November 09, 2024
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Thanks for your interest in Citadel! We’re looking forward to meeting you and have prepared this guide to help you understand our recruiting and interview process for quantitative research.
First, what should you know
Interviewing with us means having the opportunity to talk with two firms at once: Citadel and Citadel Securities. At both firms, the brightest minds in finance, science and technology work together closely. As a result, our team members naturally learn from one another and deliver real-world impact, starting from day one.
Given the broad range of quantitative research opportunities at the firms, there’s no single profile we look for. Our most successful colleagues do have a few traits in common, though:
If this sounds like a place where you would enjoy contributing, we’d like to introduce ourselves.
We know that technical interviews can be challenging—especially when we explore the boundaries of your knowledge. Our approach is practical and oriented towards problem solving. If you face a setback, say so! Our culture is built on collaboration, and we want to iterate with you.
Don’t be afraid to spend time assessing a problem before jumping to a solution or writing code. You are always welcome to ask clarifying questions.
Share your thought process. Discuss trade-offs among different possible approaches. Be clear about what you know and what you don’t know.
We want you to succeed! If you get stuck, ask questions and take hints.
Our recruiting process is designed to connect you with our world-class quantitative researchers. They will give you a sense of our different teams and the exciting projects they work on day-to-day, while also gaining an understanding of your experiences and ambitions. There are four steps in the process. Typically, it takes about four to five weeks from start to finish – however, we will do our best to accelerate the process if you have competing deadlines.
This 45- to 60-minute remote interview will cover both technical and behavioral skills. We use video, so be sure you’re camera ready!
We’ll focus on programming skills, research ability, data structures/algorithms and problem-solving. Our core programming languages are Python and C++, but we welcome any languages. Prior to the interviews, we’ll send a CoderPad link.
Your interviewer may ask you to explain your approach. These aren’t trick questions: we just want to learn more about your strategy and process. The interviewer will also ask about your technical interests, past internship experience, school projects and your reasons for exploring opportunities at Citadel.
The second round is onsite, and usually consists of three to five 60-minute interviews. Like the first round, it assesses a combination of technical and behavioral skills.
It’s also an opportunity for you to ask what’s on your mind, so come prepared with questions.
Following this round of interviews, we will reach out with next steps within two weeks.
Following the second round, hiring managers across teams within Citadel will determine your fit within their specific team. If multiple teams are interested in moving forward with your candidacy, you will work with your recruiting contact to determine the best fit for you.
If we decide to move forward with an offer, our recruiting team will contact you with final details.
Gain a better understanding of what it’s like to work here from quantitative researchers on our careers page.
We encourage and appreciate transparency. Please let us know as soon as you receive another offer, or progress through an interview process with a different firm. In these situations, we do our best to accommodate your deadlines.
We prefer to interview for one role at a time, but if we believe there is a good match, we will share your resume with prospective teams.
We interview candidates during regular business hours to respect our team’s schedules as much as possible. Normally that’s Monday through Friday, 8:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
