Senior Quantitative Credit Strategist

The Vanguard Group; Malvern (Chester County); Hybrid; USD 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Job summary

The Vanguard Group in Malvern, PA is seeking a Senior Corporate Credit Quantitative Strategist to partner with PMs, analysts, and risk teams to build scalable models for credit alpha generation and risk management across IG and HY markets.

You will own back-testing, performance attribution, and model governance, translating research into production analytics embedded in portfolio construction and stress testing frameworks.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in quantitative research or strategy focusing on corporate credit.
• Proven ability to develop investable quantitative strategies.
• Strong communication with portfolio managers and risk teams.

Responsibilities

• Develop quantitative models for credit investing and alpha generation.
• Back-test, attribution, and stress testing of models.
• Translate research into production analytics for portfolio construction and risk workflows.

Skills

Python

SQL

R

Quantitative research

Credit markets

Portfolio risk

Communication to PMs

Education

Master's degree in a quantitative discipline

PhD in a quantitative discipline

Tools

TRACE data

BQUANT data

Issuer fundamentals

Pricing datasets

Job description

This is a high-impact opportunity to help build and scale quantitative credit capabilities within one of the most respected global asset managers with $13T+ in AUM. The Senior Corporate Credit Quantitative Strategist will partner with portfolio managers, credit analysts, and risk teams to shape and implement models that strengthen credit alpha generation, relative-value analysis, portfolio construction, and risk management across global investment-grade and high-yield markets. You will have meaningful ownership to turn rigorous research into scalable, production-ready tools used in live corporate credit portfolios - helping define how quantitative insights inform security selection, position sizing, and risk decisions across a mature investment platform.

What You’ll Do

• Develop quantitative models for credit investing that directly inform alpha generation, issuer/sector selection, relative-value decisions, and position sizing across global IG and HY portfolios.
• Create and maintain quantitative signals like valuation, spread, quality, momentum, liquidity, downside risk with a demonstrated link to excess return across market regimes.
• Partner closely with corporate credit portfolio managers and analysts to ensure quantitative insights drive live portfolio decisions, not standalone research.
• Partner with quantitative research analysts on all stages of the model development life cycle.
• Take ownership of back-testing, performance attribution, and factor analysis, clearly articulating what drove returns, what detracted, and how strategies performed in stress environments.
• Analyze issuer-, sector-, and capital-structure-level relationships to identify actionable relative-value opportunities in corporate bonds.
• Translate research into scalable, production-ready analytics embedded in portfolio construction and risk workflows.
• Communicate quantitative insights succinctly to PMs and senior investment leadership, focusing on decision-relevant outcomes.
• Mentor junior quants and uphold research standards, model governance, and documentation.

What It Takes

• Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in a quantitative discipline (Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Engineering, Quantitative Finance).
• 15+ years of experience in quantitative research or strategy with a primary focus on corporate credit.
• Experience supporting systematic or quantitatively-enabled credit strategies.
• Deep understanding of corporate debt markets, including spread dynamics, capital structure, ratings migration, and default cycles.
• Expertise with synthetic credit, capital-structure RV, and leveraged loans.
• Proven ability to generate investment ideas independently and partner with PMs is a strong indicator of success in this role.
• Strong programming skills in Python (required); SQL and/or R preferred.
• Experience working with large fixed-income datasets (TRACE, BQUANT, issuer fundamentals, pricing, liquidity metrics).
• Proven ability to deliver actionable research used by PMs.

Preferred / Differentiating Skills

• Exposure to credit risk models, issuer-level forecasting, and stress testing.
• Prior experience embedding models into portfolio construction or risk platforms.
• Prior experience with structured credit and global credit markets.
• CFA or progress toward CFA.

Special Factors Sponsorship

Vanguard is not offering visa sponsorship for this position.

About Vanguard

At Vanguard, we don't just have a mission—we're on a mission. To work for the long-term financial wellbeing of our clients. To lead through product and services that transform our clients' lives. To learn and develop our skills as individuals and as a team. From Malvern to Melbourne, our mission drives us forward and inspires us to be our best.

How We Work

Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience. Vanguard, one of the world's leading investment management companies, serves individual investors, institutions, employer-sponsored retirement plans, and financial professionals. We have a diverse and talented crew with a culture that promotes teamwork, along with an unwavering focus on serving our clients' best interests.