Akuna Capital runs one of the longer processes in trading: 5 stages, with two separate rounds of online assessment before you speak to anyone. The first round is pure speed, the second adds a coding test and an unusual betting game, and only then does the process become conversational. Developer roles start with a different assessment, covered at the end of this guide.
Worth reading alongside this guide: Akuna's own careers pages, which set out their side of the process.
- 1First online assessment. Mental maths and sequences, both heavily timed.
- 2Secondary online assessments. A HackerRank coding test and a VidCruiter video round built around a betting game.
- 3Recorded video interview. Short, behavioural, with questions sampled at random.
- 4Technical interview. A phone round with a trader: brainteasers, market making, probability and derivatives.
- 5Final round. 1 to 4 hours, in person or by video, revisiting everything with more weight on fit.
Stage 1: First online assessment
Two tests, and the pacing is the thing to notice.
| Test | Questions | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental maths | 80 | 8 minutes | 6 seconds per question. Not multiple choice, and you have to click submit to advance, so navigation is part of the clock |
| Sequences | 24 | 12 minutes | 30 seconds per question. Numbers, letters and other logical patterns |
At 6 seconds a question the maths test is the tightest format any firm sets, and the click-to-submit behaviour is not a detail: it is a meaningful share of your 8 minutes. Practise on the real format rather than on paper.
For sequences, breadth of pattern types beats depth on any one, and the Sequence Trainer covers the range. For the maths, daily reps on the Math Trainer then work specifically on the submit-and-advance rhythm until it stops costing you time.
Stage 2: Secondary online assessments
Clear the first round and a second, quite different pair follows: a coding test and a video round built around a game.
The HackerRank coding test
Akuna's second technical screen, assessing programming ability, algorithmic thinking and how efficiently you solve a problem. Usually 2 to 3 questions in the easy to medium range, with the total time depending on which questions you get.
A candidate reports two questions from this test. The first is a delivery drone crossing a 4 by 4 grid of power costs from the top row to the bottom row, moving one row down and at most one column sideways each step, where you report the most power it can have left. The second asks for the shortest substring of a binary string that holds exactly k ones, taking the alphabetically smallest when several are equally short.
The VidCruiter game
A video round containing a betting game rather than an interview, and it is the most distinctive part of Akuna's process.
- The alphabet table. You are shown the alphabet split across two columns, and you place bets on the options with the highest expected payout based on letter pairings and their positions in the table.
- Scoring. Points are won or lost on the relative positions of the letters you pick against a randomly selected row.
The mechanic rewards working out where the expected value actually sits before betting, rather than reading the table intuitively. Understand exactly how points are calculated first, then build the betting instinct on our market making games, which drill the same trade-off between a favourable price and a favourable probability.
Stage 3: Recorded video interview
A short recorded round, so there is no interviewer to react to you. Questions are sampled at random from a set of fairly standard behavioural ones, so prepare the whole set rather than a few:
- Why do you want to work at Akuna?
- Are you a competitive person?
- Why do you want to become a trader?
- What makes you stand out from other applicants?
Rehearse aloud and recorded rather than in your head. Delivering an answer once, cleanly, with no conversation to lean on is a different skill from talking to a person.
Stage 4: Technical interview
A phone round with one of Akuna's traders, covering four areas.
Brainteasers
Logical problems judged on how you work them. Coordinate Variance, Counting Nines and Faulty Robot are reported at Akuna.
Market making games
Trading games with dice and cards, testing your trading intuition. Practise on the dice game and the card game, and read our guide to make me a market if you have not quoted a two-way price out loud before. For the reasoning behind the betting round, our game theory and strategic trading course covers working out where the expected value sits before committing to a bet.
Probability
Your grasp of probability and statistics, worked out loud. Drill the probability questions and the questions reported at Akuna.
Basic derivatives
Enough understanding of derivatives and financial instruments to discuss them, not to price them from scratch. The option theory questions cover the level expected, and our reading list has the books worth the time if you want to go deeper.
Stage 5: Final round
Interviews in person or by video, running 1 to 4 hours. Everything from the earlier stages returns, with more weight on whether you fit.
The technical half
- Expected value games with cards, dice and coins. The cards and coins collection gathers the brainteasers these are built on.
- Complex problems under timed conditions. Work the questions reported at Akuna until the recurring patterns are familiar.
The HR half
- Motivation and fit. "Why trading?" and "why Akuna?". Do the reading first: Akuna's who we are, what we do and life at Akuna pages are the primary sources.
- Cultural fit. How your values line up with how Akuna works. This carries real weight here rather than being a formality.
- Strengths and weaknesses. Your edge over other candidates, your weaknesses, and what you add to a team.
How to carry the day
Keep your composure and work methodically, breaking problems into steps and checking your arithmetic as you go. Explain your reasoning out loud, aim for relaxed but focused, and practise under conditions that resemble the real thing so the pressure is familiar rather than new.
Developer roles: the C++ assessment
Software engineering and C++ developer applicants sit a different first assessment. Candidates report a HackerRank test that opens with 10 multiple-choice questions on C++ and then gives 3 coding problems, on one clock of about 80 to 90 minutes.
| Part | Questions | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| C++ multiple choice | 10 | Mostly C++17 and C++20 language and library features, such as std::string_view, with some code reading and complexity questions |
| Coding | 3 | Algorithm problems in C++, judged on hidden tests |
The clock is the hard part. Candidates report that the time is tight, and every minute on the questions is a minute less for the code. The questions test the recent standard more than deep language rules, and candidates call them hard but answerable by elimination.
For the coding part, the Akuna C++ problems collect what candidates report. Those who pass report a second assessment in a similar format. Some are sent a multi-day take-home instead: an order book with matching, graded on hidden tests, where reading input with std::cin can be slow enough to fail the last tests. Make input fast before you optimise anything else.
Closing remarks
Akuna's process is longer than most, and the two assessment rounds at the front are where the majority of candidates stop. That is where the preparation pays best: a maths test at 6 seconds a question and a betting game with a mechanic you have never seen both reward practice on the actual format far more than general ability.
The most common mistake is underestimating how much preparation this takes. These roles are highly competitive and many successful candidates spend months on them. Work through everything we have for Akuna, and read our full interview guide for how these stages compare across firms.