Experienced Equity Options Trader

Tell me about a time your position went against you quickly. What did you do in the first few minutes?

What they are checking: composure and decision-making speed under real trading losses

Describe a time you disagreed with a technologist or quant about how a pricing model or system should work. How did you resolve it?

What they are checking: ability to partner constructively with technical teams rather than dictate from the trading side

Tell me about a trade or strategy you built or improved that changed how your desk operated.

What they are checking: track record of ownership and initiative beyond just executing trades

Tell me about a time you had to give a teammate difficult feedback about their trading or risk-taking.

What they are checking: team-first attitude and willingness to hold peers accountable

What's something about market-making in equity options that most people outside the industry misunderstand?

What they are checking: genuine expertise and ability to communicate complex ideas simply

Say you notice your market-making quotes are getting picked off systematically by faster participants. What do you do?

What they are checking: understanding of adverse selection and willingness to adjust strategy or escalate to technology partners

If your firm's risk limits suddenly got cut in half mid-day during a volatile market, how would you decide what to unwind first?

What they are checking: prioritization and risk discipline under constrained resources

Imagine a new junior trader joins your group and keeps taking outsized risk relative to their limits. What do you do?

What they are checking: leadership instincts and mentorship approach within a trading pod

Walk me through how you would price and manage risk on an equity index options book when implied volatility suddenly diverges from realized volatility.

What they are checking: whether the candidate has real hands-on volatility trading intuition rather than textbook knowledge

How do you think about the greeks on a book of ETF and equity index options when you're managing multiple expirations at once?

What they are checking: depth of practical risk management across a live, multi-dimensional book

How would you explain the relationship between skew and the demand for downside protection in equity index options right now?

What they are checking: current market awareness and depth of options theory knowledge

What's a mispriced situation in equity options you've seen recently, and how would you have structured a trade around it?

What they are checking: whether the candidate is actively engaged with markets and can articulate an edge

How do you approach correlation risk between individual equity names and the broader index when running both types of options?

What they are checking: sophistication in thinking about portfolio-level risk, not just single positions