Head to head
Hudson River Trading vs Citadel / Citadel Securities
Hudson River Trading or Citadel / Citadel Securities?
Hudson River Trading is a proprietary trading headquartered in New York; Citadel / Citadel Securities is a multi-strategy platform headquartered in Miami. On indicative total compensation Citadel / Citadel Securities sits roughly 8 percentage points higher against the market median. The larger difference for most candidates is the work itself: automated market making and statistical arbitrage at Hudson River Trading, versus multi-strategy and market making at Citadel / Citadel Securities.
| Hudson River Trading | Citadel / Citadel Securities | |
|---|---|---|
| Business model | Proprietary trading | Multi-strategy platform |
| Headquarters | New York | Miami |
| Founded | 2002 | 1990 |
| Comp vs market median | +22% | +30% |
| Offices | New York, Chicago, London, Singapore, San Francisco | New York, Chicago, London, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Paris, Dubai / Abu Dhabi |
| Strategies | Automated market making, Statistical arbitrage, High-frequency trading | Multi-strategy, Market making, Equities, Commodities, Fixed income |
| Hires for | Quant Researcher, Quant Developer, HFT / Low-Latency Engineer | Quant Researcher, Quant Developer, Quant Trader, Systematic Portfolio Manager |
| Interview stages | 3 | 4 |
| Typical backgrounds | Competitive programming, Computer science graduates, Systems engineering | PhD research, Top-tier engineering, Lateral hires from peer platforms |
Compensation by role
Indicative mid-level total compensation, US dollars, New York reference market.
| Role | Hudson River Trading | Citadel / Citadel Securities |
|---|---|---|
| Quant Researcher | $550k | $625k |
| Quant Trader | - | $600k |
| Quant Developer | $460k | $475k |
| HFT / Low-Latency Engineer | $500k | - |
| Systematic Portfolio Manager | - | $2.0m |
A dash means we hold no indicative figure for that role at that firm. It is recorded as unknown rather than estimated.
Hudson River Trading
Engineering-first proprietary firm where the distinction between researcher and developer is deliberately blurred. Strong reputation for technical depth and for paying engineers at research levels.
Interview process
- 1. Online assessmentAlgorithmic problems under time limit.
- 2. Technical phone screensTwo rounds of algorithms and systems reasoning.
- 3. On-siteDeep C++ or Python, systems design, and a research or statistics component.
Citadel / Citadel Securities
Two connected businesses - the hedge fund and the market-making arm - that between them cover almost every quantitative discipline. Compensation is top of market and the performance bar is correspondingly high. The most common destination for senior researchers and portfolio managers changing platform.
Interview process
- 1. Recruiter screenBackground, motivation and compensation expectations.
- 2. Technical screenRole-specific: statistics and modelling for research, systems and C++ for engineering.
- 3. Case / projectOften a data exercise or take-home research problem.
- 4. Super daySequential interviews with researchers, engineers and business stakeholders.
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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