Mako Interview Guide

Mako was founded in 1999 through a management buyout of Saratoga, a London options trading company. It makes markets in equity, fixed income, commodity and FX derivatives.

Its offices are in London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Singapore, Sydney, Brisbane and Chengdu.

As of October 2026, its low-latency trading system is written in-house in C++ and runs on Linux.

As of May 2020, Mako said it hires programmers to the same standard as traders. The qualities it named were pattern recognition, critical thinking, logical reasoning and an appetite for challenge.

Mako hires traders and technologists through summer internships for penultimate-year students and graduate programmes for people starting their careers. It picks a new cohort every year.

Summer internship

The internship lasts one month and runs every year from July. Interns who do well get a direct route into the graduate programmes.

You must be studying a STEM subject at university and have practical experience of at least one programming language, such as MATLAB, Python, R or C++. Mako also asks for strong academic results so far, the ability to solve complex problems, a passion for technology, exceptional communication skills and strong team spirit.

There is a trading track and a technology track:

• Trading: an interactive introduction to options trading, data-analysis projects, shadowing experienced traders, idea-generation projects, mathematical problem-solving and automation, and Python coding workshops.
• Technology: shadowing technologists and traders, technology development projects, and Python and C++ coding workshops.

Graduate Trader programme

The programme lasts 18 months and starts in late September. Mako describes it as setting you on a two-year path to becoming an options market maker, and many of its senior traders started on it.

You start with a two-week intensive course: an introduction to Mako and its structure, then options theory. Next come 8 to 10 weeks on different desks, depending on location, before Mako puts you on the desk that fits the aptitude you have shown.

During the rotations there are weekly mock trading sessions and weekly classes on topics such as options theory, data analytics, pricing and modelling. A graduate trader on the Index Prop desk, quoted on the Early Careers page, says the mock trading and game theory build your numerical skill.

Software Engineer graduate programme

This one lasts 12 months and also starts in late September. Classroom training covers C++, market making, options theory and how exchanges and trading networks work. During induction you share options theory classes and training projects with the graduate traders.

Depending on location, you work with development teams such as Data, Algorithms, Financial Engineering, Execution, Support and GUIs. An engineer is your buddy for the whole programme, and Mako expects you to contribute production features within your first six weeks.

As of October 2026, the London posting asks for a 2:1 in a STEM subject or equivalent, a strong grasp of algorithms and data structures, and at least one mainstream object-oriented language such as C++, C#, Java, JavaScript or Go.

Mako's Early Careers page lists four steps in its Graduate Software Engineer section:

• An aptitude test and a problem-solving test, sent to every candidate.
• A review of your profile for suitability, if you pass.
• A first-round interview on your interest in the role and your career ambitions.
• A technical round of interviews.

The October 2026 London posting gives the order as an online test, an online coding assessment, two live C++ coding interviews and a final panel with senior engineers and HR.

As of May 2022, the Graduate Trader route was an online aptitude test, a first-round interview with HR, then two sessions with senior traders.

As of October 2026, software engineer applicants get the online test shortly after applying. Mako recommends doing it promptly, somewhere calm where you can focus.

If you pass and your profile fits the role, you are invited to an online technical coding assessment.

As of May 2022, the Graduate Trader aptitude test was short and came after you sent your CV.

Graduate Trader interviews

As of May 2022, the first round was about 30 minutes with a member of the HR and graduate recruitment team. It covered your education, some competency questions and your fit for the Graduate Trader role.

The second round was two 30-minute sessions with senior traders from across the business. They went deeper into your skills, with maths and problem-solving questions alongside questions on why you want the role.

Trading experience was not essential. Mako wanted to see interest in financial markets, and liked hearing about societies or groups you belong to, courses you have taken or books you have read.

Mako's advice in the same post: test the interview link, your audio and your microphone beforehand, and bring at least one question for the end, ideally two.

Graduate Software Engineer interviews

As of October 2026, both live coding interviews are in C++, and the posting asks for working C++ for that reason.

As of November 2021, Mako said it looks mainly for mental agility in graduate developers, and a strong capacity to learn and apply known ideas to new problems.

Mako's early-career programmes are the summer internship, the Graduate Trader programme and the Software Engineer graduate programme. Its April 2021 interview guide is for quant developers, a role outside those programmes, and shows how Mako ran brainteasers and live coding.

As of April 2021, an interview lasted about an hour. The first skill tested was solving problems you have not seen before, through brainteasers, and Mako said showing how you reached an answer matters more than getting it right.

The guide also said you would not get market-sizing questions such as how many petrol stations there are in the UK.

It names the knowledge areas asked about most often across the industry:

• Numerical analysis.
• Partial differential equations.
• Monte Carlo simulation.
• Linear algebra.

A live coding test was a consistent part of the interview, where you were asked to design algorithms that solve a class of problems as efficiently as possible. C++ is Mako's main language, but the guide says understanding object-oriented programming matters most.

The guide's CV advice: be ready to walk the interviewer through it, leading with your most relevant experience.

Does Mako have a graduate programme?

Yes, two. The Graduate Trader programme lasts 18 months and the Software Engineer graduate programme lasts 12 months. Both start in late September, and interns who do well have a direct route into them.

What is the Mako online assessment?

The Early Careers page says every software engineer candidate is sent an aptitude test and a problem-solving test. The October 2026 posting says an online test arrives shortly after you apply, then an online coding assessment if you pass and your profile fits the role. As of May 2022, Graduate Trader applicants took a short online aptitude test after sending their CV.

How many interview rounds does Mako have?

For software engineers, the Early Careers page lists a first-round interview, and the October 2026 posting lists two live C++ coding interviews and a final panel with senior engineers and HR. As of May 2022, Graduate Traders had a first round of about 30 minutes with HR, then two 30-minute sessions with senior traders.

How long is the Mako summer internship?

One month, every year from July. It is for penultimate-year students reading a STEM subject who have practical experience of at least one programming language.

What maths does Mako test?

As of May 2022, the senior trader sessions mixed maths and problem-solving questions with questions on motivation.

Do I need trading experience for the Mako Graduate Trader programme?

No. As of May 2022, Mako said trading experience is not essential for Graduate Traders. It wanted interest in financial markets you can back up, such as a society, a course or a book you can talk about.