Head to head
D. E. Shaw vs Jane Street
D. E. Shaw or Jane Street?
D. E. Shaw is a systematic manager headquartered in New York; Jane Street is a proprietary trading headquartered in New York. On indicative total compensation Jane Street sits roughly 5 percentage points higher against the market median. The larger difference for most candidates is the work itself: systematic strategies and discretionary macro at D. E. Shaw, versus etf market making and options at Jane Street.
| D. E. Shaw | Jane Street | |
|---|---|---|
| Business model | Systematic manager | Proprietary trading |
| Headquarters | New York | New York |
| Founded | 1988 | 2000 |
| Comp vs market median | +20% | +25% |
| Offices | New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore | New York, London, Austin, Hong Kong, Singapore, Amsterdam |
| Strategies | Systematic strategies, Discretionary macro, Statistical arbitrage, Multi-strategy | ETF market making, Options, Statistical arbitrage, Fixed income |
| Hires for | Quant Researcher, Quant Developer, Systematic Portfolio Manager | Quant Trader, Quant Researcher, Quant Developer |
| Interview stages | 3 | 4 |
| Typical backgrounds | PhD research, Olympiad backgrounds, Top-tier engineering | Olympiad mathematics, Competitive programming, Physics and mathematics undergraduates, Poker and games backgrounds |
Compensation by role
Indicative mid-level total compensation, US dollars, New York reference market.
| Role | D. E. Shaw | Jane Street |
|---|---|---|
| Quant Researcher | $570k | $575k |
| Quant Trader | - | $600k |
| Quant Developer | $440k | $450k |
| Systematic Portfolio Manager | $1.8m | - |
A dash means we hold no indicative figure for that role at that firm. It is recorded as unknown rather than estimated.
D. E. Shaw
One of the original quantitative funds and still among the most selective. Combines systematic and discretionary businesses, with a research culture that rewards depth over speed.
Interview process
- 1. ScreenHighly selective CV filter, then a technical call.
- 2. Technical roundsMathematics, probability and algorithmic reasoning at depth.
- 3. On-siteExtended panel with researchers and engineers.
Jane Street
Known for ETF and options market making at scale, an unusually strong graduate pipeline, and a distinctive engineering culture built around OCaml. Entry-level packages are among the highest in the industry, and the firm hires heavily for probabilistic reasoning rather than finance knowledge.
Interview process
- 1. Screening callRecruiter conversation and background discussion.
- 2. Probability and mental mathsFast-paced expected-value and market-making games.
- 3. Technical roundsAlgorithms, problem solving, and for engineers a strong functional-programming component.
- 4. Final / on-siteMultiple interviewers, trading games, and estimation under time pressure.
Markets where both compete for talent
Other comparisons
Methodology
Figures are expressed as annual total compensation (base salary plus expected performance bonus) in the reference market's local currency, converted from a US dollar base. They describe typical market ranges rather than any individual offer, and exclude sign-on payments, deferred equity and carried interest. Portfolio-manager figures reflect formulaic profit-share arrangements and are therefore far more dispersed than any other role.
KnowQuantIndex 2026.1 · Updated September 2026
Modelled bands describe the market, not an individual offer. Where an employer states pay, the stated figure is used and labelled as such.
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