← All vacancies

Junior Quant

Students · Quants · Work from the office · Relocation paid by the company

$150k-180k/year + profit sharing · Full time · STUDENT, GRADUATE

We are looking for Junior Quants who want to learn to win every day against the strongest people in their field and to affect PnL positively in different ways.

Can you solve this problem?

There are n balls, initially painted in different colours. In one move we choose, uniformly at random, two distinct balls of different colours and repaint one ball of colour i into colour j.
ー How many steps on average until all balls are the same colour?

There are n balls, initially painted in different colours. In one move we choose, uniformly at random, two distinct balls, not necessarily of different colours, and repaint one ball of colour i into colour j.
ー How many steps on average until all balls are the same colour?

There are n balls, initially painted in different colours. In one move we choose, uniformly at random, two distinct colours (i, j) that at least one ball is painted in, and repaint one ball of colour i into colour j.
ー How many steps on average until all balls are the same colour?

Now the first ball is chosen uniformly at random, and the second one uniformly at random from all balls of other colours. The first ball is repainted in the colour of the second. Let n=10.
ー How many steps on average until all balls are the same colour?

If you can solve this problem in full, we will certainly want to talk.

What you will do

We do high-frequency trading (HFT): we build low-latency infrastructure and trading strategies, competing successfully every day in the speed and quality of solutions with the strongest teams worldwide.

We are looking for quants who can prove to the market every day that our solutions are the best. You will own the full cycle of building trading strategies, from the idea in your head to its implementation in production. The market will judge your work: the result shows almost instantly in the changes of PnL.

In HFT the competition does not end and no result is final. Your solutions work until other players find a way around you. So to keep the edge you have to adapt the strategy to market changes and competitors' moves all the time. Stagnation is impossible here: both the external and the internal environment, a team of equally strong people, will help you grow.

We know how to win. We have assembled one of the strongest teams on the market, and as part of it you can use your intellectual potential to the maximum, with industry expertise and almost unlimited resources.

Stack and tools

C++ · Python

What matters for this role

  • Are finishing or have finished the 3rd year of university
  • Have an olympiad background, successful results in competitions in mathematics, programming and physics, or are at the top of the ranking of a tier-1 university
  • Are confident in the applied side of mathematical statistics and probability theory
  • Know the basic algorithms and data structures
  • Have experience writing code and implementing algorithms in Python and C++, and experience working in a Linux terminal
  • Like to compete and win, and know how
  • Think fast: you react quickly to changes and can get to grips with a topic that is new to you

Nice to have

  • Experience (work, internships or practical projects) in ML, C++, HFT
  • Graduated from the Yandex School of Data Analysis
  • English at B2 (Upper-intermediate) or above
  • Knowledge of classical trading or finance is not required: you will learn everything you need on the job.
  • A strong team: engineers from tier-1 companies and experienced industry specialists, winners and prize winners of olympiads in mathematics, programming and physics at the level of IMO, IOI and the All-Russian Olympiad
  • Tasks that make you think: there is no predefined pipeline here, you constantly look for the balance between the quality and the speed of implementation, because every detail, even one that looks minor, can change the result here and now
  • Fast (from a few hours to a couple of days) and objective feedback on whether your ideas work, from the most honest judge, the market
  • Full care for employees: ー monitoring and help with keeping key health indicators ー health insurance with dental care ー company events in different parts of the world ー monthly events: sports and wellness activities from the company ー food in the office from the best restaurants

Grow with the scale of the tasks

At Spectral there are no rigid boundaries by title: you can propose projects and widen your area of responsibility. For growth there is a personal track, regular reviews and the support of an experienced team.

  • A strong engineering environment

    Next to you are industry specialists, engineers from tier-1 companies and olympiad winners. We share knowledge and work towards a common goal.

  • Resources for an idea

    Hardware, training and computing power for the tasks. The chance to start a project and own its result.

  • Productivity support

    Performance coaching: goals, motivation and handling the workload. We help you keep focus and recover.

Conditions that help you focus

  • Income

    Salary, profit sharing without a ceiling for technical roles, bonuses and awards.

  • Relocation

    Tickets, the first month of housing, documents and the move of your family.

  • Health and life

    Health insurance with dental care, sport, meals in the office and team trips.

The full spectrum to win

  • Income without limits

    Salary, bonuses and awards, profit sharing from the common PnL without a ceiling for technical roles. Responsibility grows with every project, and income grows with it.

  • Personal development track

    Performance coaching: goals, motivation and managing workload, and with them sleep, sport and nutrition.

    Regular reviews and mentors from the industry. Equipment, education, languages and any computing power the work needs.

  • Health, wellness, relocation

    Health insurance with dental care, discounts on insurance for family, medical tests every six months. Breakfasts and lunches in the office, gyms and courts. We hire from any country: tickets, housing for the first month, documents and moving the family

  • Beyond the office

    Friday dinners, monthly events and internal competitions. Every six months the whole team travels to a new country. Private events attended by celebrities, and other exclusive events

How hiring works: role, track and timeline

  • A role for your strengths

    We look at your experience, strengths and interests and pick a role to match them. We put the interview track together the same way, so at the interviews you talk about what you are strong in.

  • Accelerated track

    The track usually takes about three weeks. If timing matters, tell the recruiter and we will run all the interviews within a few days

  • Only what the work needs

    We test the knowledge and the approach to problems that the role needs. Each section is tied to what you will be doing.

From first meeting to offer

  1. 01HR interview
  2. 022–3 technical interviews
  3. 03Fit interview
  4. 04HR call
  5. 05On-site interview with the team and the founder
  6. 06Offer

The number of stages depends on the role and your experience — we agree the track at the first conversation

Still have questions?

    Let's discuss the next steps

    Prefer a personal conversation?

    Write directly

    Junior Quant

    Fields marked with an asterisk are required