Quantitative Developer - Python
IMC is hiring a Quantitative Developer - Python in Chicago, United States. It pays $200k-$225k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on IMC.
Level's read on this job
- Little AI ●○○○ is how Level rates this role: aI is not part of the work.
- Tools and skills the posting cites include Python, pandas and Polars.
- Level classifies it as a mid-level role.
- Level lists 155 other open roles at IMC.
AI in this role
Build quantitative trading systems, simulation infrastructure, and execution pipelines from research to production using Python.
IMC is looking for a Quantitative Developer to own the full path from research to production. This role blends research and engineering, with tight feedback loops from ideation to live trading. You will build the systems that turn quantitative insights into measurable edge, with direct visibility into how your work creates impact.
Your Core Responsibilities:
- Build and maintain systems that span research and production, enabling rapid iteration from idea to production
- Design high-fidelity simulation and backtesting infrastructure that models latency, microstructure, and real-world constraints
- Define, compute, and curate features across instruments, regimes, and time horizons
- Own feature and signal pipelines, ensuring clean, consistent delivery from research to execution
- Contribute to strategy optimization, balancing expected performance with real-world constraints
- Debug issues end-to-end across research and execution
Your Skills and Experience:
- 3-7 years of experience in quantitative software development, preferably at a trading firm or systematic fund
- Strong production experience in Python, including data analysis workflows (pandas, polars, or similar)
- Strong grounding in probability, statistics, and time series analysis; familiarity with backtesting and simulation frameworks
- Solid understanding of ML concepts as applied to systematic strategies, from research through production
- Experience with low-latency systems is valuable
- Ability to work fluidly across research and engineering teams
The Base Salary range for the role is included below. Base salary is only one component of total compensation; all full-time, permanent positions are eligible for a discretionary bonus and benefits, including paid leave and insurance. Please visit Benefits - US | IMC Trading for more comprehensive information.
Salary Range$200,000—$225,000 USDAbout Us
IMC is a research-driven trading firm where quantitative modeling, machine learning, and engineering shape how modern markets are traded. A stabilizing force in markets since 1989, we provide liquidity across trading venues, delivering the best outcome in value and risk management to investors. Using our own technology and capital, we build proprietary systems and algorithms that operate across global markets. Our researchers, traders, and engineers work as a collective, combining rapid experimentation, advanced infrastructure, and real-time feedback to turn insight into execution and execution into advantage.
How we rate this
Quantitative Developer - Python at IMC rates 20 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Little AI. AI is not part of the work.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.
Prepare for this job
Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Questions you could be asked
- Tell me about a project where quantitative development was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where backtesting was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where simulation was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where time series analysis was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where machine learning was part of your work. What did you do?
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: Quantitative Development, Backtesting, Simulation, Time Series Analysis, and Machine learning. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
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