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Software Engineer Intern - Python, Summer 2027

Akuna Capital · Chicago, IL · Engineering

Posted Jul 14, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

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

About your past

Tell me about a time you had to get requirements from someone who wasn't technical, maybe a professor, teammate, or manager. How did you make sure you understood what they actually needed?

What they are checking: ability to translate trader requirements into engineering work, since this role sits between traders and engineers

Describe a project or problem you took full ownership of from start to finish. What was hard about being the one responsible for it?

What they are checking: readiness for the internship's structure where each intern owns a project end to end

Give me an example of a time you had to learn something completely new very quickly to finish a project. What did you do first?

What they are checking: self-starter capability and comfort with the steep learning curve of trading systems with no finance background required

Tell me about a time your first solution to a problem turned out to be wrong or too slow. What did you do next?

What they are checking: resilience and whether they iterate calmly rather than getting stuck or defensive

Why Akuna, and why an options market maker specifically, rather than a more traditional software engineering internship?

What they are checking: genuine interest in trading technology versus a generic finance-adjacent application

Tell me about a time you disagreed with a teammate on the right technical approach. How did you resolve it?

What they are checking: collaboration style, since the role requires close work with both engineers and traders

What would you do

If I gave you a bug report that a system is returning stale market data intermittently, how would you go about figuring out what's wrong?

What they are checking: debugging process and whether they think in terms of race conditions, latency, and system state rather than guessing

If you were told mid-project that the requirements just changed because market conditions shifted, how would you handle re-prioritizing your work?

What they are checking: adaptability in a fast-moving environment where systems must react to real-time conditions

About the work

Walk me through a project where you used object-oriented Python to solve a real problem. What did the class structure look like and why did you design it that way?

What they are checking: whether the candidate actually understands OOP design choices rather than just writing procedural code with classes tacked on

Say you have a Python class that models an order book. How would you design it so it stays easy to test and easy to change as requirements shift?

What they are checking: ability to write clean, testable, adaptable code, which the posting explicitly calls out

Tell me about a time you worked with a distributed system, even a small one. What made it distributed, and what problems did that create that a single machine wouldn't have?

What they are checking: whether their claimed distributed systems experience is real and understood, not just a resume keyword

Here's a small coding problem: given a stream of price updates, write something that tracks the best bid and ask in real time. What data structure would you reach for and why?

What they are checking: raw coding ability and comfort reasoning about live, changing data under time pressure

You're given a large log file of trade events and asked to find anomalies in how orders were processed. How would you approach analyzing that data in Python?

What they are checking: practical data engineering instincts, since the role may land on the Data Engineering team processing large volumes of trading data

Walk me through how you'd solve this problem under a tight time limit: count the number of ways to make change for a given amount using a set of coin denominations.

What they are checking: speed and accuracy solving a math and coding problem under pressure, which the posting flags as an essential function

Practice this interview out loud.

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The full job description

As published by Akuna Capital.

About Akuna:&nbsp; &nbsp; Akuna Capital is an innovative trading firm with a strong focus on collaboration,&nbsp;cutting-edge&nbsp;technology, data driven solutions, and automation. We specialize in providing liquidity as an options market&nbsp;maker,&nbsp;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. &nbsp; Our Founding Partners &nbsp; 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&nbsp;operate&nbsp;from&nbsp;additional&nbsp;offices in Sydney, Shanghai, Singapore, and London. &nbsp; What&nbsp;you’ll&nbsp;do as a Python Software Engineer Intern at Akuna: &nbsp; We are seeking Python Software Engineer Interns to join our innovative and growing technology team for our 10-week&nbsp;Akunacademy&nbsp;internship program. In this role, you will join either our Post Trade Technology or Data Engineering teams and work alongside software engineers and traders to design and implement elegant solutions to complex and interesting problems.&nbsp;Each intern takes full ownership of their project, and at the end of the program, has the opportunity to present their work and accomplishments.&nbsp; &nbsp; Python Software Engineer Interns at Akuna have the opportunity to use cutting-edge technology while working on&nbsp;high-performance systems that process and analyze&nbsp;large&nbsp;volumes of trading and market data.&nbsp;We offer a team-based approach to trading and software engineering, believing that productive integration of the two groups is vital for success in this industry.&nbsp; &nbsp; Akuna is looking for&nbsp;software&nbsp;engineer interns who are motivated and willing to reach for creative solutions when faced with novel problems.&nbsp;We value innovation and hard work and want&nbsp;our engineers&nbsp;to make an impact on the firm.&nbsp;Whether you are&nbsp;interested in trading infrastructure, algorithms, exchange gateways, or data capture and analysis,&nbsp;there’s&nbsp;engaging&nbsp;work to be done. If you are excited to jump in and make a difference, Akuna could be the place for you. &nbsp; Requirements for this role: &nbsp; <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"> Pursuing a bachelor’s, master’s, or Ph.D. in a technical field (Computer Science/Engineering, Math, Physics, or equivalent) <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1"> Graduating&nbsp;by August 2028 <span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559685":720,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278,"335559991":360}">&nbsp; <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1"> Major GPA of 3.5 or above <span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559685":720,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278,"335559991":360}">&nbsp; <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="1"> Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is&nbsp;required&nbsp;on the first day of employment including F-1 students using OPT or STEM &nbsp; <span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559685":720,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278,"335559991":360}">&nbsp; Previous&nbsp;experience in finance or trading is&nbsp; not &nbsp;required.&nbsp;Many of&nbsp;our&nbsp;engineers&nbsp;joined&nbsp;Akuna with little-to-no&nbsp;prior&nbsp;knowledge&nbsp;of the markets, and we pride ourselves on our ability to onboard those new to the industry. Training and continuous education are provided for all engineers to ensure they can build&nbsp;the requisite technical and non-technical skillset for success. <span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559685":0,"335559737":0,"335559738":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":279}">&nbsp; Qualities&nbsp;That Make a Great Python Software Engineer Intern Candidate: &nbsp; <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"> Strong programming skills in Object-Oriented Python Development <span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559685":720,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278,"335559991":360}">&nbsp; <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1"> Demonstrated experience with distributed systems <span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559685":720,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278,"335559991":360}">&nbsp; <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1"> Strong analytical&nbsp;and problem-solving skills <span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559685":720,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278,"335559991":360}">&nbsp; <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="1"> Ability to communicate with the trading team, obtain requirements, find solutions, and implement them in a clean and concise way <span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559685":720,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278,"335559991":360}">&nbsp; <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="5" data-aria-level="1"> Ability to create an easily understood and testable codebase that can change as quickly as market conditions require <span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559685":720,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278,"335559991":360}">&nbsp; <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="6" data-aria-level="1"> 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, is an essential function of the role <span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559685":720,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278,"335559991":360}">&nbsp; <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="7" data-aria-level="1"> Passion for innovation and building systems from the ground up <span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559685":720,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278,"335559991":360}">&nbsp; <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="8" data-aria-level="1"> Adaptability in&nbsp;an ever-changing environment <span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559685":720,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278,"335559991":360}">&nbsp; <li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="9" data-aria-level="1"> Self-starter attitude with the ability to work independently <span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559685":720,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278,"335559991":360}">&nbsp; **Resumes must be submitted in PDF format.&nbsp; &nbsp; 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 all groups to feel empowered to apply, even if you&nbsp;don’t&nbsp;meet every qualification. We welcome your application and encourage you to take the first steps toward your future with us! &nbsp; By&nbsp;applying&nbsp;to this role, you are&nbsp;indicating&nbsp;this is your top preference and acknowledge you will not be considered for other Quant and/or Tech roles at&nbsp;Akuna&nbsp;this recruiting season. This acknowledgement does not limit applications to Trading roles - in addition to this role, you may apply to any Trader roles of interest.&nbsp; &nbsp; We are an AI-friendly company and encourage employees to leverage AI in their daily work. However, AI assistance is not permitted during interviews or assessments . Our interview process is designed to evaluate your individual skills and judgment , and the use of AI tools will result in disqualification from the hiring process. In accordance with&nbsp;the Illinois&nbsp;Equal Pay Act, the&nbsp;minimum&nbsp;annualized 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. The minimum base salary&nbsp;herein&nbsp;was&nbsp;determined&nbsp;in good faith by Akuna Capital LLC. &nbsp;

Apply at Akuna Capital