results |
| Execution | Broker/API adapters, paper-trading harness | When to go live and what orders to send |
| Risk layer | Loss limits, exposure caps, tested kill switch | The limit values and your risk tolerance |
| Dashboard | Local P&L / position / health web app | What you do with what you see |
We build and support the software and hardware. We do not supply strategies, signals, or any promise that a strategy will be profitable.
Is your strategy ready to automate?
Run through these before you build. Honest answers here save expensive surprises later.
1. Are the rules fully defined?
Automation needs explicit entry, exit, and sizing rules. If a discretionary judgment call is still in the loop, name it before we build around it.
2. Has it survived honest backtesting?
Walk-forward tested, with costs and slippage modeled? A strategy that only shines in a frictionless in-sample test is not ready to risk capital on.
3. Do you have the data it needs?
The strategy is only as good as the history behind it — point-in-time correct, deep enough, and stored where the engine can reach it fast.
4. What are the risk limits?
Per-trade and daily loss caps, max exposure, and the conditions that should trip the kill switch. Decide these before going live, not after.
5. Have you planned a paper-trading phase?
Every live system should run on simulated fills first. If you are in a hurry to skip this, that is the strongest reason not to.
6. Who maintains it over time?
Brokers change APIs and markets change regime. Plan for ongoing upkeep — we stay on call, and the code stays yours.
We engineer and install your trading stack here in Texas
From a Richmond swing trader moving a spreadsheet strategy into a real Python engine to a Rosenberg algo trader who wants a hard kill switch and live dashboard, we build the software, put it on hardware you own, and set it up in person across Houston, Katy, Fulshear, Sugar Land and the Fort Bend area — then stay on call. See our Texas service areas.
Custom trading software questions
What languages do you build trading software in?+
Mostly Python for research, backtesting, and dashboards, with C++ where execution paths need tighter timing. We match the language to the job rather than forcing one stack on every layer.
Who owns the code you build for me?+
You do. The backtester, execution adapters, risk layer, and dashboard are yours outright, on hardware you own — no SaaS subscription, no per-seat fees, no vendor holding your strategy hostage.
Which brokers and APIs can you integrate?+
We build execution adapters against documented broker and data APIs, and we are vendor-neutral about which one you use. We always wire up paper-trading first so the system is proven on simulated fills before any real order goes out.
Will you write or guarantee a profitable strategy?+
No. We build the tooling that lets you test your own edge rigorously — we do not supply the edge, sell signals, manage money, or guarantee any result. Backtested or modeled results do not predict future returns, and trading carries substantial risk of loss.
Do you provide ongoing support after the build?+
Yes. We spec, build, burn-in test, and install on-site across the Houston and Fort Bend area, then stay on call for changes, broker updates, and hardware support. The software is still yours; we are just the engineers behind it.
Put it on a backtesting server · add a risk & dashboard layer · learn the ML method honestly, or read more on custom AI servers.
Build the engine — and own every line of it
Tell us the strategy you want to automate and the broker you trade through — we'll engineer the backtester, execution, risk layer, and dashboard on hardware you own.
TIS builds the trading software and hardware you own — not financial advice, signals, or guaranteed performance, and we do not manage money. Backtested or modeled results do not predict future returns. Trading involves substantial risk of loss.