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SIG Research Interview Guide

Understand the qualifications and background you need to become a quantitative researcher at SIG.

Introduction

Quantitative research at Susquehanna International Group (SIG) is a super fascinating and intellectually stimulating career path. As part of the quantitative research team, your research will directly contribute to the development and optimisation of employed algorithmic trading strategies.

Within this guide, we will take you through SIG's values, work culture, and the career prospects of a quantitative researcher at SIG. We'll also provide an overview of the key skills required, an in-depth look at SIG's interview process, and resources to help optimize your application.

Whether you're new to the industry or an experienced researcher, we'll ensure you understand SIG's interview process, and that you are well-prepared to land your dream role as a quantitative researcher at SIG. Enjoy!

Research at SIG

Susquehanna International Group is a global quantitative trading firm which trades many listed financial products and asset classes, with a focus on derivatives. SIG was founded in 1987, by a group of college students with a mission to find profit in the intersections of trading, technology, and research.

Fast forward to 2025 - SIG boasts an impressive 3000 employees in over 17 locations, including Philadelphia Area, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Stamford, West Palm Beach, Dublin, London, Ra'anana, Sydney, Beijing, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo.

SIG values people who value reflection, growth, teamwork, and integrity. The firm places a heavy emphasis on good decision making, which is achieved through rigorous, analytical, and reflective approaches to problems. SIG also values perpetual curiousity and the challenging of ones own assumptions.

As a researcher at SIG, you will certainly not be short of inetllectual stimulation. This is a technically advanced, problem-solving position. SIG understands this, and has resources and systems in place to ensure that you can make the most of your skills, while practicing a sustainable lifestyle.

Your Background

To become a quantitative researcher at SIG, depending on whether you're a masters hire or a PhD hire, you must meet a select number of prerequisites. However, please note that this is a competitive position, and you will need to go above and beyond with your qualifications and experience to stand out in interviews.

SIG lists the following as mandatory to be considered for a quantitative researcher role:

A Master's degree or PhD in a quantitative field, such as mathematics, physics, statistics, electrical engineering, computer science, operations research, or economics
Experience working on in-depth research projects/thesis
Exceptional mathematical problem-solving skills
Strong communication skills in a fast-paced and/or highly collaborative environment
Strong programming skills (the programming language doesn't matter)
Financial knowledge is not required

To learn and reinforce your software skills and DSA knowledge, learn by doing with our courses in Python Programming for Traders, and Data Structures and Algorithms in Python.

To be more competitive within the interview process, consider these attributes and qualifications:

Experience in competitive and strategic environments to a high/professional standard (e.g. sports, chess, poker)
Strong quantitative projects/thesis in quantitative domains (e.g. Options pricing model, volatility estimator)
High technical research theses

Please note that these are a few attributes that would be beneficial to improve your chances of landing a quantitative trading position. There are multiple other experiences/qualifications that will also be beneficial, but the qualities from these attributes are highly valued on the research side at quantitative trading firms.

Your Application

Understanding the application process for quantitative research at SIG is beneficial for preparing. It is imperative to study the application process to get a competitive advantage over other applicants (like you are doing now, go you!).

You will be asked to fill out a range of questions, including your degree, your GPA, your graduation date, your resume, and so on.

The main focus is on your resume, which will contain your:

Career objectives and overview
Area of study and academic performance
Experience and projects
Extracurricular/competitive achievements
Characteristics and interests

It is important you structure your resume correctly. We recommend a platform such as resume.io to assist you with building your resume.

Round 1: Online Assessment

Your application will be screened, and if your meet the prerequisites, you will be sent an online assessment link. You will have a week to submit this online assessment.

SIG's quantitative evaluation consists of 16 technical questions to answer in 20 minutes. These questions require knowledge in mathematics, probability, and statistics.

Question types that will appear on SIG's quantitative evaluation include:

Probability - simple probability, conditional probability (bayes theorem)
Arithmetic - rates of change, quick maths, large multiplications
Logic and Reasoning - logic prepositions
Optimisation - finding the largest area / optimal solutions for equations

To prepare for SIG's quantitative evaluation, you can use our accurate SIG online assessment tool. To stay competitive, we recommend you score at least 13/16 on this test.

Round 2: Initial Screening

If you are invited to this round, then congrats! You have made it to SIG's initial screening interview. This phone interview consists of a behavioural component, and a technical component.

In your HR Interview, you and an experienced quantitative researcher will go through your resume, understand your motivation for research, and go through a few technical questions.

For the behavioural component of the interview, be prepared to answer the following types of questions:

1. General Questions

General questions regarding your motivations, values, personality, and work style allow the interviewer to further understand how you will integrate into the work environment.

You can see examples of general questions and how to answer them effectively in our common general questions list.

2. Background Questions

These questions dive into your previous work experience, projects, and education to get a better understanding of how you qualify for the role.

To see these types of questions, view common background questions.

For the technical component of the interview, be prepared to answer these technical questions:

1. Brainteasers

In your first technical interview, you may be asked a few brainteasers to assess your logic and reasoning skills. In this round, you will be presented with easier questions.

You can practice with our brainteasers, notably rankings, missing value, and game of truth. We categorise this level as somewhere between easy and medium, so make sure you prepare with these levels of questions before starting the interview.

2. Probability Questions

In addition to brainteasers, you may be asked some simple probability questions, so the researcher can get a good grasp of where you are conceptually in terms of probability.

You can practice these types of questions with our range of probability interview questions. Specifically, become familiar with 50 Coin Challenge, Exponential Wins, and Erasing Bias before beginning the interview.

Overall, your ability to switch between behavioural questions and technical questions is important here. Better yet, there shouldn't really be too much of a switch!

When going through technical questions, make sure you explain your thought process clearly and concisely. In a lot of cases, you will recieve bonus points if you clearly demonstrate how you think and go about difficult questions, not if you get them exactly correct.

Round 3: Behavioural Interview

If you made it passed initial screening, then your passions and motivations will be further examined in round 2: SIG's behavioural interview.

Similar to the previous questions, you will be asked a series of general questions and background questions, except in more detail. You may also be asked the following:

Project Walkthrough

If you have any projects/theses on your resume, the interviewer will scrutinize this. You will be asked questions such as:

What inspired you to choose this topic for your project?
Can you explain the specific methods you used in your research? Was there any use of quantitative methods?
How did you ensure the validity and reliability of your findings?
What specific data analysis did you perform to turn raw findings into clean results?
Looking back, would you approach the project differently if you had to do it again?

Such questions will analyse how well you know your projects/reports, and also provides room for you to link these projects into practical research skills in the content of quantitative research. Make sure you know your projects/theses inside out!

Final Round: Technical Interview

You have made it to the final round of SIG's quantitative research interview process. Good work!

This technical examination lasts 60-90 minutes, where you will be interviewed by a head researcher at SIG. This interview relies on the application of mathematics and statistics to reach abstract and innovative solutions. The exam is split into three sections:

Brainteasers

These questions are similar to the initial screening brainteasers, except ramped up in difficulty. To succeed, you will have to think above and beyond traditional solutions to get these questions right.

We recommend going through our hard brainteaser questions, notably shattering glass, poisoned entrees, and flickering bulbs.

Probability Questions

These are also similar to the second round probability interview questions, except much harder. You will have to use expected value, conditional probability, statistics and logic to provide creative solutions to open-ended probability problems.

We recommend going through our probability questions, notably tennis game, greedy dice, and die optimisation.

Success and Beyond

If you have made it this far, then congratulations! You have been selected to be a quantitative researcher at SIG.

However, despite coming so far to reach this point, it's certainly not the end of the struggle within your quantitative journey. If you are accepted into the internship program, you must stand out within your technological domain in order to recieve a graduate offer.

Stay humble throughout your first few weeks of SIG, stay dedicated on your journey for continuous learning, and keep an open mind throughout your quantitative career. But for now, celebrate, because you truly deserve it!

Closing Remarks

If you are feeling quite overwhelmed by the complexity and length of SIG's quantitative research interview process, that is totally normal! By reading this, and understanding the interview process holistically, you have already gained a competitive advantage over most applicants.

To gain an even further advantage in the interview process, it is imperative that you start preparing early and stay consistent in your preparation. Many applicants fail to delegate adequate time for interview preparation, or overlook interview preparation in general, leading to their absolute demise in the interview process.

For competitive jobs, interviewing is a must-have skill. Please understand, quantitative research at quantitative finance firm is super competitive, with only a select few that will fill in positions. To stand out, and maximise your chances of securing your dream position, you must prepare early.

Further, if you feel that you're not up for a quantitative research position at SIG, the biggest mistake you can do is not apply! You miss all opportunities you do not take. And understand that all successful quantitative researchers in ALL industries have imposter syndrome at several points within their career.

Overall, quantitative research at SIG is a highly exhillerating and fulfilling career path, and with enough preparation and knowledge, you will be well-positioned to crack the interview process, and land the position.