Quantitative researchers from our team answer some of our candidates’ frequently asked questions.
Applying a curious and commercial mindset is crucial to success. Whether you are analyzing asset behavior under different circumstances, identifying risk factors or deciphering patterns from vast datasets, it’s essential to demonstrate these qualities:
Ownership
We encourage initiative. Those who take on responsibility and accountability for projects are supported and rewarded and grow the fastest.
Creativity
The problems we take on generally don’t have simple solutions. You will be exposed to real-world problems and must innovate and iterate from multiple angles with passion and persistence. We are excited by the opportunity to test our ideas—and keep doing so until we find a solution.
Ambition and Resilience
You should have an insatiable drive to seek out problems and identify their solutions. There is no shortage of interesting issues to work on, and the most successful quants are true self-starters who are eager to take on new challenges and solve difficult challenges.
Our work is challenging. People who thrive here embrace failure as an opportunity to learn and keep pushing forward. You need to be able to share strong rationales for the solutions you propose and must be comfortable pivoting.
Technical proficiency
Excellence is our baseline. Expertise in the financial markets is not necessarily required on Day One; we’ll teach you. We want talented researchers who place a high degree of importance on precision, want to learn, can master new skills and continue to raise the bar together.
Math and Statistics
It’s vital to have these foundational skills, since you’ll be spending a lot of time modeling and forecasting, using statistics as a launching point. We can teach you everything you need to know about finance, but you should already have a robust statistical intuition.
Engineering and Coding
Coding can be very useful in quantitative roles. Familiarity with computer science will help you learn quickly and use our proprietary tools independently.
Working with Data
Prior experience working with data will enhance your ability to understand its real-world applications and model that information effectively. Many of your colleagues will come from non-computer science backgrounds like chemistry or physics, where they utilized these skills. This is invaluable as we develop new approaches to identify market signals.
Applied Research
A deep understanding of conducting and applying research is critical. Markets change daily and positions may need to be kept open for an extended period. To that end, experience working on long-term research projects is extremely beneficial, but learning on the job is equally effective.
Our asset management business includes: fundamental and quantitative strategies. Both approaches require top research talent – the main difference lies in how the models developed by our researchers are used to make investment decisions.
In our fundamental businesses, quants develop models that are used by our investment and trading professional to make decisions.
In Global Quantitative Strategies, quants work closely with engineers to build models that trade systematically.
We only hire extraordinary talent. Our colleagues are extremely smart, driven individuals focused on achieving results. The opportunity for learning and growth is unrivaled.
Success is shared. We work alongside our peers and mentors to develop ideas together. When quants present their work to their research team, they receive valuable academic-style feedback. Teams pressure-test ideas from all angles, asking nuanced questions and challenging specific elements to ensure the concept is as strong as possible.
We can also make an impact faster here than just about anywhere else. Some firms keep research and production separate. Here, we combine the two, making us faster and more agile. A new project might go from ideation, to deployment, to the investment and trading teams within an hour.
When you start, you will join a specialized team and have the opportunity to quickly learn and master new skills. Your success depends on your ability to apply yourself in a collaborative environment, one in which you can turn your ideas into measurable business impact.
Citadel provides the resources and mentors you need to be successful. There are countless opportunities to raise your hand with ideas and receive the tools to translate those lightbulb moments into reality. Flawless execution of these proposals will only lead to more opportunities to explore your solutions and demonstrate their value.
As you progress, you can take control of core strategies, new ideas and features. There is a real opportunity to own the entire pipeline—from generating an idea, to determining its viability, to implementing code, and finally, to deploying the solution for the business.
A true meritocracy, we foster an environment where people who demonstrate initiative and capability keep both their projects and careers accelerating.
You will have the opportunity to hone your research expertise, improve your technical skills and develop your intuition.
When you work in the financial markets, you won’t wait weeks or months to see if you were right or if your hypothesis held. Projects are put into production and live trading. The markets give you real-time feedback, which helps you iterate and learn faster.
Since attention to detail is key, our quants continually sharpen their coding skills and become more confident in their ability to consistently deliver stable and production-ready code.
Our quants also develop a strong intuition for identifying what is important when they are testing and researching projects. Sometimes a small anomaly can lead to a large discovery, and they learn to embrace that way of thinking as they develop their intuition.
Collaboration is at the heart of our culture. We learn not only from our research, but from one another. Everyone focuses on new ways to contribute and add value.
We encourage the dynamic, experimental and autonomous approach familiar in many leading tech startups but provide the supportive framework of an established financial firm. This means you can benefit from mobility, communication, resources and top-tier benefits.
Our researchers come from a variety of backgrounds and thrive because they bring their unique perspectives and research specialties to bear. While each quant is expected to be a subject matter expert in a particular vertical, sharing and challenging ideas is necessary develop and deliver optimal solutions. Everyone continually thinks about how they can add value and what they can do to contribute.
Finally, we are empowered to contribute in meaningful ways. We’re motivated to do more than we ever thought possible – and are recognized for our accomplishments.
