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Hire quant researchers, analysts and developers whose models hold up in live markets.
TekRecruiter is a quant recruiting agency focused solely on technology and engineering roles, from tech and SaaS companies to investment banks. We pull apart the research, the modeling and the engineering before we source, so you hire the quant who can find the edge, price the risk or run the strategy in production. Beyond skills and experience, we look for HEARTThe HEART standardHHigh agencyEExecutionAAccountabilityRResourcefulnessTTransparencyWhat we look for, beyond skills →.
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What is a quantitative researcher?
A quantitative researcher uses mathematics, statistics and large datasets to find and test the signals, pricing models and risk models a firm trades or manages money on, and proves they hold up out of sample before capital depends on them. A quant analyst builds, validates and runs the models the desk already uses; a quant developer engineers the systems that run them in production.
- Quant analyst
- Builds, tests and maintains the pricing, risk and analytics models the business runs on.
- Quant researcher
- Develops new models and signals from data, and proves they are real before money relies on them.
- Quant developer
- Engineers the production systems, libraries and data pipelines that run the models, fast and correctly.
What firms hire quants to do.
The title says quant. The mandate says which one. These are the five we recruit for most.
01 · Signal research
Find an edge, then try hard to kill it.
Researchers who turn market, alternative and fundamental data into signals, and test them out of sample, across regimes and after costs before anyone trades them.
- Backtests that account for costs, slippage and look-ahead bias
- A clear record of the ideas that failed, and why
- Python
- pandas
- NumPy
- kdb+/q
- statsmodels
02 · Pricing and derivatives
Price it right, and hedge what you priced.
Quant analysts who build and maintain pricing models for rates, credit, FX, equity and structured products, and the risk sensitivities the desk hedges with.
- Calibration that holds when markets move
- Models traders can question and still trust
- C++
- Python
- QuantLib
- Monte Carlo
- MATLAB
03 · Risk and model validation
Models a model risk team can sign off.
Analysts who measure market and credit risk and validate models independently, in line with bank model risk guidance such as the Federal Reserve’s SR 11-7.
- Independent challenge of assumptions, data and limits
- Documentation that stands up to regulators and auditors
- Python
- R
- SQL
- SAS
- VaR and stress testing
04 · Execution and low latency
Microseconds off the order path.
Quant developers who build execution and market-data systems where latency, determinism and correctness are the product.
- Profiling and tuning the hot path in C++ on Linux
- Strategies moved from research code to production without drift
- C++
- Linux
- FIX protocol
- kdb+
- Rust
05 · Research platforms
A backtester the whole desk believes.
Developers who build the shared research stack: clean historical data, point-in-time accuracy, and a backtesting engine that matches what production does.
- One source of truth for prices, reference data and corporate actions
- Research code and production code that give the same answer
- Python
- Apache Arrow
- Parquet
- Spark
- kdb+
What to know before you hire a quant.
Quant searches are expensive, slow to close and easy to mis-scope. Settle these before the search starts.
Researcher, analyst or developer?
Ask what the person will produce. New signals or models that must be proven: a researcher. Pricing, risk and validation of models the desk already runs: an analyst. Systems that run strategies in production: a developer. The titles are used interchangeably, but the pay and the candidate pools are not.
What does a quant cost?
In TekRecruiter’s 2026 placements at investment banks, senior quant analysts earned a $170,000 base in Miami (about $230,000 total) and $200,000 in Boston (about $260,000 total). Mid to senior quant researchers earned $200,000–$250,000 base in Miami, up to about $400,000 total, and about $300,000 base in Boston, up to about $500,000 total. See the 2026 Salary & Rate Guide.
Is Miami a real quant market now?
Yes. Citadel announced in 2022 that it was moving its headquarters from Chicago to Miami, and Millennium’s Miami office passed 200 employees by late 2023. Other funds, including Balyasny, have opened Miami offices since. We placed five senior quant analysts in Miami in 2026, plus a VP of Quantitative Research.
How are quants interviewed?
Firms usually test probability, statistics and coding, then ask for a research presentation. AI has made the textbook questions easy to answer, so the deciding round should be a candidate defending their own work: the assumptions, how they validated it, what failed and what the desk did with it.
How do non-competes and garden leave affect hiring?
Candidates from hedge funds and trading firms often carry non-competes or garden leave that keep them out of work for months, sometimes longer. Ask early, plan start dates around it, and structure the offer so the wait doesn’t cost you the candidate.
Do you need a PhD?
Researchers often have one, in math, physics, statistics, computer science or a related field. Many strong analysts and developers don’t. A PhD shows research training; it doesn’t prove someone can find an edge that survives trading costs. Screen for that directly.
Why quant searches go wrong.
Quant hiring fails in a few predictable ways. These are the ones we see most.
- 01
A researcher title on a developer job.
Or the reverse, and the candidate pool never fit the work.
- 02
An offer benchmarked on base.
Bonus drives these packages, and the candidate walks for total pay.
- 03
Brainteaser champions.
Quick on puzzles, unable to defend a model of their own.
- 04
A start date nobody planned for.
Garden leave surfaces after the offer is signed.
- Quant placements at investment banks in 2026
- 11+
- Senior quant analyst base, Miami to Boston
- $170K–$200K
- Quant researcher total pay, Boston
- Up to $500K
Anyone can answer a brainteaser now. Defending a model is harder.
We’re technical people, and we have every candidate walk through a model or system they built: the problem it solved for the desk, the assumptions, how they validated it, what broke, and what it changed in P&L or risk. We also find out where they sat between research and production. Every quant we present also meets our HEART standard.
- A model they own: what it priced, predicted or measured, who used it, and the assumptions behind it.
- Validation and failure: out-of-sample tests, the overfitting they caught, and a model that stopped working.
- Research to production: who implemented it, how latency and correctness were handled, and their part in it.
- Business impact: what the desk or portfolio did differently because of their work.
| A generalist financial staffing firm | TekRecruiter |
|---|---|
| Uses analyst, researcher and developer interchangeably | Scopes which quant you need before the search |
| Screens on brainteasers AI can answer | Has candidates defend a model they built |
| Benchmarks base salary only | Benchmarks base and total pay from our 2026 placements |
| Finds out about garden leave at offer | Asks about non-competes on the first call |
| Treats C++ and Python as keywords | Asks what they optimized and how they kept it correct |
The HEART standard
What we look for beyond skills and experience, in every candidate we present.
- High agencyPeople who see what needs to be done and act without waiting to be told.
- ExecutionPeople who turn ideas into results.
- AccountabilityPeople who own the outcome, not just their piece of the work.
- ResourcefulnessPeople who figure things out when the answer isn’t obvious.
- TransparencyPeople who communicate clearly, honestly, and early.
What we screen out.
The patterns that separate a quant who has worked with real money from one who has worked with a dataset.
A Sharpe ratio that’s too good
Backtests with no costs, no slippage and no out-of-sample period.
Can’t state the assumptions
Knows the output of their model but not when it stops being valid.
Never had a model fail
No story about a signal that decayed or a model that broke in a new regime.
Notebook-only engineering
For developers: research code that was never profiled, tested or run in production.
Puzzles, no portfolio
Strong on brainteasers, thin on work they can walk through and defend.
Loose with a former firm’s IP
Shares proprietary strategies or parameters in the interview.
Quant analyst, researcher and quant research leadership.
The quant ladder runs by what someone is trusted to produce, and pay rises sharply with it.
Senior quant analyst
Owns models the desk runs every day.
- Builds, calibrates and maintains pricing and risk models
- Answers traders’ and risk managers’ questions on the numbers
- Documents models for validation and audit
2026 base pay
$170K–$200K base
About $230K–$260K total, Miami to Boston. TekRecruiter’s 2026 placements at investment banks.
Quant researcher
Produces new signals and models.
- Finds and tests ideas from market and alternative data
- Proves results out of sample and after costs
- Works directly with portfolio managers on what gets traded
2026 base pay
$200K–$300K base
Up to about $400K total in Miami and $500K in Boston. TekRecruiter’s 2026 placements, mid to senior.
VP or Head of Quant Research
Sets the research agenda and the team.
- Chooses which research gets capital and time
- Hires and develops researchers and developers
- Owns model risk and research standards
We don’t yet publish quant developer pay. Full quant tables: 2026 Salary & Rate Guide.
Quant researcher vs. quant developer vs. quant analyst (vs. trader).
| Quant researcher | Quant developer | Quant analyst | Trader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main question | "Is there an edge here, and is it real?" | "Will this run correctly, fast, every time?" | "Is this model right, and what does it say?" | "What do we trade today, and how much?" |
| Core job | Develops and validates new signals and models | Builds the systems, libraries and pipelines that run them | Builds and maintains pricing, risk and analytics models | Takes and manages positions and risk |
| Typical background | Advanced degree in a quantitative field, often a PhD | Software engineering, with strong math | Math, statistics, physics, engineering or financial engineering | Markets experience; quantitative degree common |
| Main tools | Python, statistics, kdb+ | C++, Python, Linux | Python, C++, pricing libraries | Trading and risk systems |
| Works most with | Portfolio managers and other researchers | Researchers, analysts and technology | Traders, risk and the desk | Researchers, analysts and sales |
How to hire quants with us.
Direct hire
Quant analysts, researchers and developers for permanent seats, with base and bonus benchmarked against our 2026 placements.
Direct hireStaff augmentation
Contract quants for a model validation cycle, a regulatory deadline or a research platform build.
Staff augmentationExecutive search
VPs and Heads of Quantitative Research, run confidentially when a seat is being replaced.
Executive search
Quant hiring questions, answered.
What is the difference between a quant researcher, a quant developer and a quant analyst?
A quant researcher develops new models and signals and proves they are real before money depends on them. A quant developer engineers the production systems and data pipelines that run those models. A quant analyst builds and maintains the pricing, risk and analytics models the business runs on. In our 2026 placements, researchers were paid well above analysts in both Miami and Boston.
What does a senior quant analyst earn in 2026?
In TekRecruiter's 2026 placements at investment banks, senior quant analysts earned a $170,000 base in Miami, about $230,000 in total pay, and a $200,000 base in Boston, about $260,000 in total pay. See the 2026 Salary & Rate Guide.
What does a quant researcher earn in 2026?
Mid to senior quant researchers we placed in Miami earned $200,000–$250,000 in base salary, with bonuses taking total pay to about $400,000. In Boston, base salary reached about $300,000, with total pay up to about $500,000. See the 2026 Salary & Rate Guide.
Who recruits quants in Miami?
TekRecruiter is headquartered in Miami and recruits quant analysts, researchers and developers for investment banks and trading teams there. In 2026 we placed five senior quant analysts at Miami investment banks, at a $170,000 base and about $230,000 in total pay, plus a VP of Quantitative Research at a Miami investment bank.
Is Miami cheaper than Boston for quant hires?
Yes, by a clear margin in our 2026 data. Senior quant analysts were paid a $170,000 base in Miami against $200,000 in Boston, and total pay was about $230,000 against $260,000. The gap is wider for quant researchers: $200,000–$250,000 base in Miami against about $300,000 in Boston.
How many quant roles has TekRecruiter filled?
In 2026 we have made more than 11 quant placements at investment banks: five senior quant analysts in Miami, six in Boston, and quant researchers, plus a VP of Quantitative Research at a Miami investment bank.
How do you screen quant candidates?
We have each candidate walk through and defend a model or system they built: the problem it solved, the assumptions, how they validated it, what went wrong, and what the desk did differently because of it. Brainteasers and textbook questions are easy to answer with AI now; defending your own work is not.
What is the HEART standard?
HEART is the standard we screen every candidate against, beyond skills: high agency, execution, accountability, resourcefulness and transparency. It describes people who take ownership, turn ideas into results and move the business forward. See the standard.
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