Proprietary trading · Founded 1992 · Chicago
Diversified proprietary firm covering traditional derivatives alongside significant digital-asset and venture activity. Broader strategy mix than most Chicago peers.
How much does DRW pay?
Modelled mid-level total compensation at DRW runs to about $480k for a quant trader, about 12% above the modelled market reference for the same role and seniority. These are modelled bands, not verified pay.
What is it like to work at DRW?
Diversified proprietary firm covering traditional derivatives alongside significant digital-asset and venture activity. Broader strategy mix than most Chicago peers.
KnowQuant research deskUpdated 1 September 20267 offices trackedMethod 2026.1
Open vacancies
161
Core quant roles
95
Research, trading, quant dev
Cities hiring
8
Asking for a PhD
23
This firm: 161 live vacancies across 1 employer, last confirmed 31 October 2026. Each vacancy is verified first-party and classified by a published rule set you can inspect.
Indicative mid-level total compensation, US dollars.
| Role | Total comp |
|---|---|
| Quant Trader | $480k |
| Quant Researcher | $470k |
| HFT / Low-Latency Engineer | $450k |
Background and motivation.
Probability and programming, weighted to the specific desk.
Desk interviews and scenario discussion.
Rehearse the reasoning these stages test in the practice bank: probability, expected value, market making and coding problems with worked solutions.
Sourced answers to the questions candidates ask about pay, the loop and where the firm hires.
Indicative mid-level total compensation at DRW: Quant Trader $480k, Quant Researcher $470k, HFT / Low-Latency Engineer $450k. That sits roughly 12% above the modelled market reference estimate for the same role and seniority. Figures are annual base plus expected bonus, in US dollars.
3 stages: Screen (background and motivation); Technical (probability and programming, weighted to the specific desk); On-site (desk interviews and scenario discussion).
DRW is headquartered in Chicago and hires into Chicago, London, Amsterdam, Singapore, New York, Greenwich / Stamford, Toronto. We currently classify 161 open vacancies at the firm, 95 of them core quant roles, across 8 markets.
Quant Trader, Quant Researcher, HFT / Low-Latency Engineer, Quant Developer. The firm runs options, fixed income, crypto, real assets, market making and hires backgrounds such as mathematics and engineering, trading backgrounds, software engineering.
Diversified proprietary firm covering traditional derivatives alongside significant digital-asset and venture activity. Broader strategy mix than most Chicago peers. Of the live vacancies we classify at the firm, 23 ask for a PhD.
Vacancy counts are rebuilt from the firm's own career pages, classified and de-duplicated by the KnowQuant research desk. Pay figures are modelled market bands for the role and seniority, adjusted for the firm's observed premium, and labelled as modelled. Method 2026.1, last reviewed September 2026.
KnowQuant Quant Compensation Benchmark, Q3 2026 edition, method 2026.1. https://www.know-quant.com/firms/drw
Free to quote and republish with attribution and a link to the source page, under our terms. Method 2026.1, last reviewed 1 September 2026. The methodology sets out how each band is built and what it excludes.
Candidates
Two minutes, no account, nothing public. When a role matches your profile, the desk reaches out directly and only with your permission.
Speak to the desk
Step 1 of 1Ask the research desk where this firm sits on pay, hiring pace and the candidate pool before you brief the market.
Request a slot in the next two weeks. The desk comes back to you to confirm it. No obligation.
Weekly market movements
The dated market call: which desks opened seats, where pay shifted, and which markets tightened. Written by the research desk, sent Monday, and nothing else.
Research desk
Ask what a firm really pays, how a desk hires, or where your profile sits. One reply from the research desk, in confidence, no obligation.
Side by side on modelled pay, interview stages, offices and the roles each firm hires for.
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.
DRW profile · KnowQuant 2026.1