AQR Capital Management Interview Guide

AQR (Applied Quantitative Research) is a quantitative investment management firm, founded in 1998 by Cliff Asness, David Kabiller, Robert Krail and John Liew. It started in New York City with 10 employees, and its first product was a hedge fund.

It runs long-only and alternative strategies across equity, macro, arbitrage and multi-strategy, and calls its approach systematic and disciplined.

AQR's 2027 PhD posting gives the firm 800 employees, with headquarters in Greenwich, Connecticut and offices in London, Frankfurt, Dubai, Hong Kong, Sydney and Bengaluru.

Greenwich summer internship

The Greenwich internship runs 10 weeks, from the first week of June to mid-August, and you work on real projects for the firm.

Research and Portfolio Management interns do hands-on quantitative research. Interns also frequently join Portfolio Implementation, Trading and Financing, the team that builds and optimises AQR's systematic portfolios and executes and finances its trades.

Interns can also work with Risk Management, which manages the market, credit, liquidity, model and counterparty risks of AQR's investments. Business Development interns may work with the US Institutional or US Wealth team.

Engineering interns may join teams such as Client Facing Tech, which builds projects that support business functions; Cloud, which builds cloud-ready applications; or Middle Office, which builds AQR's proprietary systems.

MBA students have their own section on the Greenwich page, where co-founder David Kabiller explains why AQR hires MBAs and what it looks for.

2027 summer postings

Check the degree and graduation window on your posting before you apply:

• Research Summer Analyst: bachelor's or master's students graduating in December 2027 or spring 2028 in a quantitative field. You do statistical and economic research on financial data for systematic strategies.
• Engineering Summer Analyst: bachelor's or master's students finishing between December 2027 and June 2028. The teams work in technologies that may include Python, Java, C# and Go.
• Research and Portfolio Management Engineering Summer Analyst: bachelor's or master's students finishing between December 2027 and June 2028.
• PhD Summer Associate, Machine Learning Research: PhD candidates finishing in December 2027 or spring 2028 in finance, economics or a quantitative discipline.
• Quantitative Prediction Markets Research Summer Analyst: PhD, master's or bachelor's candidates graduating in December 2027 or spring 2028. You look for trading strategies across event contracts in finance, economics, sports, politics, culture and crypto.
• AQR Arbitrage Research Summer Analyst: AQR Arbitrage is an affiliate based at the Greenwich headquarters. You work with the team that runs merger arbitrage, convertible arbitrage and event-driven portfolios.
• Business Development Summer Analyst: prefers December 2027 or spring 2028 graduates in economics, finance, business, science, quantitative or engineering programmes, and also considers liberal arts students with relevant work experience.

Full-time roles for graduates up to spring 2027

The Junior Trading Analyst role in Greenwich asks for 0 to 1 years of trading, electronic execution or trading analytics experience, and spring 2027 graduates can apply. You analyse trading costs, market structure and liquidity across asset classes, study how news and geopolitical events move prices, and help improve how AQR executes its systematic strategies.

The 2027 Business Development Analyst role on the US Wealth team is for graduates finishing a bachelor's in economics, business, finance or a related field between December 2026 and spring 2027.

Bengaluru internship

The Bengaluru internship (AQR's page calls it Bangalore) is eight weeks, from May to July, with training bootcamps in finance and technology.

AQR's Greenwich page says applications for the coming summer go live on its careers page from June 30 to mid-August. The 2027 Research Summer Analyst posting went up earlier, on 15 May 2026. The PhD Summer Associate posting followed on 22 September 2026.

The forms differ by role:

• Research Summer Analyst: your transcript, your GPA to two decimal places, and your two written answers attached as one PDF.
• Research and Portfolio Management Engineering, and the PhD Summer Associate: a transcript, a GPA and the same two written answers.
• Engineering Summer Analyst: a transcript and a GPA to two decimal places, with no written answers.
• AQR Arbitrage: a CV, an optional cover letter and answers on US work authorisation and visa sponsorship. It asks for no transcript or GPA.
• Junior Trading Analyst: the latest transcript from every college or university programme you have attended.

The research, Research and Portfolio Management Engineering and PhD forms share two prompts, each answered in 100 to 150 words: list the three biggest achievements you are proud of and why, and say what you see yourself doing in five years. Give each of the three achievements a reason, and draft both answers before you open the form.

The Research Summer Analyst form also has an optional field for SAT or ACT scores.

For Bengaluru, AQR encourages you to apply through your university's campus placement centre, and results come back through your placement coordinator.

For the Bengaluru internship, you take an online test after you apply, then go through interviews. AQR does not name the provider.

For Greenwich, no official online assessment is documented. AQR's internships page puts interviews throughout September.

AQR's Greenwich page puts internship interviews throughout September. It does not say how many rounds there are.

Engineering Summer Analyst candidates may be interviewed for one of several teams. Know what Client Facing Tech, Cloud and Middle Office each do, and which one you would pick.

Each posting names the skills it wants. Be ready to show the ones for your role:

• Research Summer Analyst: problem-solving, quantitative skills, programming (Python preferred) and a high degree of intellectual curiosity.
• Research and Portfolio Management Engineering: Python, which AQR calls its primary language for the business, and Java.
• PhD Summer Associate, Machine Learning Research: econometrics or statistics, coding in Python, R, C++ or MATLAB, and presenting and explaining involved concepts out loud and in writing.
• Prediction markets research: familiarity with prediction markets, option and contingent claim pricing, and data science.
• Junior Trading Analyst: following global markets and financial, economic and geopolitical news, and testing hypotheses on data.

AQR says its ideas were born in academia and many of its employees are professors at top universities. Its internship postings say its people share academic excellence, intellectual honesty and a commitment to seeking the truth. Pick one project where you can say what you tested and where the result could be wrong.

Greenwich interns take the AQR Quanta Academy Summer Term, a structured programme of more than 40 hours of educational, skill-building and networking events.

Past sessions have covered professional writing, communication, and the move from campus to a corporate job. You also learn from AQR's founders and senior leaders about the firm's history, culture and investment philosophy.

Each Greenwich intern has a manager and a mentor for day-to-day guidance and performance feedback.

Quanta Academy, AQR's learning and development programme, dates from 2015 and carries on after you join, with department lecture series and the firmwide Sum of the Parts series.

As of February 2026, AQR Discovery is a one-day, on-site event in Greenwich that introduces undergraduate sophomores to quantitative finance and AQR's investment process.

As of February 2026, the 2026 edition was scheduled for Friday 17 April 2026, places were selective, and chosen students were to hear after 20 March 2026.

The 2026 programme, as of February 2026, included an overview of AQR's recruiting process, networking with researchers and portfolio implementation staff, and a guided office tour.