The engineering layer beneath the strategy
Quant Developer salary
How much does a quant developer earn?
A quant developer builds the systems that research and trading depend on: backtesting infrastructure, data pipelines, execution platforms and production strategy code. New York total compensation typically runs from about $180,000 at entry level to $600,000 or more for senior developers at leading firms.
By city
Total compensation range and median in each market's local currency.
| Market | Currency | Range | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | USD | $180k – $1.2m | $340k |
| London | GBP | £121k – £805k | £228k |
| Chicago | USD | $175k – $1.2m | $330k |
| Singapore | SGD | S$198k – S$1.3m | S$374k |
| Hong Kong | HKD | HK$1.2m – HK$8.0m | HK$2.3m |
| Amsterdam | EUR | €123k – €817k | €231k |
| San Francisco | USD | $171k – $1.1m | $323k |
| Paris | EUR | €113k – €751k | €213k |
| Zurich / Geneva | CHF | CHF 143k – CHF 950k | CHF 269k |
| Dubai / Abu Dhabi | AED | AED 581k – AED 3.9m | AED 1.1m |
By seniority
New York reference market, US dollars. Base salary and total compensation.
| Level | Experience | Base | Total comp |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior Developer | 0-2 yrs | $130k – $180k | $180k – $300k |
| Developer | 2-5 yrs | $170k – $240k | $260k – $450k |
| Senior Developer | 5-8 yrs | $210k – $300k | $380k – $700k |
| Lead / Principal | 8+ yrs | $250k – $375k | $500k – $1.2m |
About the role
Quant development sits between software engineering and the trading floor. The work spans research infrastructure, simulation environments, market-data handling and the production path from signal to order. Firms that treat developers as first-class contributors rather than support functions pay close to research levels, and the compensation gap between a generic software role and a quant development seat at a top firm is substantial.
Skills firms hire for
- C++
- Python
- Distributed systems
- kdb+/q
- Linux performance
- Data engineering
Typical backgrounds
- —Computer science graduates
- —Software engineers moving from big technology
- —Systems and infrastructure specialists
- —Physics or engineering with strong programming
Other roles
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.
KnowQaunt 2026.1 · Updated September 2026
These are indicative ranges pending first-party verification. They will be replaced by verified submissions as the Quant Salary Index dataset builds.