SOFR Options Trader — Tech-Driven Market Maker

Trading Interview; Chicago, Northern (IL, KY); Hybrid; USD 131,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Akuna Capital is seeking an experienced SOFR Options Trader to join our desk in Chicago. You will be responsible for making markets and managing risk across CME SOFR options, while collaborating with quant and tech teams to enhance automated trading infrastructure.

The role offers a path to desk ownership for the right candidate, with a strong emphasis on ownership, innovation, and collaboration in a high-performance environment.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience trading SOFR, Eurodollar, or short-term interest rate options in an electronic market making environment, with clear P&L accountability.
• Deep understanding of options theory – Greeks, vol surface construction, term structure dynamics, and interest rate curve relationships.
• Proven risk management discipline: comfortable managing positions under pressure and across varied market regimes.
• Entrepreneurial self-starter who takes initiative and acts decisively, with a strong sense of ownership over their book and their desk’s performance.
• Technically engaged: able to analyze data, optimize parameters, and work hands-on with trading systems.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Economics, Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Actuarial Science, or a related quantitative field
• Strong quantitative and analytical instincts, with the ability to react quickly and accurately to rapidly changing market conditions
• Collaborative mindset: able to communicate clearly and efficiently with quant researchers, technologists, and risk managers while fostering productive relationships across the firm
• Detail-oriented and rigorous in approach, with a drive to continuously learn and improve
• The ability to react quickly and accurately to rapidly changing market conditions, including the ability to quickly and accurately respond and/or solve math and coding problems are essential functions of the role

Responsibilities

• Profitably manage a SOFR options portfolio with full responsibility for P&L and dynamic risk management within prescribed limits
• Make two-sided markets across the SOFR options complex (SR3, S0, S2), maintaining disciplined risk across the curve
• Develop and refine volatility surface models, term structure analysis, and hedging strategies in close collaboration with our quant and technology teams
• Identify structural opportunities and flow-driven inefficiencies in the short-end rates market and act on them decisively
• Partner with our technology team to evaluate, improve, and expand the automated trading infrastructure underpinning the desk – including contributing directly to strategy logic, parameter optimization, and signal development
• Analyze desk data and market microstructure to continuously improve pricing, execution quality, and risk-adjusted returns
• Contribute to the broader Akuna trading community through cross-desk collaboration, knowledge sharing, and mentorship of junior traders

Skills

SOFR trading

Electronic market making

P&L accountability

Options theory

Python

C++

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Economics, Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Actuarial Science, or a related quantitative field

Tools

Python

C++

Job description

Akuna Capital is seeking an experienced SOFR Options Trader to join our desk in Chicago. You will be responsible for making markets and managing risk across CME SOFR options, while collaborating with quant and tech teams to enhance automated trading infrastructure.

The role offers a path to desk ownership for the right candidate, with a strong emphasis on ownership, innovation, and collaboration in a high-performance environment.