Head of Quantitative Research

You will set the research agenda and lead the development and deployment of quantitative trading strategies. You will own the risk framework for research-driven strategies, evaluate live performance, oversee research infrastructure, and lead, recruit, and mentor quantitative researchers.

Responsibilities

• Set and prioritise the research agenda across market-making, carry, relative-value, and new strategies.
• Lead research, development, and deployment of new strategies.
• Establish research standards and independently review strategies before capital allocation.
• Ensure production strategies have documented investment cases, cost models, and performance and risk criteria.
• Partner with portfolio managers on signal research, portfolio construction, and capital allocation.
• Direct execution, transaction-cost, market-impact, and residual-risk research.
• Oversee development of market data, order-book data, backtesting, simulation, and research infrastructure.
• Own the risk framework, including position sizing, exposure limits, drawdown limits, and withdrawal criteria.
• Monitor live strategy performance and act on material deviations.
• Develop models for strategy and portfolio risk.
• Assess new-strategy risks before launch.
• Set and review limits with the independent Risk function and report to senior management.
• Lead, develop, recruit, and mentor quantitative researchers.
• Allocate research resources across strategies and portfolio managers.

Requirements

• At least 10 years of front-office quantitative research or trading experience at a leading systematic trading firm.
• Proven experience leading quantitative researchers or managing a research-driven portfolio with profit-and-loss responsibility.
• Deep expertise in statistical arbitrage, mid-frequency equities, futures relative value, or market-making.
• Experience managing risk for systematic strategies, including limits, position sizing, and drawdowns.
• Experience building research processes that prevent overfitting and backtest bias.
• Advanced Python programming ability.
• An advanced degree in mathematics, physics, statistics, computer science, or a related quantitative discipline.

Benefits

• Performance-related bonus scheme
• Private medical and dental insurance through Bupa, including children's cover
• Life insurance, income protection, and critical illness cover
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Salary sacrifice pension with Hargreaves Lansdown, matched up to 10%
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
• Emergency parental leave, emergency childcare, and nursery benefit
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Charity giving through CAF
• Annual wellbeing budget
• Team socials and annual summer and Christmas parties