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Quant Strategist

Akuna Capital · Chicago, IL · Quant Strategy

Posted Jul 13, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Sep 20, 2026

Apply at Akuna Capital

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 time you built a pricing model or trading signal from scratch. What was the math behind it and how did you validate it before it touched real risk?

whether the candidate has actually shipped a model into production and understands the gap between theory and live trading

Tell me about a time your code had a bug that only showed up under production load or market conditions, not in testing. How did you find it and what did you change afterward?

engineering maturity and whether they take ownership of production incidents rather than blaming environment

Describe a situation where you disagreed with a trader or researcher about whether a strategy was ready to go live. How did you handle it?

ability to hold a technical position under pressure while still collaborating productively

Tell me about a time you had to learn a new area of math or finance quickly to solve a problem at work. How did you get up to speed?

learning agility, since the role explicitly requires absorbing market complexity on the job

Technical

Suppose you have an option's implied volatility surface and you notice the skew is behaving strangely compared to the rest of the market. How would you go about figuring out if that's a real signal or noise?

depth of options pricing intuition and statistical rigor in separating signal from noise

Explain how you'd price a European call option without using the Black-Scholes formula directly, using something like a binomial tree or Monte Carlo.

core quantitative finance fundamentals and comfort deriving results rather than reciting formulas

If you had to estimate the probability that a stock moves more than 5 percent in the next week using only historical price data, how would you approach it, and what would worry you about your own estimate?

statistical reasoning and self-awareness about model limitations like fat tails and non-stationarity

How would you optimize a piece of Python code that's the bottleneck in your execution pipeline, and when would you decide it's worth rewriting in C++ instead?

practical performance engineering judgment, not just theoretical knowledge of complexity

Give me an example of a machine learning or statistical technique you applied to a real problem, and tell me what you would do differently if you started over.

honesty about the limits of prior work and depth of technique beyond buzzwords

How would you explain the concept of implied volatility to someone who understands calculus but has never touched an options market?

communication skill and whether their understanding is deep enough to teach, not just memorized

Situational

You're given a stream of quotes coming in faster than your system can process them cleanly. How would you design the logic to decide what to act on and what to drop?

understanding of latency tradeoffs and decision-making under real-time constraints, relevant to market making

Say a strategy that has been profitable for months suddenly starts losing money right after you deployed a change. Walk me through how you'd figure out whether it's the change, the market regime, or something else.

systematic debugging instinct and resistance to jumping to conclusions when money is on the line

If the market suddenly moves sharply during a data release and your models start producing quotes that look wrong, what do you do in the next sixty seconds?

composure and triage instinct under fast-moving, high-stakes conditions

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The full job description

As published by Akuna Capital.

About Akuna:  Akuna Capital is an innovative trading firm with a strong focus on collaboration, cutting-edge technology, data driven solutions, and automation. We specialize in providing liquidity as an options market maker – meaning we are committed to providing competitive quotes that we are willing to both buy and sell. To do this successfully, we design and implement our own low latency technologies, trading strategies, and mathematical models.  Our Founding Partners first conceptualized Akuna in their hometown of Sydney. They opened the firm’s first office in 2011 in the heart of the derivatives industry and the options capital of the world – Chicago. Today, Akuna is proud to operate from additional offices in Sydney, Shanghai, London, and Singapore.  What you’ll do as a Quantitative Strategist at Akuna:  Akuna's Quantitative Trading and Research team is looking to add Quant Strategists to a team of mathematicians, statisticians and technologists. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in developing and enhancing our trading strategies by leveraging quantitative expertise and a deep understanding of financial markets. This position offers the opportunity to make a direct impact on our trading decisions and overall performance. The ideal candidate will possess strong programming skills, a creative mindset, and a passion for the intricacies of financial markets. In this role you will:  <ul> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Design and develop production code for trading strategies, including pricing models, execution logic, and performance optimization while collaborating closely with researchers, traders, and system engineers.</li> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Analyze and incorporate market signals into our trading systems to enhance decision-making and performance outcomes.</li> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Advance our existing codebase by proposing new solutions, optimizations, and improvements that align with trading goals.</li> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Participate in the rapid prototyping of cutting-edge trading solutions driven by quantitative analysis and market research.</li> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Stay ahead of industry trends and developments in financial markets to inform strategy adjustments and innovations.</li> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Respond quickly and accurately to rapidly changing market conditions, solving mathematical and coding challenges as they arise.</li> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Engage in ongoing learning and development to deepen understanding of financial markets and enhance strategic initiatives. </li> </ul> Qualities that make great candidates:  <ul> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD degree in a technical field, such as Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, or Physics (or a related subject), with degree completion required upon employment. </li> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">3+ years of experience in a quantitative or programming role, preferably within the finance or trading sectors.</li> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Proficient programming skills in Python (C++ is a plus) </li> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Desire and ability to learn the complexities of financial markets and trading mechanisms.</li> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Deep understanding of fields such as Linear Algebra, Numerical Methods, Statistics, Optimization, Signal Processing, Computer Architecture, Machine Learning, and Heterogeneous/High-Performance Computing.</li> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to react quickly and effectively to rapidly changing market conditions.</li> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Strong interest in financial markets and trading is highly valued.</li> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559683":0,"335559684":-2,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">The ability to react quickly and accurately to rapidly changing market conditions, including the ability to quickly and accurately respond and/or solve math and coding problems are essential functions of the role   </li> </ul> In addition to technical skillsets, Akuna values the unique perspectives people can bring to the table to collaboratively solve complex problems and drive Akuna forward. We want everyone to feel empowered to apply. We welcome your application and encourage you to take the first steps toward your future with us! In accordance with Illinois Equal Pay Act, the minimum base salary starts at $145,000. Exact compensation offered may vary based on many factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s experience, qualifications, and skill set. This role is also eligible for a discretionary performance bonus as part of the total compensation package and includes a comprehensive benefits package that may encompass employer-paid medical, dental, vision, retirement contributions, paid time off, and other benefits. The minimum base salary herein was determined in good faith by Akuna Capital LLC.

Apply at Akuna Capital

Quant Strategist

Likely interview questions for this role

Practice this interview out loud.

The full job description

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Expression of Interest: 2027 Trading Sneak Peek Weeks