Cboe: Recommendation Letter for Clinton Steiner
Cboe Global Markets
Dr Christian Facchini
Senior Manager, Software Engineering, Test
17 January 2026
Letter of Support for Clinton J Steiner – Application for Master of Computer Science at Rice University
Dear Members of the Admissions Committee,
I am writing to offer my full support for Mr Clinton J Steiner’s application for the Master of Computer Science programme at Rice University.
As a Senior Manager at Cboe Global Markets and having observed Clinton’s successes and upwards career trajectory over the past three years, I am confident to say that Clinton is optimally positioned to excel in your programme. His impressive track record in software engineering and build infrastructure, demonstrated by his leadership of critical technical migrations and innovative solutions that have transformed our continuous integration pipeline, combined with his vision, quality and promotion of positive engineering culture internationally, makes him a role model in software craftsmanship and, hence, an excellent fit for advanced study at Rice University.
I first met Clinton in late 2022, when he joined Cboe as a Software Engineer in the Data Pipeline Engineering Team. One of the first initiatives he led was the migration of our test infrastructure from the legacy “nosetests” runner to “pytest”. This was no trivial undertaking, as it involved converting test suites across our entire multi-market trading platform, spanning regions across the globe, from US and Canada, to Europe and Australia. Clinton approached this challenge with remarkable technical acumen and foresight: he designed and implemented a custom plugin that intercepted test attributes written for the legacy test runner and made them compatible with “pytest”. His elegant solution allowed our development teams to continue writing tests in a test-runner-agnostic manner whilst Clinton systematically migrated the underlying infrastructure. The project’s success speaks to his ability to balance technical innovation with practical engineering constraints.
Clinton’s technical capabilities extend well beyond this initial project. In 2024, he single-handedly designed and delivered a sophisticated build artefact caching solution using Amazon S3 that has revolutionised our continuous integration pipeline. Every job in our continuous integration system now retrieves cached builds from S3, resulting in measurable improvements in both execution time and infrastructure costs. What impressed me most about this project was Clinton’s systematic approach: he thoroughly researched the problem space, validated a well-architected solution, proposed it to his manager and executive leaders, implemented it with careful attention to reliability and performance, and delivered comprehensive documentation. The impact of this work cannot be overstated: it has improved the developer experience vastly, while also reducing running costs. TODO: quantify cost reduction.
Clinton champions quality, speed, and repeatability in our CI environment. Among other initiatives, he has developed watchdog scripts to monitor system health proactively, and spearheaded infrastructure modernisation efforts including our migration to RHEL 9 and PostgreSQL 17. His work on a Python module to synthesise messages as though they originate from the matching engine demonstrates his ability to tackle complex, multi-day trading testing scenarios that require deep understanding of both our business domain and technical systems. In every project, Clinton exhibits an inquisitive mind that drives him to understand performance bottlenecks and fix root causes rather than applying superficial patches.
What distinguishes Clinton most is his can-do attitude and eagerness to learn, tempered by genuine humility. He approaches challenges with curiosity and determination, always willing to put in the effort required to deliver excellence. His diplomatic skills and ability to build rapport make him an invaluable collaborator: when I have invited Clinton over to Europe to share his knowledge with the associates in the London office, his presentations have been highly regarded and well received across the organisation.
Clinton’s social and communication skills allow him to build trust with all collaborators, from junior developers to senior architects. His attentiveness to others’ perspectives and his clear, thoughtful communication style have established strong credibility that gives him an immense advantage in building a successful network of peers. He has become a role model within our team, demonstrating the qualities we seek in all our engineers: technical excellence, proactive problem-solving, continuous learning, and humble, collaborative spirit.
Clinton’s ambition to pursue a Master of Science in Computer Science at Rice University reflects his commitment to tackling ambitious and exciting projects, with clear goals of contributing to complex issues in the field. His solid research skills, proven track record of delivering innovative solutions to real-world engineering challenges, and demonstrated ability to engage in cross-disciplinary collaboration make him perfectly suited for advanced academic study. His long-term vision for his career in software engineering, combined with his strong technical foundation, positions him to make significant contributions both during his studies and in his future career.
I have no doubt that Clinton will bring the same dedication, intellectual curiosity, and collaborative spirit to Rice University that he has demonstrated at Cboe. His technical capabilities, work ethic, and commitment to excellence will make him an asset to your programme and a valued member of your academic community.
In conclusion, Clinton is an exceptional professional, a talented software engineer with a proven ability to deliver high-impact technical solutions, and a valued collaborator who elevates every team he joins. I am utterly confident that he will make significant contributions to the Rice University community and to the broader field of computer science, and I offer my highest recommendation for his application.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require any additional information regarding Clinton’s qualifications or achievements.
Sincerely,
Dr Christian Facchini
Senior Manager, Software Engineering, Test
Cboe Global Markets