Quant jobs / Chicago Trading Company

Quantitative Researcher – Systematic

A senior-leaning research role embedded on a desk at an options market maker. The researcher partners with traders and engineers to generate and test trading strategies.

What you’d work on

Our reading of the posting: what a new hire in this role would most likely spend their first months on.

Form microstructure and economic hypotheses from market data
Build predictive models of market behaviour and backtest them
Turn research results into improvements that traders can use on the desk
Present findings in writing and in discussion to traders and engineers

What they ask for

Required

5+ years as a quantitative researcher in a systematic trading team
Track record of profitable research
Advanced programming and software lifecycle experience
Python with NumPy and pandas
Strong statistical research skills
Clear written and spoken communication

Preferred

Market and alternative data variety
US options markets and volatility surfaces
Options pricing models
Industry publications

Education: PhD in a science or engineering field strongly preferred
Experience: At least 5 years as a quant researcher in a top systematic trading team
Languages and tools: Python
Markets: options

How to prepare

Study options market making: quoting, inventory, adverse selection and volatility surfaces
Build a microstructure study from order-book or trade data in Python
Practise backtesting honestly with transaction costs and realistic fills
Review how pricing models and signals combine in a market-making loop
Prepare a clear account of a past research project and its P&L impact

What to study

The Volatility Quant roadmap sets out the stages for this kind of role, with free resources for each.

Open the roadmap

Apply

Read the full posting on Chicago Trading Company’s site before applying: requirements, location and pay can change after we check them.

View the posting on Chicago Trading Company’s site ↗

SelfMadeQuant wrote this summary from the employer’s public posting, last checked 6 November 2026. SelfMadeQuant isn’t affiliated with Chicago Trading Company and doesn’t handle applications.