Member of Research Staff, Optimization

The Voleon Group; New York (NY); On-site; USD 250,000 - 275,000; Full time

Job summary

The Voleon Group is a technology-driven investment manager applying state-of-the-art AI and ML to finance. We seek a Member of the Optimization Research Staff to push the frontiers of optimization modeling and research, bridging basic research and live trading.

You will work with renowned AI/ML researchers and finance/tech professionals, delivering research that guides billions in daily trades while developing scalable, production-ready solutions in Python and C++.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. level coursework and degree in a relevant field.
• Strong mathematical abilities with publication record or coursework.
• Experience with production-level Python/C++ code.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain large-scale, constrained optimization methods for trading decisions.
• Design, implement, and evaluate models to production in live trading environments.
• Collaborate with Research Staff and Software Engineers across the life cycle of applied research problems.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest research to identify novel approaches for our domain.
• Communicate research findings and drive progress toward tangible outcomes.

Skills

Optimization theory

Stochastic control

Reinforcement learning

Collaborative teamwork

Mathematical rigor

Education

Ph.D. in relevant field

Tools

Python

C++

Job description

Voleon is a technology company that applies state-of-the-art AI and machine learning techniques to real-world problems in finance. For nearly two decades, we have led our industry and worked at the frontier of applying AI/ML to investment management. We have become a multibillion-dollar asset manager, and we have ambitious goals for the future.

Your colleagues will include internationally recognized experts in artificial intelligence and machine learning research as well as highly experienced finance and technology professionals. In addition to our enriching and collegial working environment, we offer highly competitive compensation and benefits packages, technology talks by our experts, a beautiful modern office, daily catered lunches, and more.

As a Member of the Optimization Research Staff, you will work at the forefront of optimization modeling and research at Voleon. Your research colleagues have collectively published hundreds of academic articles in top-tier venues on machine learning, systems, and theory, and we meet regularly to stay current on the latest academic research and share ideas. Founded in 2007 by two leading scientists (see management bios), Voleon supports a culture of curiosity, collegiality, and creativity.

Financial markets are noisy, high-dimensional, and subject to complex constraints, costs, and uncertainties. We have spent over a decade pioneering scientific advances in applying large-scale optimization techniques to this domain. Your work will focus on the models and optimization systems that help determine how Voleon trades in financial markets, taking into account our predictions and costs, and returns trade decisions in real time. We are interested in efficiently solving this optimization problem (algorithm development and production coding), as well as improving the problem formulations themelves to make better trading decisions. We also implement optimization models and algorithms in other areas of interest at the company.

Years of academic training has prepared you for this moment. You won’t just conduct research, you’ll apply it on a daily basis, working with a team across the entire life cycle of applied research problems. Your work will span from basic research to productizing solutions and validating their efficacy in live trading. This role is a means to make a difference: you will help direct billions of dollars in trades daily while making an enduring impact on our field.

Relocation and work visa eligibility for qualified candidates

Responsibilities

• Develop a rich understanding of Voleon’s challenges and methodologies and propose research innovations and experiments to build, maintain and improve the models that govern our investment strategy
• Design, implement, and improve large-scale constrained optimization methods that determine trading decisions under forecasts, risk, costs, liquidity, and operational constraints
• Develop, validate, and implement new models into production
• Design and conduct experiments to improve simulations and evaluate the success of new models in a live environment
• Communicate and collaborate effectively with other Members of Research Staff and Software Engineers at each stage, driving progress towards tangible outcomes
• Keep up to date on the latest academic research to identify novel approaches to explore for application to our domain

Requirements

• Background in one or more of numerical methods, optimization solvers, mathematical programming, convex or nonconvex optimization
• Expertise in stochastic control, and reinforcement learning
• Evidence of strong mathematical abilities (e.g., publication record, graduate coursework, or competition placement)
• Interest in software development techniques and willingness to write production level code (Python and/or C++ preferred)
• Eagerness to work in collaborative and diverse teams
• Interest in financial applications is essential, but prior finance industry experience is not a pre-requisite
• Ph.D. level coursework is required, and a Ph.D. degree in a relevant field is preferred

Friends of Voleon Candidate Referral Program

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Voleon Group is an Equal Opportunity employer. Applicants are considered without regard to race, color, religion, creed, national origin, age, sex, gender, marital status, sexual orientation and identity, genetic information, veteran status, citizenship, or any other factors prohibited by local, state, or federal law.

Compensation Range: $250K - $275K