Junior Quantitative Researcher - Deep Learning (Time Series)
Summary
Junior Quantitative Researcher at Akuna Capital's Shanghai office, building trading strategies and portfolio-optimization models using deep learning on large-scale time series market data. Core tools are Python with PyTorch/TensorFlow, with C++ and GPU-scale training as pluses.
About Akuna:
Akuna Capital is an innovative trading firm with a strong focus on collaboration, cutting-edge technology, data driven solutions and automation. We specialize in providing liquidity as an options market maker – meaning we are committed to providing competitive quotes that we are willing to both buy and sell. To do this successfully we design and implement our own low latency technologies, trading strategies and mathematical models.
Our Founding Partners, including Akuna's CEO Andrew Killion, first conceptualized Akuna in their hometown of Sydney. They opened the firm’s first office in 2011 in the heart of the derivatives industry and the options capital of the world – Chicago. Today, Akuna is proud to operate from additional offices in Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore and London.
At Akuna, we believe that the people are the centre of everything we do. Akuna Software Technologies was our first international office and opened in the Fall of 2014. Our Shanghai office works with the latest hardware and software technologies to develop high performance low latency solutions that are robust and scalable, ensuring our strategies are as fast as possible for Akuna’s global trading operations. We run happy hours, have a fully stacked snack room with free drinks and fresh fruits, host team events, social club events, and offer great training with our Akuna University. We are looking for the best talent to join us on the journey. If you enjoy being part of smart, driven teams with real challenges to solve- this could be the place for you!
What you’ll do as a Junior Quantitative Researcher at Akuna:
We're looking for a Junior Quantitative Researcher who will work specifically on deep learning projects involving large-scale time series data. Strong preference for candidates with hands-on DL experience over general ML/data science backgrounds. In this role you will:
- Develop trading strategies using statistical and deep learning technologies
- Design and implement optimization algorithms for portfolio construction
- Develop quantitative models describing market behavior
- Advance existing initiatives and explore opportunities for new research topics
Qualities that make great candidates:
- Bachelors, Masters or PhD in a technical field – Engineering, Statistics, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics (or a related subject), graduate(d) during Jul 2023 - Jul 2027
- Deep learning experience is required: hands-on work with neural network architectures (e.g., RNNs, LSTMs, Transformers, TCNs, or similar) applied to sequential or time series data — through research, working projects, competitions, or internships
- Programming skills: Strong Python programming experience, including familiarity with DL frameworks (PyTorch and/or TensorFlow); C++ knowledge is a plus
- Experience handling large-scale datasets efficiently — data pipelines, batching, and training at scale (GPU experience is a plus)
- Solid foundation in math and statistics, with the ability to translate real-world, noisy, high-dimensional problems into mathematical/DL models
- Prior exposure to time series-specific challenges (non-stationarity, autocorrelation, forecasting, sequence modeling) is a strong plus
- Financial experience is not a requirement
- Willing to communicate in English at the technical interviews
Please note: If you apply to multiple roles, you may be asked to complete multiple coding challenges and interviews.
Skills
As published by greenhouse · 19 questions · 4 written answers
Basics
First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, Resume/CV, Cover Letter, Location
Short answers (6)
- Preferred First Name optional
- Please confirm your legal first name.
- If you selected "other" for "Which Chinese University did/do you attend", please indicate below. 如在上方选项中未找到您就读的国内学校信息，请在此处填写，谢谢。 optional
- If you selected 'Other', please list your university: 如在上方选项中未找到您就读的国外学校信息，请在此处填写，谢谢。 optional
- Graduation year and month for your highest education. 请告知您最高学历已结业或预计毕业时间（年、月)，谢谢。
- If you selected "Akuna Employee Referral", please list the Akuna Employee's name here: 如您在上方选择“Akuna员工推荐”，请告知对方姓名，谢谢。 optional
Pick from a list (9)
- Are you legally authorized to work in Shanghai? (In compliance with local laws and regulations, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in mainland China.) 请确认您的身份信息，谢谢。
- Which Chinese University did/do you attend? 如您目前或曾在国内就读，请填写您就读的国内学校信息（包含港澳台）；如您一直在国外就读，请选择“I do/did not attend Chinese university”选项，谢谢。
- Which International University do/did you attend? 如您目前或曾在国外就读，请填写您就读的国外学校信息；如您一直在国内就读，请直接选择“I do/did not attend international university”选项，谢谢。
- How did you first hear about Akuna? 请问您第一次听说Akuna是从哪里？
- How did you hear about this job? 请问您第一次听说这个职位信息是从哪里？
- Have you applied to a full time or internship position with Akuna in the past? 如您此前有申请过Akuna任意办公室任意职位，请选择"Yes"；如您是初次申请，请选择"No"，谢谢。
- Do you have any offer deadlines that we should be aware of? 请问您是否有Offer截止日期需要我们知晓和配合？
- I acknowledge the Privacy Policy located online at https://akunacapital.com/privacy-policy, including the references to the collection, use, and internal disclosures of my personal and/or sensitive information and acknowledge that my Personal Information may be transferred, accessed, stored or otherwise processed outside of Mainland China as described in the online Privacy Policy for the legitimate business interests of Akuna. I acknowledge uploading my English resume to complete my application.
- Please confirm that you have uploaded your latest English resume upon application.
Written answers (4)
- If you selected "Career Fair" or "Campus/Virtual Event - Not a career fair", which event did you attend? (please be specific) 如您在上方选择“校园招聘会”或“校园宣讲会”，请告知具体参加的活动信息，谢谢。 optional
- If you selected 'Other', how did you first hear about Akuna? (please be specific) 如您在上方选择“Other其他”，请告知具体信息，谢谢。 optional
- If you selected 'Other', please list how you heard about this job: 如您在上方选择“Other其他”，请告知具体信息，谢谢。 optional
- If you have upcoming deadlines, please explain which company and when the deadline is: 如有Offer截止日期，还请告知具体信息（如公司、截止日等），谢谢。 optional