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 project where you found a signal, tested it, and eventually got it into production. What did that process look like end to end?

whether the candidate has actually shipped research into a live trading system, not just produced academic findings

Tell me about a time your backtest looked great but the strategy didn't hold up, or wouldn't have held up, in live markets. What did you miss?

awareness of overfitting, look-ahead bias, and other backtest pitfalls that separate real quant researchers from academics

Describe a piece of research you did that never made it into production. What happened, and how did you decide to stop pursuing it?

judgment about when to cut losses on a research idea and honesty about failure

Tell me about the most complex statistical or mathematical concept you've had to explain to someone without your technical background. How did you do it?

communication skill, since the posting explicitly calls out explaining complex ideas verbally and in writing

Tell me about a research result you were confident in that ended up contradicting a colleague's approach. How did you resolve it?

collaborative rigor and whether they can navigate disagreement in a research-heavy team without ego getting in the way

Technical

Say you find a strong statistical relationship between two variables in options data. How do you decide whether it's a real economic effect versus noise or a microstructure artifact?

depth of statistical rigor and understanding of market microstructure versus pure data mining

How would you go about building a model of the implied volatility surface for a single underlying, and what are the tradeoffs between different approaches?

direct domain expertise in options pricing and vol surfaces, which the posting flags as a strong plus

How do you approach the handoff between a research idea in a notebook and code that a trading system can run in production?

understanding of the software development lifecycle and whether they can write production-grade code, not just research scripts

What's an example of alternative or nontraditional data you've used in research, and what made it useful or not useful?

breadth of data experience beyond standard market data, called out as a nice-to-have

In Python, how do you handle a Pandas or Numpy workflow that's become too slow for the size of data you're working with?

practical fluency with the specific tools listed and awareness of performance tradeoffs at scale

Situational

You're given a large tick-level options dataset and asked to find a tradeable pattern in a week. Walk me through how you'd spend that time.

ability to prioritize and structure open-ended research under time pressure rather than getting lost in exploration

If a trader on the desk pushed back on your model's output because it disagreed with their market intuition, how would you handle that conversation?

ability to communicate quantitative results to non-quants and hold ground with evidence without being dismissive

Suppose you notice PnL from a strategy you built has been decaying over the last month. How would you investigate whether that's due to regime change, a bug, or crowding from other participants?

structured debugging instinct and understanding of what actually erodes edge in systematic trading

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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 Quantitative Researcher to partner with Trading and Technology to strengthen, scale, and evolve the firm's trading capabilities within one of the quant research teams. As a Quantitative Researcher, you will be embedded on a research desk, working close to the tip of the spear in a dynamic environment. This includes partnership with other researchers, traders and engineers on quantitative problem solving, trading strategy generation, back-testing, statistical analysis, and system design. Our environment of collaborative innovation and intellectual curiosity allows us to share in our victories while continually challenging ourselves to stretch the limits of our creativity. 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>Analyze market data to come up with economic and microstructure hypotheses </li> <li>Build predictive and explanatory models to describe financial markets </li> <li>Add revenue by applying thorough research processes to real life business problems </li> <li>Conduct independent, high quality research in quantitative finance </li> <li>Communicate complex ideas and research results effectively, both in writing and verbally </li> <li>Drive innovation and results through analytical prowess and business acumen </li> </ul> <h2>What We’re Looking For</h2> <ul> <li>PhD in Science or Engineering fields (e.g. Statistics, Mathematics, Physics, Applied Mathematics, Operations Research, Electrical Engineering) strongly preferred </li> <li>Minimum 5 years of experience as a Quantitative Researcher in a top systematic trading team </li> <li>Demonstrable track record of generating positive PnL </li> <li>Advanced programming skills and experience with the software development lifecycle </li> <li>Proven ability to blend academic rigor with practical application in fast-paced trading environments </li> <li>Unwavering commitment to quality, coupled with a drive for delivering commercial outcomes </li> <li>Python skills including Numpy and Pandas libraries </li> </ul> <h2>Nice to Haves</h2> <ul> <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 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">$200,000—$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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Quantitative Researcher - Systematic

Likely interview questions for this role

Practice this interview out loud.

The full job description

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