Balyasny Asset Management Interview Guide

Balyasny aims for consistent, uncorrelated returns in all market environments. As of November 2026 its homepage lists $37 billion in assets under management.

As of June 2026, Balyasny is headquartered in Chicago, where Dmitry Balyasny, Scott Schroeder and Taylor O'Malley founded it in 2001.

It has more than 2,000 employees in more than 20 offices across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Its strategies are Equities long/short, Fixed Income & Macro, Commodities and Multi-Asset Arbitrage, plus a systematic business that builds mathematical models and runs quantitative analysis.

Internships are open to bachelor's, master's, MBA and PhD students.

Off-cycle interns also work on teams in the fall, winter and spring. There are no remote internships.

Balyasny has no formal internships for college freshmen and sophomores, and it prefers rising seniors. It sponsors work authorization for international intern candidates.

Quantitative Researcher internships

The 2027 QR internship is a hands-on 10-week programme with mentoring from senior team members.

The QR postings list these team options:

• Systematic: interns analyse text data with NLP models to build trading signals.
• Multi-Asset Arbitrage: quant trading infrastructure.
• Alpha Capture: LLM and machine learning alphas for a long/short equity team.
• Quant Risk Management and Portfolio Construction: factor model research.

The degree level depends on the posting. The London Quantitative Strategies role takes master's and PhD students, and the Greenwich Multi-Asset Arbitrage role takes bachelor's students. In Risk, New York takes master's students and London takes PhD students.

Each of those four postings asks for a maths, statistics, computer science or related quantitative degree, with graduation between Winter 2027 and Spring/Summer 2028.

Quant analyst and developer internships

The New York Macro Quantitative Analyst internship is for rising junior undergraduates and first-year master's students in a quantitative field, graduating in December 2027 or Spring 2028.

In London, the Quantitative Analyst internship covers the Macro and Commodities teams. It takes the same year groups, with a Winter 2027 or Spring 2028 graduation date.

The US Commodities Quantitative Analyst internship is in Houston or Boston, and you must be willing to work in either. Houston has more places.

Quantitative Developer interns in Systematic Strategies work in New York, San Francisco or Chicago. London has a separate Quantitative Developer internship on the Commodities team.

Engineering and AI internships

The New York software engineering internship runs for 10 weeks. It takes bachelor's and master's students in computer science, computer engineering or a related field who graduate in Spring or Summer 2028.

Applied AI Engineer interns, also in New York, are bachelor's and master's students graduating between December 2027 and May 2028. They study computer science, maths, statistics or data science with a focus on machine learning.

Catalyst (Equities)

Catalyst is the training programme for students who want to start their careers as Equities Analysts at Balyasny. Applications first opened in 2026.

It starts with a 10-week summer internship with exposure to PM teams. The full-time part is a 9-month rotational programme: foundational training and sector immersion, then two one-month rotations on PM teams. Complete it and you join a team full time as an Associate.

Training covers accounting, financial modelling, AI investment applications and company analysis, with sector deep-dives in TMT, Industrials, Consumer, Financials and Healthcare.

As of January 2026, Catalyst is for students pursuing or holding a bachelor's in finance, economics, business, maths or a related field, graduating between Winter 2027 and Spring 2028. It is open to international applicants, who spend their first three months in New York for foundational training.

Fundamental L/S Analyst internship

This Equities internship is in Hong Kong. It is for bachelor's students in finance, economics, business administration, maths or a related field graduating between Winter 2027 and Spring 2028.

After graduation

Interns who come back full time in Macro, Commodities and Technology join rotational programmes that place them on top-performing teams. In Equities the rotation is Catalyst.

• Fixed Income & Macro, for risk takers: 12 months across two PM teams.
• Commodities, for risk takers and researchers: 12 months across two PM teams, then a risk-taking or research track.
• Technology, through the Technology Academy: 12 months across four technology verticals.

A Junior (Post-Graduate) Software Engineer role in Warsaw, posted in June 2026, builds the trade management platform, mostly in Rust with some C#/.NET.

Balyasny posts internships to your school's job board when it is accepting applications, so watch that board. Off-cycle roles go on school boards, the Balyasny website or both.

Most summer 2027 quant and engineering internships were posted on 14 Aug 2026. Quantitative Developer in Systematic Strategies followed on 23 Sep, the Applied AI and machine learning internships on 13 Oct and the London Commodities Quantitative Developer role on 28 Oct.

Send one application. Applying to several roles does not raise your chance of a phone interview, because recruiters also consider you for other roles they think fit your background.

Balyasny says all its applicants have impressive grades, so use your extracurriculars to stand out and show an innovative, entrepreneurial mindset.

Who gets in

In February 2026 Dmitry Balyasny said interns come from top schools, investment clubs and maths programmes, that the fund hired about 100 the year before, and that the next intake would probably be 130 to 140 globally.

As of April 2025, the summer 2025 class was mostly STEM majors: 46% undergraduates, 43% master's students and the rest PhDs, hosted in North America, Europe and Asia.

As of June 2026, of about 30 summer 2026 interns with public LinkedIn profiles, around 85% were based in the US and 15% in the UK.

Balyasny does not name a test provider or format. Technical assessments come after the phone interview, for teams that use them, and they check the technical skills your role needs.

Each posting names the skills it wants. Prepare these for your role:

• Quantitative Researcher: Python and strong probability and statistics, with machine learning and NLP for the Systematic team. The New York Risk role adds quantitative modelling.
• New York Macro Quantitative Analyst: statistics including time series and regression, and how options, equity index, commodity and fixed income futures, interest rate swaps and FX work.
• London Quantitative Analyst: Python, Excel and a strong interest in macro or commodities.
• Quantitative Developer: strong Python and/or C++ in Systematic Strategies. On the London Commodities team, Python and/or JavaScript for data analysis, time series and regression, and a strong interest in commodities.
• Fundamental L/S Analyst in Hong Kong: strong modelling and analytical skills, with programming a plus.

For non-campus hiring, Balyasny's talent-development page says some roles add a coding or technical evaluation to a series of in-person and virtual interviews.

Expect challenging, back-and-forth conversations with members of the team you might join, so read that team's posting closely. The QR postings describe what each team works on.

In February 2026 Dmitry Balyasny said the firm looks hard for passion: is this person excited to be in this business, at this firm and in this role? Have an answer for each.

Catalyst interviews

For Catalyst, the firm wants candidates who think critically and show an interest in investing.

The head of campus recruiting says to be ready to demonstrate your technical skills. If you can, join your school's investment club, do internships and take on projects that show your interest in equities.

Balyasny lists strong analytical and financial modelling skills and good communication for ideal candidates, plus intellectual curiosity, logical thinking, resilience and initiative.

In February 2026 Balyasny invited 20 university investment clubs to its winter stock pitch competition. The top five competed in a final in New York, and every student in the final was invited to interview for summer internships.

In the fall 2025 round, the top three teams won the chance to interview for Summer 2026 internships.

As of March 2025, recruiters pick campus clubs and invite them to submit stock pitches, which act as applications, and pitches are reviewed without school names until the final selection round.

In March 2025 the firm prioritised sophomores for the competition and planned two US competitions a year. Its head of campus recruiting called it an early application pool that month, and said the firm would like to fill a good share of its summer intern class through it. For internships themselves, Balyasny's internships FAQ says it prefers rising seniors.

Does Balyasny have a graduate programme?

Yes, for interns who return full time. Fixed Income & Macro and Commodities each run 12 months across two PM teams, Technology runs 12 months across four verticals, and Equities runs Catalyst, a summer internship followed by a 9-month rotational programme.

Does Balyasny have an online assessment?

Balyasny does not name one. Technical assessments come after the phone interview for teams that use them, and the process varies by team.

How many interview rounds does Balyasny have?

Balyasny gives no count. Recruiters review your application and set up a phone interview if a team fits. More interviews follow, plus technical assessments where that team uses them. Interviews are with the campus team and the hiring team.

Where are Balyasny internships?

Summer 2027 postings include roles in New York, London, Greenwich, Houston, Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and Hong Kong. There are no remote internships.

What maths does Balyasny test?

Balyasny does not publish question types. Its QR postings ask for strong probability and statistics, the New York Risk role adds quantitative modelling, and the New York Macro Quantitative Analyst role asks for time series and regression.

Can international students apply to Balyasny?

Yes. Balyasny sponsors work authorization for international intern candidates. Catalyst is open internationally, and international participants spend their first three months in New York for foundational training.