Quant jobs / Old Mission

Junior Quantitative Researcher (Ph.D.) – Options

An entry-level research post for a graduating Masters or PhD, working with Old Mission's options trading group on volatility derivatives pricing. The post is meant for someone finishing in Summer 2027.

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.

Test existing options models for calibration accuracy and Greeks stability
Build and test volatility surface parameterisations
Add filtering rules for market quotes used in calibration
Price variance swaps, volatility swaps and VIX options
Write Python research libraries for the options desk

What they ask for

Required

Masters or PhD in a quantitative field, graduating Summer 2027
Volatility modelling and surface calibration
Equity and index derivatives, including variance products and VIX
Python and C++
Communication
Working under time pressure

Preferred

Dividend swaps and futures

Education: Master's or PhD in computer science, engineering, physics, maths, statistics or another hard science, graduating Summer 2027
Experience: New graduates
Languages and tools: Python
C++
Markets: options, equities

How to prepare

Calibrate SVI or a similar parameterisation to an equity option surface and test for arbitrage
Price a variance swap from a strip of options and compare with model values
Implement a local or stochastic volatility model in Python or C++
Study how VIX options are priced and how they connect to variance

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 Old Mission’s site before applying: requirements, location and pay can change after we check them.

View the posting on Old Mission’s site ↗

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