Overview
Old Mission started building its quantitative market-making platform in 2008. It began by pricing and trading illiquid ETFs with its own technology, and now covers nearly every exchange-traded asset class.
Its September 2025 press release says it makes markets in thousands of products on virtually every exchange and several off-exchange venues. It trades equities, bonds, currencies and derivatives of all types.
Chicago is the headquarters, and postings also name offices in New York and London. A Junior Quantitative Trader role published in October 2026 recruits for an APAC office, listed under Hong Kong, but it asks for three or more years of equity or options trading experience, so it is not a graduate route.
Traders join a close-knit team from day one and are likely to see every part of a trade: research, modelling, testing and execution. Quant researchers use statistics and machine learning to turn historical market data into pricing models.
You will likely sit within arm's reach of your team leader, and the founders still sit on the trading floor.
Programmes
Quantitative Trader 2027 Graduate Program
Chicago and New York have two intakes, one starting in August and one starting in February. London has an August intake.
You need an undergraduate or advanced degree in a quantitative field such as computer science, engineering or a hard science. Chicago and New York ask for Python or C++. London also accepts VBA, Java, R or Matlab.
In London, junior traders work on disciplined decision making, risk management, derivative pricing and research into new opportunities.
Quant Trader Micro-Internship
As of November 2026, the 2027 edition runs from 4 to 22 January 2027, its posting went up on 1 Oct 2026, and it is no longer listed.
The January 2026 edition ran from 5 to 23 January in Chicago, for students graduating in December 2026 or May 2027. Interns explored trading strategies, did mock trading and quantitative research, wrote related software and joined the firm's education programme.
Quantitative Researcher (Ph.D.) 2027 Graduate Program
This Chicago role works directly with the options trading group, improving its pricing models and building new models and tools. You need a Master's or Ph.D. in a quantitative discipline, and programming in both Python and C++.
Floor Trader 2027 Graduate Program
The programme starts in August and leads to the Cboe options floor in Chicago. You finish the new-grad training programme first, then move to the floor to trade in open outcry, executing trades verbally and building out the firm's floor presence.
It asks for a bachelor's degree and names no field. It wants people who make quick decisions under stress with incomplete information.
Fundamental Research Analyst 2027 Graduate Program
Analysts start in August on the Options team at the Chicago headquarters.
Software Engineer 2027 Graduate Program
This Chicago programme starts in August. You build and support C++ trading applications and tools alongside the firm's engineers. The posting asks for knowledge of C++, Python, SQL, JavaScript and React, and a minimum GPA of 3.0.
Software Engineer 2027 Internship Program
The internship is in Chicago. You must be able to start on 1 Jun 2027, have at least junior standing and graduate in December 2027 or May 2028.
No finance experience is needed, and the posting sets a minimum GPA of 3.0. Interns get regular sessions with senior engineers on the firm's systems and tools, and corporate housing at no cost.
Application
The Chicago and New York Quantitative Trader form asks for your resume, your current GPA and a university email address, and whether you need US visa sponsorship now or in the future. The London form asks whether you need UK sponsorship now or in the future.
As of November 2026, internship resumes are screened as they arrive, and some applicants are rejected before the online assessment.
Online assessment
The application forms say online assessments go only to your university email address. They do not say what the assessment covers.
As of November 2026, the software engineering assessment is on HackerRank: about 30 multiple-choice questions on data structures and algorithms, C++, Python, object-oriented programming and systems in 60 minutes, plus two medium-to-hard coding problems.
For trading roles, start with probability and statistics. The January 2026 micro-internship posting asked for a strong quantitative background and familiarity with both, and as of November 2026 both internship interview rounds include probability.
Interviews
Phone or video interview
As of November 2026, the internship phone or video interview runs 30 to 60 minutes: mental maths, probability questions and brainteasers for quant trading candidates, and technical computer science questions for software engineering candidates (data structures and algorithms, C++, Python, operating systems or threading).
Final round
As of November 2026, the internship final round is about two hours in person at the Chicago office, back to back with traders and engineers, and quant candidates get advanced probability, market-making scenarios and trading simulations.
What Old Mission looks for
- Teamwork comes first, so the firm values your emotional intelligence as much as your raw brainpower.
- Graduate traders need to solve problems as part of a team, often under pressure.
- It describes its quantitative traders as curious, analytical and competitive.
- The careers page pitches the job to people who have fun solving puzzles, exploring new mathematical techniques or tinkering with new technologies, and who enjoy testing their skill against others in an objective way.
Training
Old Mission runs an education programme for all employees, alongside learning on the desk.
Trader training covers options theory, market microstructure, risk management and mock trading. The trader education team mentors and evaluates junior traders and interns, gives feedback at the desk and is building out the internship programmes through to full-time offers.
Ignition for women in tech and trading
Ignition is an unpaid two-day discovery programme at the Chicago office for women interested in careers in technology and trading. The 2026 edition ran on 9 and 10 April, for women graduating in 2027 or 2028 with a minimum GPA of 3.0.
The 2026 programme had hands-on coding workshops and challenges, a trading floor tour and technical talks.
Applicants sent a resume and a statement of up to 250 words on why they were interested in quantitative trading technology. Applications closed on 6 Mar 2026, and selected participants heard by 13 Mar 2026.
Campus events
Old Mission recruits on campus in the US and the UK. Events it has listed:
- Trading competitions: UC Berkeley on 6 Sep 2025, Cornell on 18 Oct 2025 and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on 18 Apr 2026.
- Fall 2026: an early-career networking event at Yale on 9 Sep 2026, and career fairs at MIT, Berkeley, Georgia Tech, Carnegie Mellon, UT Austin, Brown, Michigan, UIUC and Harvard.
- Spring 2026: Traders @ MIT on 25 and 26 April, a Yale info session on 20 April and coffee chats at the University of Chicago on 6 and 7 May.
- Columbia: an info session on 13 Nov 2025.
- UK: info sessions at Warwick, Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and Imperial College London from 5 to 9 May 2025.
On 11 Feb 2026 the Columbia Quant Group hosted an Old Mission info session with a market-making game.
How to prepare
- Apply early and give a university email address you check, because Old Mission sends online assessments only to that address. As of November 2026, internship resumes are screened as they arrive and the quant trading phone round for internships has mental maths, so keep a short arithmetic set going every day while you wait for the assessment.
- As of November 2026, the quant trading phone round for internships has mental maths. Do timed sets and say each step out loud, because you will be answering on a phone or video call.
- As of November 2026, the internship final round has advanced probability for quant candidates. Once single-event questions are quick, move on to conditional probability and expected value.
- Practise quoting a two-sided price, taking a fill and moving your market, until you can do it out loud without stalling.
- As of November 2026, the quant trading phone round for internships includes brainteasers. Work through them out loud the way you would with a teammate, since Old Mission says teamwork comes first.
- For the Floor Trader programme, do your mental maths against the clock. The posting asks for quick decisions under stress with incomplete information, and floor traders execute trades verbally in open outcry.
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