ZipRecruiter

Log In

1

Backtesting Jobs in Illinois (NOW HIRING)

DV Trading

Portfolio Manager

Chicago, IL · On-site

$200K/yr

Proven track record of live performance (beyond backtesting) * Strong return on capital (ROC) * Experience contributing to or leading successful trading teams * Ability to communicate effectively ...

TransMarket Group

DevOps/SRE Intern

Chicago, IL

$58.75 - $78/hr

Work directly with our Traders, Trade Developers, Platform Developers, and IT Team to automate and maintain systems for deployment of trading software, configuration management, CI/CD and backtesting ...

IMC

Systematic Index Options Trader

Chicago, IL · On-site

$250K/yr

Use backtesting and analysis tools to predict the impact of changes to our execution systems and continuously improve our performance * Work collaboratively with traders, quant researchers, and ...

DV Trading

Portfolio Manager

Chicago, IL · On-site

$200K/yr

Proven track record of live performance (beyond backtesting) * Strong return on capital (ROC) * Experience contributing to or leading successful trading teams * Ability to communicate effectively ...

TransMarket Group

Senior Software Engineer

Chicago, IL · On-site

$126K - $166K/yr

Leverage libraries you've worked on to facilitate backtesting and post-trade analysis of our trading strategies * Tune and refine existing components to improve performance, flexibility, and ...

DV Trading

Portfolio Manager

Chicago, IL · On-site

$200K/yr

Proven track record of live performance (beyond backtesting) * Strong return on capital (ROC) * Experience contributing to or leading successful trading teams * Ability to communicate effectively ...

DRW

Quantitative Trader - Futures

Chicago, IL · On-site

$150K - $250K/yr

Conduct rigorous research, backtesting, and performance attribution analysis * Continuously iterate on models to improve signal quality, scalability, and capital efficiency * Contribute to portfolio ...

Geneva Trading

Junior Software Engineer

Chicago, IL · On-site

$80K - $130K/yr

Leverage Python to build high-speed data pipelines, backtesting frameworks, and real-time monitoring tools to analyze strategy behavior. * Deep-Dive Problem Solving: Act as the "systems expert" for ...

TransMarket Group

DevOps/SRE Intern

Chicago, IL · On-site

$15.50 - $20.50/hr

Work directly with our Traders, Trade Developers, Platform Developers, and IT Team to automate and maintain systems for deployment of trading software, configuration management, CI/CD and backtesting ...

Aquatic Capital Management

Systems Engineer

Chicago, IL · On-site

$150K - $300K/yr

Own and evolve Aquatic's Slurm and Ray cluster infrastructure across on-prem and GCP - supporting research and trading workloads including fitting, tuning, backtesting, feature computation, and ...

next page

Showing results 1-20

All JobsBacktesting JobsBacktesting Jobs in Illinois

Backtesting information

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Backtesting Analyst, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Backtesting Analyst, you need a strong background in quantitative analysis, statistics, programming (typically in Python or R), and familiarity with financial markets, usually supported by a degree in mathematics, finance, or a related field. Proficiency with backtesting platforms (such as QuantConnect or Zipline), data analysis tools, and version control systems like Git is often required. Attention to detail, critical thinking, and strong problem-solving abilities are key soft skills that help ensure robust model evaluation and development. These skills are vital for accurately assessing trading strategies and minimizing risk in real-world financial applications.

What is backtesting?

Backtesting is the process of evaluating a trading strategy or investment model by applying it to historical market data. This helps traders and analysts see how the strategy would have performed in the past, which can provide insights into its potential effectiveness and risks. While backtesting can help identify strengths and weaknesses, it's important to remember that past performance is not always indicative of future results. The reliability of backtesting depends on data quality, strategy design, and how well it simulates real trading conditions.

What are some common challenges faced when backtesting trading strategies, and how can they be managed?

One common challenge in backtesting trading strategies is the risk of overfitting, where a model performs exceptionally well on historical data but fails in live markets. Data quality and availability can also pose issues, as incomplete or inaccurate data may skew results. To manage these challenges, it's important to use out-of-sample testing, robust data cleaning processes, and to validate strategies on multiple datasets. Collaborating with quantitative analysts and developers can also help ensure the backtesting process is thorough and reliable.

What is the difference between Backtesting vs Quantitative Analyst?

AspectBacktestingQuantitative Analyst
Primary RoleTesting trading strategies using historical dataDeveloping and implementing quantitative models for investment decisions
Required SkillsData analysis, programming, finance knowledgeMathematics, programming, financial theory
Work EnvironmentTrading firms, hedge funds, financial institutionsAsset management firms, hedge funds, banks
CertificationsOften none required, but CFA or CQF helpfulCFA, CQF, or advanced degrees common

Backtesting focuses on evaluating trading strategies with historical data, while a Quantitative Analyst develops models to inform investment decisions. Both roles require strong analytical skills and finance knowledge but differ in scope and responsibilities.

What are popular job titles related to Backtesting jobs in Illinois? For Backtesting jobs in Illinois, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Backtesting jobs in Illinois look for? The top searched job categories for Backtesting jobs in Illinois are:
Backtesting jobs near you
Quantitative Trading Strategist - Equity Options

Quantitative Trading Strategist - Equity Options

IMC

Chicago, IL • On-site, Remote

$250K/yr

Other

PTO

Posted 16 days ago

Job description

IMC is seeking experienced quantitative professionals to join our US Equity Options market-making business. We are a leading scaled liquidity provider in US equity options, operating a large-scale systematic trading platform spanning thousands of underlyings. Our platform integrates quantitative research, trading strategy development, and production engineering within a collaborative, non-siloed environment across trading, research, and development teams.

This role focuses on improving how automated trading decisions are designed, evaluated, and deployed in live markets. You will work at the intersection of quantitative research, execution, and risk management to enhance pricing quality, execution performance, and overall system robustness. Improvements influence the broader platform rather than a single seat, providing meaningful ownership and impact from day one. Compensation is competitive and aligned with individual contribution.

Your Core Responsibilities: 

  • Develop and refine quantitative models that improve pricing, execution, and risk management.
  • Analyze large-scale market and trading datasets to identify structural improvements.
  • Design, test, and deploy strategy enhancements into production systems.
  • Collaborate closely with traders, researchers, and engineers to iterate on live trading logic.
  • Contribute to scalable solutions that impact a broad universe of equity options products.
  • Drive research from idea generation through backtesting, implementation, and real-time monitoring.

Your Skills and Experience: 

  • 3+ years of experience in quantitative research, systematic trading, or market microstructure-focused roles.
  • Experience working with exchange-traded products, ideally equity options.
  • Strong understanding of market structure and trading system behavior.
  • Demonstrated ability to conduct rigorous analysis on large, real-world datasets.
  • Strong programming skills (Python required; C++ or similar preferred).
  • Experience integrating research into production trading systems.
  • Background in statistics, probability, time series analysis, or optimization is strongly preferred.

The Base Salary for the role is included below. Base salary is only one component of total compensation; all full-time, permanent positions are eligible for a discretionary bonus and benefits, including paid leave and insurance. Please visit Benefits - US | IMC Trading for more comprehensive information.

Salary

$250,000

Apply