Quant Trader Salary (Posted Pay and How the Bonus Works)

By Fiona Taft, November 8, 2026

What US trading firms post for quant trader base salary, how the discretionary bonus works, what drives pay and what firms test when they hire traders.

Posted base salary for early-career US trading roles runs from $80,000 at DV Trading to $300,000 at Jane Street, and five of the six early-career postings in the table below start at $145,000 or higher. That's base salary only, because firms such as IMC say their full-time positions are eligible for a discretionary bonus on top, and no posting in the table states an amount.

I'm Fiona Taft, founder and CEO of QuantMinds, former Executive Director of UC Berkeley's MFE program and former Associate Director at Stanford University.

Every figure here comes from a firm's own job posting, listed under Sources at the end and checked November 2026. Postings change and expire, so confirm a range on the live posting before you plan around it. If you're still deciding whether trading is your path, start with how to become a quant.

What trading firms are posting

Alphabetical by firm, base salary only, one link per row. Every row is a New York or Chicago role.

FirmRoleLevelLocationPosted base salarySource
Akuna CapitalJunior TraderJuniorChicago$145,000 minimumAkuna posting
DRWQuantitative Trader - Futures7+ yearsChicago$150,000 to $250,000DRW posting
DV Trading2027 Quantitative Trader Graduate (DV Equities)2027 graduateNew York$80,000 to $100,000DV Trading posting
Flow TradersDigital Assets Trader3+ years, not entry levelNew York$175,000 to $225,000Flow Traders posting
Hudson River TradingAlgorithm Developer (Quant Research & Trading), 2027 Grads2027 graduateNew York$300,000HRT posting
IMCSenior Equity Options Volatility Trader2+ yearsChicago$175,000 to $250,000IMC posting
Jane StreetQuantitative TraderStudents and new gradsNew York$300,000Jane Street posting
Jane StreetQuantitative TraderExperiencedNew York$300,000Jane Street posting
OptiverQuantitative Trader/Researcher, Systematic Options TradingExperienced, 3+ yearsChicago$200,000Optiver posting
Squarepoint CapitalJunior Discretionary TraderRecent graduateNew York$150,000 minimumSquarepoint posting
Tower Research CapitalQuantitative Trader/Researcher, 20270 to 2 yearsNew York and Chicago$150,000 to $250,000Tower posting
Virtu FinancialQuantitative TraderNot statedChicago$150,000 to $200,000Virtu posting

It isn't every firm, and it isn't a ranking. Firms that don't print a figure aren't here. Akuna and Squarepoint print a minimum, not a range, and Optiver prints the same figure at both ends of its range. Hudson River Trading's role is titled Algorithm Developer (Quant Research & Trading), so it pairs research with trading and isn't a trader title. Squarepoint's role is a discretionary trader, not a quant trader. Optiver's and Tower's titles pair trader with researcher. Virtu's posting states no level, though it describes the role as a way to kick start a career, so I haven't counted it as early career. I count Akuna, DV Trading, Hudson River Trading, Jane Street's new grad role, Squarepoint and Tower as early career. For the experienced roles, posted base runs from $150,000 to $300,000.

Internships

Intern pay is posted in different units, so don't line it up against the table. Virtu lists a salary range of $5,000 to $5,800 weekly for its 2027 quantitative trading internship in Austin, Chicago and New York, and says it excludes sign-on bonuses, housing, meals, benefits and any other forms of compensation. Tower Research Capital lists an anticipated weekly base salary range of $3,500 to $5,700 for New York and Chicago. Flow Traders lists a prorated base salary of $150,000 for its New York internship, and Jump Trading lists an estimated base salary of $300,000 per year for its campus quantitative trader internship in Chicago and New York. Read how each posting states the figure before you compare anything.

What drives quant trader pay

Role and level

Researcher and developer pay is a separate question, and this article doesn't cover it. If you're choosing between trading, research and development, our guide to QR, QT and QD helps.

Inside trading, one firm can post different bands for different desks. DRW's futures trader posting is $150,000 to $250,000 and says where you land depends on your experience, qualifications and skills. Its US Equity Index Options Trader posting in Chicago is $250,000 to $300,000.

Experience doesn't move base in a straight line. Jane Street prints $300,000 for new graduates and $300,000 for experienced candidates, and Tower's posting for 0 to 2 years and DRW's 7+ years posting both print $150,000 to $250,000. At Flow Traders, the part that moves with results is the bonus, which the firm says is allocated on company, group and individual performance and contribution.

Firm type

Trading firms and market makers fill most of the table. Optiver describes continuously quoting buy and sell prices with its own capital, and Akuna describes itself as an options market maker. Both postings pair a base figure with a discretionary bonus.

Point72 describes itself as an alternative investment firm, and its New York credit trader posting prints no pay figure. Separately, Squarepoint Capital says discretionary bonuses for its junior discretionary trader role could be a significant portion of total compensation.

Bank desks mostly hire into analyst and associate levels. Citi's New York Markets Sales and Trading summer analyst posting for 2027 labels $80,000 to $115,000 as its full-time salary range, prints a separate salary of $110,000 in the body, and says eligible employees may also get discretionary and formulaic incentive and retention awards. It's an undergraduate program, not a quant trader opening, so read it as an entry point to a bank desk and nothing more.

Location

Location can change the number too. Hudson River Trading prints a US base and says other locations have similarly locally competitive base salaries. Squarepoint's $150,000 minimum applies only if you're in New York.

How the bonus works

Eleven of the twelve postings in the table describe the bonus as discretionary. The twelfth, Virtu, says its range excludes bonuses. Jane Street says base salary is only one part of total compensation, which includes an annual discretionary bonus, and Hudson River Trading adds a sign-on bonus to its package.

No posting states an amount, so I won't print one. Discretionary means the firm decides, and the posting doesn't tell you how.

When people move

The postings in the table show starting points, not how pay changes. Hiring plans for the coming year get set early in the year, and a disappointing bonus is a common reason people start interviewing elsewhere.

What firms test when they hire traders

Firms test how you think, not how much finance you know. Virtu describes a resume screen, then an online test through HackerRank, then a phone screen, and Akuna looks for strong mental math. Assessments can be brain teasers, quick math, mental math, coding or all of them, and interviewers want to hear your process, not just the answer. Practice mental math a little every day, and our quant interview questions guide has worked examples.

How I'd handle pay and offers

Decide your floor on base salary before the first recruiter conversation, and learn what firms pay at each level. When a recruiter asks for your number, I'd rather they name theirs first, so ask what range they've set for the role.

Ask about sign-on bonus, relocation and how the annual bonus works, and read the offer letter, because it usually lists everything the firm is providing.

Firms rarely want to negotiate an internship offer. They'd rather negotiate the full-time offer. So at the internship stage, ask your questions and save the negotiating for the full-time offer.

Match your application to your level. Pay at the big banks is formal and tied to your degree, with a bachelor's going in at analyst and a master's or PhD at associate or above, and it's less formal at prop trading firms. A PhD applying to an analyst role often won't get a look, so read the level before you apply.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a finance degree to get a quant trader job?

No. Jane Street says it won't test quantitative trading candidates on finance or economics, and Virtu's posting says no finance background is necessary. What firms screen for is quantitative ability, so spend your time there.

Does a master's or PhD change a trader's starting pay?

At some firms the posted base is the same. Hudson River Trading's PhD posting prints $300,000, the same as its 2027 graduate posting. At banks the degree changes the level you apply for, so read the level on each posting.

Why do some trader postings show pay and others don't?

Two postings above say why they print a figure. Flow Traders cites the NYC salary transparency law, and Akuna cites the Illinois Equal Pay Act. If a posting shows no figure, ask the recruiter for the range in the first conversation.

Should I go into quant trading just for the pay?

Wanting to make good money is normal, and we all do. It just can't be your driving factor, because firms want people who are passionate about the work. They ask why this role and why this firm, so have a better answer than the number.

Talk it through with one of our coaches

If you'd like another set of eyes on your plan, or on an offer you're weighing, request a free Discovery Session, a Zoom session with one of our coaches, and we'll work through it together.

Sources

Every page below is a firm's own posting or careers page, checked November 2026.

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