TL;DR
Market making and systematic trading recruitment covers the traders, researchers, portfolio managers and engineers who run continuous quoting and rules-based strategies, at exchange market makers, options desks, proprietary firms, systematic funds and digital asset firms.
The defining assessment question is different from other trading hires: can this person manage inventory and adverse selection under pressure, and does their experience match the matching rules, tick regime and asset class of your venue?
Key points
- Venue mechanics matter: price-time and pro-rata markets reward different skills.
- Inventory and adverse selection management separate strong market makers from good traders.
- Systematic fund hiring centres on attributable track record and risk discipline.
- Digital asset desks need counterparty and custody awareness alongside trading skill.
Roles we search
| Role | Focus | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Market maker or quoting trader | Continuous two-sided pricing, inventory management | Equities, futures, options, crypto |
| Options market maker | Volatility, Greeks, hedging across strikes | Scarce and highly contested |
| Systematic trader | Supervising rules-based strategies | Prop firms, funds |
| Quant researcher, market microstructure | Quoting logic, adverse selection research | See quant executive search |
| Systematic portfolio manager | Owns a book of systematic strategies | Track record assessment is central |
| Trading engineer | Quoting engines, risk checks, connectivity | See trading technology recruitment |
| Head of market making | Desk leadership, venue strategy, risk framework | Leadership search |
What we assess
Inventory judgement. How the candidate manages accumulating one-sided positions, and what they do when flow turns informed.
Adverse selection awareness. Whether they recognise being picked off and how they adjust quotes, size and venue participation.
Venue fit. Experience with the matching rules that apply to you. A trader from a pro-rata derivatives market and one from a price-time equity venue develop different instincts. See queue position and price-time priority.
Risk behaviour under stress. Specific accounts of bad days, limits respected and decisions made.
Attribution for PM hires. What was the candidate's decision versus the platform's infrastructure and data.
Digital asset market making
Crypto desks add counterparty risk, custody and collateral management across venues, continuous trading and less mature regulation. Traders from traditional venues transfer well when they demonstrate these additional risk instincts. See crypto and digital asset trading recruitment in Dubai.
Where candidates come from
- Established market makers and proprietary firms.
- Bank market-making and electronic trading desks.
- Options and volatility desks, for derivatives roles.
- Systematic funds and multi-strategy platforms, for PM hires.
- Digital asset trading firms and exchanges.
- Graduates with strong probability, mental maths and temperament, for junior quoting roles.
Common hiring mistakes
- Recruiting only from the same venue type, which narrows the pool unnecessarily.
- Assessing P&L without risk context or attribution.
- Ignoring covenants and deferred compensation, which delay or block moves.
- Hiring traders before quoting infrastructure is ready.
Background on how AI supports these desks: AI agents in market making.
Frequently asked questions
What is market making recruitment?
Specialist hiring for teams that quote continuously on exchanges or OTC, covering traders, researchers and the engineers who build quoting systems.
How is hiring for systematic trading different?
Systematic hiring focuses on research process and attributable strategy performance, while market-making hiring focuses on real-time inventory and adverse selection management.
Do market makers hire from banks?
Yes. Bank market-making and electronic trading desks are a common source, particularly for options and derivatives roles.
What makes options market makers hard to hire?
The pool is small, the skills are specialised, and experienced traders are usually well compensated and under restrictive covenants.