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Volatility Trader Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Epirus

Senior Manager, Procurement

Torrance, CA

$99K - $134K/yr

... sound trade-offs in high-pressure environments where demand signals, design maturity, and ... Proactively manage supplier responsiveness during demand volatility and scaling transitions

Epirus

Senior Manager, Procurement

Torrance, CA · On-site

$99K - $134K/yr

... sound trade-offs in high-pressure environments where demand signals, design maturity, and ... Proactively manage supplier responsiveness during demand volatility and scaling transitions

Epirus

Senior Manager, Procurement

Torrance, CA

$99K - $134K/yr

... sound trade-offs in high-pressure environments where demand signals, design maturity, and ... Proactively manage supplier responsiveness during demand volatility and scaling transitions

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All JobsVolatility Trader JobsVolatility Trader Jobs in California

Volatility Trader information

See California salary details

$5

$42

$55

How much do volatility trader jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 14, 2026, the average hourly pay for volatility trader in California is $42.83, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $32.50 and $54.09 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are some common challenges volatility traders face when managing risk in dynamic markets?

Volatility Traders often contend with rapidly changing market conditions, which can make accurate pricing and hedging of options particularly challenging. Managing risk requires constant monitoring of market volatility, adjusting positions quickly, and using sophisticated models to predict price movements. Additionally, traders must stay informed about macroeconomic events and news that can cause sudden spikes in volatility. Effective communication with risk managers and other trading team members is essential to manage exposures and ensure compliance with firm-wide risk limits.

What is the difference between Volatility Trader vs Options Trader?

AspectVolatility TraderOptions Trader
Required CredentialsFinance degree, CFA or FRM often preferredFinance degree, CFA, options trading certifications
Work EnvironmentTrading desks, quantitative teams, financial firmsTrading floors, financial institutions, hedge funds
Industry UsageSpecializes in volatility products and strategiesHandles a broad range of options and derivatives

While both roles involve trading financial instruments, a Volatility Trader focuses specifically on volatility-related products and strategies, often using quantitative models. An Options Trader handles a wider array of options and derivatives, including strategies beyond volatility. The roles overlap in skills and environment but differ in scope and focus.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a volatility trader?

To thrive as a Volatility Trader, you need strong quantitative analysis skills, a deep understanding of financial markets and derivatives, and typically a degree in finance, mathematics, or a related field. Familiarity with trading platforms, programming languages like Python or R, and risk management systems is essential. Exceptional decision-making under pressure, attention to detail, and effective communication are standout soft skills. These abilities are critical for accurately assessing market risk, executing complex strategies, and ensuring profitability in highly dynamic trading environments.

What is a volatility trader?

Volatility traders are financial professionals who specialize in trading instruments that profit from changes in market volatility rather than the direction of price movements. They often use derivatives like options, futures, or volatility indices to take positions based on their forecasts of how much an asset's price will fluctuate. Their strategies may involve complex mathematical models and risk management techniques to hedge or exploit changing market conditions. Volatility traders are commonly found in investment banks, hedge funds, and proprietary trading firms.

What are popular job titles related to Volatility Trader jobs in California?

For Volatility Trader jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Volatility Trader jobs in California look for?

The top searched job categories for Volatility Trader jobs in California are:

Volatility Trader jobs near you
Infographic showing various Volatility Trader job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 91% Full Time, 5% Part Time, 2% Temporary, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 87% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $89,081 per year, or $42.8 per hour.

Quantitative Fixed Income Researcher

The TCW Group

Los Angeles, CA • On-site

$150K - $175K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement, PTO

Re-posted 18 days ago

Job description

Position Summary
TCW Quantitative Research Team develops models, algorithms, and tools used to drive and support systematic and fundamental investment strategies. The team supports investment teams and traders across all asset classes to integrate data-driven insights and quantitative techniques into the investment process.
The Quantitative Fixed Income Researcher role is highly collaborative, working closely with senior quantitative researchers, the head of quantitative research to design, test, and implement models and investment strategies. By analyzing a diverse range of financial and economic data, the researcher leverages statistical, machine learning, and econometric techniques to enhance our investment process. The role partners closely with fixed-income investment teams to support investment thesis development and enhance alpha generation, while clearly communicating research findings to a wide range of stakeholders and staying current on relevant academic literature and market developments.
Essential Duties
  • Lead quantitative research on fixed-income products in private and public markets.
  • Thought partner to PMs and integrate research outputs into investment process
  • Enhance fixed-income aspects of TCW's multi-asset, multi-factor framework.
  • Own research streams end-to-end (idea → back tests → production → monitoring).
  • Review, challenge, and improve model assumptions, data quality, and robustness.
  • Set research priorities jointly with the head of quantitative research.
  • Contribute to research standards, documentation, and best practices.
  • Mentor and review work of junior quants.
  • Communicate complex quantitative results clearly to PMs, traders, risk, and leadership.

Required Qualifications
  • Deep experience in fixed income markets and instruments, both public and private.
  • Advanced training in Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Computer Science, Econometrics, Finance, or another highly quantitative field. MSc or equivalent.
  • Minimum 5 years of work experience with fixed-income products with strong emphasis on quantitative methods.
  • Experience with factor models and portfolio optimization techniques in fixed income.
  • Extensive experience in coding in Python.

Professional Skills Qualifications
  • Experience within a quantitative hedge fund or asset manager highly desired; equivalently, sell-side fixed-income research with published research pieces.
  • Experience in modern version-controlled research environments, i.e. git and docker.
  • Familiarity with agentic coding (e.g. Claude Code or similar).
  • Strong knowledge of probability and statistical techniques (e.g. time-series, cross-sectional and panel regressions, CART models, ensemble learning, dynamic factor models, Monte Carlo methods, Copula models, GARCH/stochastic volatility models)

Desired Qualifications
  • Experience with private credit and securitized products would be a strong plus.
  • Expertise in the application of factor investing in fixed income would be a plus.

Estimated Compensation:
Base Salary: For CA based position, the base salary range is $150k to $175k. This is an anticipated range only.
Other Compensation and Benefits: In addition to base salary, employees are eligible for a discretionary bonus and a comprehensive benefits package designed to support you and your family, invest in your health and wellbeing, and help build long-term financial security. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage, retirement benefits, and paid time off. These benefits reflect our commitment to supporting the health, wellbeing, and long-term financial security of our employees and their families.
#LI-SW1 #LI-Hybrid

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