Principal Quantitative Researcher - Systematic

Chicago Trading Company · Chicago, IL · Trading & Quant

Posted Sep 11, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Sep 20, 2026

Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

Behavioral

Walk me through a research idea you took from a raw hypothesis all the way to something that generated real PnL. What did that path actually look like?

whether the candidate can drive research from concept to commercial impact, not just produce academic analysis

Tell me about a time your backtest looked great but the strategy didn't hold up in live trading. What went wrong and how did you find it?

awareness of overfitting, regime change, and the gap between simulation and reality

Describe a research roadmap you built for a team. How did you decide what to prioritize and how did you keep people accountable to it?

whether they've actually run a structured research function versus just done individual contributor work

Tell me about a disagreement you had with a trader or engineer over whether a model was ready to go live. How did you resolve it?

ability to navigate cross-functional tension between research rigor and business urgency

Tell me about a time you had to explain a complicated quantitative result to someone without a quant background, maybe a trader or a senior leader, and get them to act on it.

communication skill under the exact condition the posting emphasizes: translating complex research into decisions

What's a piece of published or internal research you're proud of, and what would you change about it if you did it again today?

intellectual honesty and whether they hold their own work to a high bar rather than overselling it

Technical

How would you think about pricing and modeling volatility surfaces for a product with thin, noisy quote data, say a less liquid options chain?

depth of options pricing knowledge and comfort with real-world data limitations, not textbook Black-Scholes

How do you validate that a signal is genuinely predictive and not just an artifact of your sample or your feature construction?

statistical rigor and skepticism toward their own results

What does your Python research stack actually look like day to day, and where have you had to move beyond Numpy and Pandas because they weren't enough?

genuine hands-on coding depth versus rehearsed familiarity with buzzword libraries

Situational

If I gave you a new market or asset class we've never traded and told you to find a source of edge, where would you start?

how they structure open-ended research and prioritize under ambiguity, given the role's mandate to define a long-term revenue vision

Say your team ships a pricing model change and PnL drops the next week. Walk me through how you'd investigate whether it's the model, market structure, or noise.

structured debugging under pressure and ability to separate signal from noise in live trading outcomes

If two of your researchers are chasing overlapping ideas and stepping on each other, how do you handle that as the person setting direction?

management instincts and comfort making tradeoffs that affect people, not just models

How do you think about the tradeoff between building infrastructure that scales research across a team versus just getting your own idea live faster?

whether they think like a principal who builds leverage for others, not just an individual contributor optimizing for personal output

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The full job description

As published by Chicago Trading Company.

<div class="content-intro">Chicago Trading Company (CTC) is a premier proprietary trading firm specializing in options market making.  Our collaborative culture fuels innovation in quantitative research, systematic trading strategies, and cutting-edge trading technology.  For over three decades CTC has provided critical liquidity across derivatives exchanges worldwide - making them fairer, more transparent, and more efficient. We strive to be the most innovative firm in the industry today, tomorrow, and long into the future while upholding ethical excellence. We believe that CTC makes a positive impact on the markets, the lives of our employees, and all the communities to which we belong. Started in 1995 by a team of forward-thinking Traders, we are proud to call ourselves an industry leader that keeps making markets and each other better.</div>Quantitative research is a key driver of innovation at CTC and one of the pillars upon which our firm is built. We are seeking a Principal Quantitative Researcher to partner with Trading and Technology to drive new revenue, scale, and evolve the firm's trading capabilities. In this role, you will lead research areas, influencing the direction of the team in a dynamic environment. This includes partnership with other researcher managers, traders and engineers on quantitative problem solving, trading strategy generation, back-testing, statistical analysis, and system design.  Take advantage of this opportunity to apply the scientific method to business problems as part of the Quant team at CTC!  <h2>What You’ll Do</h2> <ul> <li>Define and articulate a long-term vision that will lead to new sources of revenue, evolving with business needs and market structure </li> <li>Conduct commercially focused revenue generating research, while supporting others with their research </li> <li>Develop a structured roadmap and ensure quant functions remain focused, aligned, and accountable </li> <li>Direct development of innovative infrastructure across pricing models and research platforms </li> <li>Foster coordination across risk management, development, and quantitative research to drive measurable business impact </li> <li>Provide thought leadership while applying academic rigor to practical trading applications  </li> </ul> <h2>What We’re Looking For</h2> <ul> <li>PhD in Science or Engineering fields (e.g. Statistics, Mathematics, Physics, Operations Research, Electrical Engineering) strongly preferred </li> <li>Experience in a top systematic trading team of which at least 10 years as a quantitative researcher </li> <li>Proven ability to conduct independent, high-quality research </li> <li>Demonstrable track record of generating positive PnL </li> <li>Exceptional ability to communicate complex ideas and research results, both in writing and verbally </li> <li>Experience with the software development lifecycle with advanced programming skills </li> <li>Unique combination of analytical prowess, programming skills, and acute understanding of business </li> <li>Unwavering commitment to quality, coupled with a drive for delivering commercial outcomes </li> <li>Strong Python skills including Numpy and Pandas libraries </li> </ul> <h2>Nice to Haves</h2> <ul> <li>Management experience leading a healthy and empowered team, driving accountability. </li> <li>Experience with a wide variety of market and alternative data  </li> <li>Expertise in US options markets, options pricing models, volatility surfaces, and risk management techniques  </li> <li>Strong Python skills including Numpy and Pandas libraries  </li> <li>Strong track record of publications in an industry setting </li> </ul><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="description">Compensation The salary range for this role is listed below. This role is also eligible for an annual discretionary bonus. The discretionary bonus will be dependent upon the individual’s skills, experience, qualifications, and firm performance. </div><div class="title">Salary Range</div><div class="pay-range">$250,000—$300,000 USD</div></div></div><div class="content-conclusion">Most teams at CTC, with the exception of Trading, follow a hybrid workplace model, subject to change based on business need. Our Benefits  We strongly believe in the well-being of our employees and their families so we offer outstanding benefits to support you both professionally and personally. These benefits include generous time off, insurance coverage, paid parental leave, free breakfast and lunch (plus healthy snacks, of course), wellness reimbursement, and a variety of other benefits focused on providing the best employee experience.  (Disclaimer: interns and contractors are not eligible for benefits at CTC)  Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion At CTC, we aim to cultivate a workplace that celebrates diversity and each person feels included, engaged and empowered. Where each of us feels we belong. We are committed to having a diverse workforce and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. CTC does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform crucial job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.  If you have a disability and believe you need a reasonable accommodation in order to search for a job opening or to apply for a position, please contact us at info@chicagotrading.com. Note that emails sent to this email account for non-disability related issues, such as following up on an application, will not receive a response. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Information submitted by job applicants may be subject to review and analysis by automated systems, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), as part of the recruitment process. Such systems are utilized to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our hiring procedures. Applicants are advised that any information provided may be evaluated by AI tools to ensure an equitable and thorough assessment.</div>

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Principal Quantitative Researcher - Systematic

Likely interview questions for this role

Practice this interview out loud.

The full job description

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