Quant jobs / Old Mission

Quantitative Researcher (PhD) – 2027 Graduate Program (August Start)

A research role embedded with the options trading group at a proprietary firm. You would improve existing pricing models and build new ones, especially for volatility products.

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.

Review how stable and accurate current option models are when calibrated to live quotes
Test new ways to parameterise the volatility surface
Design filters that clean noisy option quotes before calibration
Write Python libraries and research tools used by the options desk
Study market data and microstructure with traders to spot patterns worth trading

What they ask for

Required

Masters or PhD in a quantitative discipline
Volatility modelling and surface calibration
Forward curve construction
Equity and index derivatives, including variance products and VIX
Python and C++
Clear communication
Ability to juggle several workstreams

Preferred

Dividend swaps and futures

Education: Masters or PhD in computer science, engineering, physics, maths, statistics or another hard science.
Experience: New graduates
Languages and tools: Python
C++
Markets: equities, options

How to prepare

Implement a local or stochastic volatility model and calibrate it to option quotes
Study variance swaps, volatility swaps and VIX options and how they are priced
Build a forward curve with dividends and test how the vol surface behaves under noisy inputs
Write a Python library that checks Greeks stability across strikes and maturities

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.