Quantitative Finance Jobs

Circa $180,000 plus bonus and benefits

This highly prestigious and forward thinking Global Prop Trading Firm, have announced their search for a Hands on Senior Development manager, to take a business critical role in their Chicago Office. The firm experienced a hugely successful and profitable 2009, thus are seeking to massively expand their presence in the electronic trading market for the coming year. From day one, you will be an instrumental figure within the firm, taking a key role in driving the team forward and leading others to design, develop and support their cutting global electronic trading platform. Reporting directly to the senior management, you will lead and manage a small and dedicated team of talented developers, utilizing your wide business knowledge and experience in electronic trading.

The ideal candidate will possess the following skill set;

· Strong hands on development experience in C++ (java would be a plus)
· Extensive experience in electronic trading
· Proven ability to lead and manage a team
· Great communication skills
· Innovative and passionate

The firm are known for their fantastic culture, and it will certainly be an extremely exciting role for a strong technical leader looking to make the next step in their career and face a new challenge with great responsibility. Compensation and bonus are likely to be very competitive and since you will be working directly alongside the senior heads of the firm, career progression prospects are huge.

This truly outstanding global investment bank, with a fantastic reputation for their strong focus on technology, is seeking a motivated C++ application developer to join the development of their cutting edge electronic option trading team. The platform includes real time execution systems with a lot of new exciting risk management tools, thus this is a truly excellent opportunity for a talented and motivated C++ developer looking to face a new challenge in a business focused environment. You will work in a small team of experienced technologists and take a key role in the development of the GUI, order handling system, risk management tools and calculation tools.

The ideal candidate will possess the following skill set;

* Experience with C/C++ on UNIX
* Advanced degree in computer science
* Knowledge TCP/IP and relational databases
* A strong motivation and passion towards technology
* Desire to work in a business focused environment

This is an ideal role for a C/C++ developer with experience working in a software development team to move in to a role which will not only give them the chance to learn and work on a number of new technologies, but the opportunity to gain a huge amount of business knowledge and gain a great understanding of finance. The firm would be open to seeing those without a financial background if they have a strong skill set and are motivated, passionate and have a desire to face a steep learning curve. The firm are known to treat employees well and salary and bonus/benefits will most likely be very competitive.

I wanted to get in touch regarding a new mandate with a well known prop trading firm based in Chicago. The team have just announced their search for a senior development manager, to take a hands on team lead role in their Chicago Office, and I wanted to see if this role would potentially take your interest.

The firm had a hugely successful 2009 and are looking to massively expand their presence in the electronic trading market for the coming year. You will be an instrumental figure within the firm, taking a key role in driving the firm forward for 2010 and reporting directly to the senior management.

Technically you will have a strong background in C++ (java would also be a plus), with a very hands on approach and a proven ability to lead a team of developers. You will need to be forward thinking, innovative and have a wide business knowledge.

The firm are known for their fantastic employee friendly culture, and it will certainly be a very exciting role for somebody looking to make the next step in their career and face a new challenge. Compensation and bonus are likely to be very competitive.

If you are potentially interested in this role, please could you reply as soon possible to clare.cooper@selbyjennings.com

Circa $100,000 plus bonus and benefits

The top US Investment Bank, without doubt one of the most profitable and prestigious of it’s kind, known for it’s excellent employee culture and benefits, is seeking to hire a junior developer, with proficiency in either C++ or java. You will work in a team of very established technologist in the field, and be responsible for developing financial applications for the fixed income trading system. Technically you will take a key involvement in the full software lifecycle and gain the opportunity to use a number of cutting edge financial technologies and improve your knowledge of the financial markets.

The ideal candidate will possess the following skill set;

•              Proficiency in either C++ or Java
•              UNIX/LINUX/Windows
•              Strong passion for technology and desire to learn more
•              Degree in computer science or related field
•              Ability to work in a forward thinking, fast paced environment

This is a very exciting role for an exceptional junior developer looking to establish themselves in a successful financial development team. The bank will give you an incredible opportunity to further your skill set and your career, and you will expect to be rewarded accordingly. Whilst those with a few years of experience in a financial development team would be preferred, the team would welcome those who are motivated to learn quickly and can come in and hit the ground running from day one.

Both investment banks for these two roles are keen to begin interview processe soon thus if you are interested, please could reply as soon as possible with an updated copy of your CV to clare.cooper@selbyjennings.com

Clare Cooper|Consultant
Algorithmic Trading and Technology
Selby Jennings Limited
(: +44 (0) 207 019 4137
*: clare.cooper@selbyjennings.com
IE-Logo.jpg: www.selbyjennings.com

Circa $150,000 plus very competitive bonus and benefits

Arguably one of the world’s most renowned and successful investment banks, is seeking to hire an exceptional and passionate C++ developer to join their growing global Automated Market Making desk in New York. The team is responsible for providing continue electronic markets for options on various exchanges and from day one you will make a key impact on the team, driving forward a number of mission critical development projects for the coming year. You will work in a close team of developers, traders, quants and SAs and be responsible for designing, implementing and supporting the real time trading environment.

As a leading member of the team you will need to possess the following qualities;

·          Extensive experience of C/C++
·          Knowledge of Java, Perl, Scripting
·          UNIX/LINUX
·          Excellent Motivation and Team Working Skill
·          Ability to work in a fast paced environment

This is a fantastic opportunity for an established and motivated C++ technologist to join an investment bank that will give them the opportunity to firmly cement their career. Not only will you expect incredible remuneration but you will get direct exposure to the business and be a senior member of a team predicted to excel over the next year. Whilst a background working in a real time trading systems would be desirable, the bank is open to seeing someone coming from a front office team, or non financial environment if they have the drive and technical skill to excel themselves.

Clare Cooper|Consultant
Algorithmic Trading and Technology
Selby Jennings Limited
(: +44 (0) 207 019 4137
*: clare.cooper@selbyjennings.com
IE-Logo.jpg: www.selbyjennings.com

Brain teasers in a job interview generally show that the interviewer has

a) no clue about his technical/operational subject. If an interviewer is not able to judge whether a person is qualified for the job by having a good meeting, listening to his/her previous experience and the things he/she has done already in real live, it is already a sign that something went wrong in bringing this person on board. I know that “brain teasers” are an increasingly found bad habit and I presume that this is coming from this idiotic business consultant type of persons (a la assessment centers). Which again would support the thesis that they do not have real experience in their jobs and thus need such strange methods like brain teasers and puzzles – if the interviewer lacks the technical/operational qualification there the only method of judgment obviously is a “brain teaser”.

b) significant deficits in management skills: I want people who are honest, well trained and diligent … and the last method to find that out is a “brain teaser”. It is even questionable to find out whether a person is “intelligent” (what is the definition for intelligent ?) by such things. I don’t pay people solving puzzles and playing game (my little son is doing that, and he is in the right age for it)

But even more important in my opinion – it shows a considerable amount of disrespect concerning the interviewee. Im my opinion it is extremely unprofessional to play the “who has the longest …” game at work.

Fortunately I do not have to go these types of interviews (and hopefully I will not have to) … but if so, before working for somebody who runs around throwing “brain teaser” questions at people (not for fun but with the intent of making “judgment”) I would rather change my career path.

Do you ask a Fund Manager if he is good at “brain teasers” ? Probably not – you look whether the guy is successful in his track (which also involves alot of social intelligence to convince people) and whether his concepts are sound.

So when would there be the need to ask him a brain teaser question : only if you did not understand his concept and you were not able to make judgment from his track record, right?

Maybe … the questions which I should ask myself as a manager is, whether I want people who “accommodate” to every silly idea I have or whether I want to have a team of experts whom I can rely upon also when I am not in the office (which implies that the manager is capable leading a highly qualified expert group) … it is a question of leadership.

Clearly, a team needs a leader and the leader has the final decision … however it should be considered as a qualification of the leader to differentiate between things that are important (and thus his decisions are mandatory to all team members) and things that are just “baloney” (like “brain teasers”) …

I think, that if you are a quant expert you will always get a job … and those companies which do not consider you (despite your expertise, work experience and innovation capacity) just because you restrict your own thinking to that which is appreciated by your boss, you probably do not want to work for …

The assumption that the interviewer IS good is an idealized assumption (a bit similar to a model optimized on past data . If you look at overall fund tracks (cleansed of survivorship bias) the assumption that the interviewers ARE has statistically not too much evidence, does it !? (you could say the sales guys ARE per definition good …). That brain teasers are common maybe, which does not mean that they are bringing wrong results. The thing I m afraid of is, that the risk of a false negative, i.e. sending a real crack with a huge amount of knowledge away, just because he had a bad day or another one has heard the question before already is too high. Nobody knows what the real ratios in terms of false positive or false negatives with these types questions are … however they are used without actual figures at hand – and I suspect that many “interviewers” work like that – using techniques with no sufficient evidence of success, hit rates, and potential blow-up cases – also in their financial software. Indeed thats the way of creating a couple of mil loss easily …

I think we all heard terrible stories about quant interviews where people were put in different kinds of unpleasant situations. For one reason or another – be that a desire to see person’s reactions under stress (that is a part of the job)  or simply interviewer’s style, some employers behave quite obnoxious and arrogant – and this is their mistake.

When it comes to hiring, some employers act like they hold all the cards–and they can treat job seekers as poorly as they want, without consequence. They’re wrong: Smart employers know that good candidates have options (to say nothing of the ethical implications of being rude just because you think you can). Here are five common ways employers behave badly when hiring:

Having no regard for the candidate’s time. From last-minute cancellations, without apology or acknowledgement of the inconvenience, to not paying attention in the interview, some employers act like their time is the only time that matters. Most candidates go to a lot of trouble to prepare for an interview — reading up on the company, taking time off work, and often traveling–and their time should be respected too.

Not sharing their timeline. Employers have some idea of whether they’ll be getting back to candidates in a week or a month. There’s no reason not to share that information, and it can be agonizing on the job seeker’s side to have no sense of the timeline the employer will be moving on — and yet many employers keep job seekers uninformed.

Refusing to share their salary range, but asking you for yours. Employers know roughly how much they’re willing to pay; there’s no reason not to share that info, other than that they’re hoping to get you for a lower price. But that’s lame: If they lowball you now and you figure out later that you’re underpriced for the market, they risk losing you over it. They should tell you the range they expect to pay and put an end to all the drama and coyness.

Misrepresenting the work. Interviewers who make the job sound more glamorous or downplay less attractive aspects of the job–such as long hours–are guaranteeing they’ll end up with a bitter employee. Truth in advertising works to everyone’s advantage, because candidates who won’t thrive in the job, or the culture, can self-select out before they become your disgruntled employees.

Not notifying candidates that they’re no longer under consideration. This is both common and inexcusably rude. Candidate are often anxiously waiting to hear an answer–any answer–and end up waiting and waiting, long after a decision has been made. It’s about simple respect and courtesy (and it just doesn’t take that long to email a form letter).

Wish you great interview experiances and good luck with a job search!

Computer Skills
C++, C#, Java, R, MATLAB, SQL, Perl, JavaScript
Mathematical Knowledge
Statistical regressions, quadratic/linear programming, probability theory, matrix algebra, Black-Scholes option pricing math, risk-neutral valuation, random walks/Brownian motion, interest rate/yield curve math, modern portfolio theory, Monte Carlo simulation, big-O algorithm analysis, Bayesian statistics, stochastic calculus, high-dimensional space, pattern classification/machine learning (linear discriminant functions, neural networks)

If you get most of the skills above – your employment as quant is assured

The short answer – VBA skills are not required but may help you in your career.

Overall, quants are required to have multiple set of skills and technologies. The main function of a quant in the business is to develop and maintain financial models, do quantitative analysis. If you are working in a large organization in the quantitative position – quantitative skills is all you need, all the rest will provided by the IT departments. The situation is totally different if you are working in smaller offices. You would need a much more diverse set of skills and VBA probably would be one of them.

The answer is – I do not know. I do not have a statistics of quant employment at Wall Street.

Though I do believe that – yes, Ivy League grad quants get the best and highest paid jobs.

Why?

The reasoning behind is simple:

Factor 1: Proven record of excellent (top in the world) performance. If you were good enough to get in and, more importantly, do well in the Ivy League school means that you have a set of qualities  that allowed you to outperform your competitors in the past (everyone wants to get into the Ivy Leagues – only actually able t0).

Factor 2: Better technical, technological, theoretical, educational background. You can argue all day long that one gets as much out of school as one desires (or how much is determined). The truth is that an average Ivy League grad is much more determined, much more disciplined, much better prepared educationally than students from other schools. Why? They study in the much more competitive environment, with much stronger professors. They use the latest and greatest technological advances since their schools can afford to implement them in the programs faster then other schools.

Factor 3: Its hard to determine skills based on the resume and interview. Ivy League diploma is basically a certification of a good quality. Four point zero GPA from an Ivy Leauge schools is in fact a fair proof that you do know what you are expected to know after years of school. It does guarantee that you are a highly motivated individual and you can work really hard to excel.

Factor 4: People tend to hire grads from the schools they went to. Wall Street is full of Ivy League grads, especially top firms. Loyalty to the own school is very common.

After all said and done – not getting into the Ivy League should not discourage you from studying. Ivy League does neither guarantee a job, nor protects you from a lay off. It just opens a door for more opportunities.