VP, Principal Quant Engineer

Acadian Asset Management; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 185,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hybrid work environment

Comprehensive benefits program

Discretionary incentive compensation

Job summary

A global investment management firm based in Boston is looking for a Principal Quant Engineer to develop scalable platforms that enhance quantitative research. The ideal candidate will have over 7 years of experience in software engineering, specializing in quantitative finance, and possess strong skills in Python and machine learning. This role promotes a collaborative and flexible hybrid work environment. The salary ranges from $185,000 to $225,000, along with comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in software engineering, supporting quantitative research, signal development.
• Demonstrated experience building and operating quantitative platforms at scale.
• Strong attention to detail and a commitment to producing accurate, reliable solutions.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement quant tooling supporting signal construction and evaluation workflows.
• Lead the AI centric development of core platform capabilities.
• Collaborate with data teams to streamline access to market and alternative datasets.

Skills

Python

Machine learning

Signal evaluation

System design

Data processing tools

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a related quantitative field

Tools

Polars

PyTorch

MLflow

Optuna

Job description

Acadian Asset Management is a global, systematic investment manager at the forefront of data-driven investing since 1986. Headquartered in Boston, with locations in Singapore, London, and Sydney, we manage over $170 billion on behalf of leading institutions worldwide—including pension funds, endowments, foundations, and sovereign wealth funds. We harness advanced technology, rich datasets, and multidisciplinary expertise to help clients navigate complex markets and uncover insights that may be overlooked by traditional approaches.

What sets Acadian apart is our people. We foster a collaborative, intellectually curious environment where ideas are tested, diverse perspectives are welcomed, and innovation thrives. We’re united by a shared purpose: delivering effective client outcomes and supporting one another in work that’s both challenging and rewarding. We offer a flexible hybrid work environment, strong benefits, and a casual but focused office culture—all designed to support the meaningful, collaborative work that defines Acadian.

Position Overview

We are seeking a Principal Quant Engineer to work in close collaboration with Research, Portfolio Management, and Data teams to design and implement scalable, production-grade platforms that support Acadian’s quantitative research and investment processes.

This role focuses on building quant tooling that enables researchers to efficiently develop, evaluate, and deploy quantitative models across investment processes including alpha, risk, transaction cost analysis, attribution, etc. The emphasis is on creating infrastructure that makes quantitative research repeatable, observable, and production-ready at scale.

Acadian supports a hybrid work environment; employees are on-site in the Boston office 3 days a week.

What You’ll Do

• Design and implement quant tooling that supports signal construction and evaluation workflows, powering production portfolios across global asset universes.
• Work closely with quantitative researchers to ensure research infrastructure continues to evolve in step with their needs, enabling efficient experimentation and reliable alpha generation.
• Lead the AI centric development and evolution of core platform capabilities that support signal computation, data access, workflow orchestration, and distributed execution for both quantitative signals and machine learning-based techniques, including deep learning workflows built with PyTorch.
• Ensure platform flexibility while maintaining integration with downstream processes for portfolio construction, portfolio management, marketing, client reporting, etc
• Incorporate machine learning and AI techniques into signal construction, parameter estimation, and efficacy evaluation workflows where they improve forecast quality and research productivity, including hyper‑parameter optimization using frameworks such as Optuna or similar.
• Provide architectural leadership to improve robustness, transparency, scalability, and performance of data- and compute-intensive research and production workflows.
• Collaborate with data and platform teams to streamline access to market data, alternative datasets, and compute resources, reducing friction in the research “inner loop” of signal development, backtesting, and validation.
• Contribute to the end‑to‑end machine learning lifecycle capabilities, including experiment tracking, model management, embedding and graph visualization, and deployment, drawing on tools and concepts such as MLflow.
  
  

We’re Looking For Teammates With

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a related quantitative field.
• 7+ years of experience in software engineering, with significant hands-on work supporting quantitative research, signal development, or systematic investing in production environments.
• Demonstrated experience building and operating quantitative platforms that support signal modeling, evaluation, and deployment at scale.
• Strong proficiency in Python and modern data processing and numerical computing tools (e.g., Polars).
• Familiarity with machine learning and AI-assisted development techniques, including the use of AI or agentic coding tools (e.g. Claude Code) to improve research and engineering productivity.
• Solid understanding of system design concepts.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver robust, transparent, and performant systems.
• Strong attention to detail and a commitment to producing accurate, reliable, and well-engineered solutions.
• Creativity and enthusiasm for solving complex problems.
• Strong work ethic and a roll-up-your-sleeves mindset, with the ability to operate effectively in a hands-on, collaborative environment.
  
  

The base salary range for this role is $185,000 – $225,000 per year. Actual compensation will be determined based on a candidate’s skills, qualifications, and relevant experience. In addition to base pay, this position may be eligible for discretionary incentive compensation and includes participation in Acadian’s comprehensive benefits program, which includes health, retirement, and wellness offerings.

To apply for this position or view Acadian’s open roles, please visit the Careers section of our website at: http://www.acadian-asset.com/careers/Job-opportunities. We will contact only selected candidates. If you are a candidate with a disability, or are assisting a candidate with a disability, and require an accommodation to apply for one of our jobs, please email us at [e-mail].

Acadian Asset Management LLC is committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants. No employee or applicant shall be discriminated against on the basis of gender, race, creed, color, sex, age, national origin, marital status, pregnancy or parenthood, veteran status, citizenship status, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation.