Akuna Capital Quantitative Trader Interview Guide

The short answer: Akuna Capital is an options market maker in Chicago, and its Junior Trader posting is the main way in for new grads. Akuna publishes no interview steps for trading roles; its posting says quick and accurate reactions, including solving math and coding problems quickly, are an essential function of the job, and it asks for a major GPA of 3.5 or above. Candidate reports describe timed online math tests, a one-way recorded video round with a betting game, a technical interview with traders and a final Super Day in Chicago with a trading game. Reports disagree on the online tests more than on any other stage, so this quant trader guide shows each version. Last reviewed October 2026.

Akuna Capital quantitative trader interview: quick answers

The Akuna Capital quantitative trader role

What Akuna Capital quantitative traders work on, the skills its job postings ask for, and what a week can look like. Akuna Capital posts the role as Junior Trader (new grad, Chicago); Experienced Options Trader and Floor Trader- SPX (experienced); 2027 Trading Sneak Peek Weeks (internship pipeline).

Akuna Capital quantitative trader levels and pay

Your level sets the bar you are interviewed against and the pay band of the offer.

Akuna does not publish a level ladder. Its trader postings are Junior Trader for new grads and two experienced roles that ask for 2 or more years of market making.

Pay in Akuna Capital's US job postings

Akuna's Chicago trader postings state where base salary starts and say each role is eligible for a discretionary performance bonus.

These Illinois postings list a minimum base only, with no maximum, so the table shows the starting figure. No pay was posted for the Sneak Peek Weeks. Ranges seen October 29, 2026.

Akuna Capital quantitative trader interview process

Akuna publishes only the application step and its requirements. Every later stage comes from candidate reports, which differ on formats and timings; where they disagree, each version is listed.

Based on Akuna Capital's own pages and candidate reports.

Akuna does not publish a timeline or reapplication rule. One candidate guide says offers usually come within a week of the Super Day and that candidates can reapply after 12 months; both rest on that single source. Last reviewed October 2026.

What is different at Akuna Capital

• Akuna's titles are Junior Trader for new grads, Experienced Options Trader for laterals with 2 or more years of market making, and Floor Trader- SPX for experienced Cboe pit traders. After training, Junior Traders join Options Market Making, Delta One, Vol Arb, Crypto or the Quantitative Strategy Group. Quant Strategist and Fundamental Equity Analyst are separate tracks.
• The job is options market making. Every trader posting frames the role around quoting two-sided markets with Akuna's own low-latency technology and models, so expect market-making questions throughout.
• Junior Trader is a commitment. Applying makes it your top trading choice for the season, and Akuna will not consider you for other full-time trading roles that year.
• For 2027 Akuna replaced its summer trading internship with several one-week Sneak Peek Weeks in Chicago, with an options crash course, the trading games used to train entry-level traders and time shadowing desks.
• The bar is stated in the posting: a major GPA of 3.5 or above and US work authorization on the first day. Candidate reports add a one-way recorded video round with a betting game before any live interview.
• Akuna Capital does not publish a rule on AI use in interviews; ask your recruiter.

Akuna Capital quantitative trader interview questions

Questions from our bank, then practice prompts we wrote for this guide around Akuna Capital's work.

1from fractions import Fraction
2from typing import Dict, Tuple
3
4def median_stats(k: int, sides: int) -> Tuple[Dict[int, Fraction], Fraction, Fraction]:
5    """Return (P(median = m) for each m, mean, variance) for the median of k fair dice, k odd."""
6    pass

1from fractions import Fraction
2from math import comb
3from typing import Dict, Tuple
4
5def median_stats(k: int, sides: int) -> Tuple[Dict[int, Fraction], Fraction, Fraction]:
6    need = (k + 1) // 2
7
8    def cdf(m):
9        p = Fraction(m, sides)
10        return sum(comb(k, j) * p ** j * (1 - p) ** (k - j) for j in range(need, k + 1))
11
12    dist = {m: cdf(m) - cdf(m - 1) for m in range(1, sides + 1)}
13    mean = sum(m * q for m, q in dist.items())
14    var = sum((m - mean) ** 2 * q for m, q in dist.items())
15    return dist, mean, var
16
17# Complexity: O(sides x k) time, O(sides) space.

How to prepare

A plan for the Akuna Capital loop, most important first:

1. Drill speed arithmetic and number sequences daily, since candidate reports say the early arithmetic test cuts more candidates than any later round.
2. Practice bet sizing under uncertainty, including zero-edge bets, for the recorded betting game.
3. Practice making two-sided markets on dice and card quantities, and adjusting when someone keeps trading one side.
4. Take Akuna's free Options 101 course and learn the greeks, since Akuna is an options market maker.
5. Review probability and expected value out loud, as you would explain them to a trader.
6. Prepare short answers on why options market making and why Akuna, and decide whether Junior Trader is your top trading choice before you apply.

Practice path

Courses that cover the rounds above:

• Probability for Quant Interviews
• Estimation for Trading Interviews
• Financial Mathematics