BlackEdge Capital is a Chicago proprietary trading firm that makes markets in options, in its own words a leading market maker in CME interest rate options for more than a decade. It was founded in 2009 by partners who left another market making firm to build one on their own ideas, it sits at 811 West Fulton Market, and it is small: headcount estimates range from 30 to 70. It recruits on campus, with info sessions and career fairs at Michigan and Wisconsin, and a university listing says sponsorship is not available.
Few candidates have described BlackEdge's process in detail. Where a detail below rests on 1 report, we say so.
There is an online test before the first round, and trading candidates since 2023 all describe it as fast mental maths. The only exact format comes from 1 report, from October 2026: 15 problems in 7 minutes and 30 problems in 15 minutes, with a 30-minute break between them in which you answer a behavioural question by text. Older versions included probability as well.
- 1Online assessment. Timed mental maths, with probability in some versions and a typed behavioural answer in the newest.
- 2First round. A 30-minute Zoom or phone call with a trader: mental maths, Fermi estimates, brainteasers and your resume.
- 3Second online round. Not always. Probability and brainteasers in the Green Book style.
- 4Superday. Onsite in Chicago with travel paid. Around 5 interviews, mostly behavioural, with probability.
Candidates describe the process for interns and graduates taking 2 to 4 weeks. A round called the final is not always the last one, so do not treat the superday as the end until the offer arrives.
Roles for students and graduates
| Role | Who | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Trader Intern | Listings disagree on the year. The live posting says graduating in 2027, the careers page and other listings say 2028 | 10 weeks. The first half teaches option pricing theory, market making dynamics and trading system operations, the second half is a project, with mock trading throughout. Paid housing |
| Graduate Quantitative Trader | Graduating STEM bachelor's students | Reposted in July 2026 |
| Quantitative Developer Intern | Graduating in 2028 in CS or related, with low-level interests such as networking, operating systems and compilers | The 2025 cycle ran from mid August to the end of October |
| Graduate Quantitative Developer | New graduates | Open in autumn 2026 |
| Graduate Quantitative Researcher 2027 | New graduates with deep mathematical intuition for longer-term problems | First seen in September 2025 |
| Quantitative Option Pricing Intern | Master's students in financial engineering graduating winter 2026 or spring 2027 | A newer posting |
Postings open in July and August, and trading interviews run from August to October. Candidates advise applying early.
Stage 1: Online assessment
| Item | What candidates report |
|---|---|
| Platform | HackerRank, in 1 report, so treat the vendor as unconfirmed |
| Block 1 | 15 mental maths problems in 7 minutes, about 28 seconds each (October 2026, 1 report) |
| Break | 30 minutes, during which you answer a behavioural question by text |
| Block 2 | 30 mental maths problems in 15 minutes, about 30 seconds each (same report) |
| Total | About 22 minutes of maths. Earlier versions took about 30 minutes in all, which fits |
| Older content | Maths and probability in 2023, mental maths and basic problem solving in 2024, and mental maths and probability in 2025 |
| Pace | Recent candidates describe it as very fast paced, with a lot of mental maths |
| Scoring, proctoring, window, retakes | No reports |
Two versions appear to be circulating. No 2026 report mentions probability in the test, while the 2023 to 2025 reports do, and whether that depends on the role is unknown. No sequences section has ever been reported. Reported question types are two-digit multiplication, and conditional probability and the binomial distribution in the probability versions. A 20-minute GMAT-style test taken alongside the first interview was used selectively until 2023 and has not been reported since.
If you have sat the test recently, tell us what you saw and we will update this guide.
How to prepare
- Arithmetic at 30 seconds per item. 2 by 2 and 3 by 3 multiplication, division into decimals, square roots. The Math Trainer is built for exactly this pace.
- A written answer. Draft a short motivation or behavioural answer in advance, because the newest format asks for one by text with the clock on the break.
- Basic probability. Conditional probability and the binomial distribution, from the probability questions, in case your version includes it.
Stage 2: First round
A 30-minute Zoom or phone call with one trader. It mixes mental maths, Fermi estimates, brainteasers without pen and paper, and resume and behavioural questions. The most repeated question across all years is a decimal expansion.
| Type | Reported examples |
|---|---|
| Decimals and roots | 2/7 to 5 decimal places, asked in more than one year. The square root of 200 to several decimal places |
| Multiplication | 22 times 49. 247 times 34. Two-digit by two-digit and three-digit by three-digit |
| Estimation | Fermi questions, with no reported examples |
| Markets | Questions about the bid/ask spread. No options theory reported |
| Behavioural | Why should we hire you? Tell me something not on your resume |
Candidates describe the technical questions as much easier than the maths screen, and one described the interviewer as cold and seemingly decided in advance. Do not read warmth as a signal either way.
How to prepare
Drill the fractions to decimals trainer and read our step-by-step guide until 2/7, 3/13 and their kind come out to 5 places without effort, then the square root and log approximations. Work the Fermi questions and then the timed Fermi game to put a clock on them. Rehearse why trading and your edge out loud.
Stage 3: Second online round
Not every candidate gets one, but recent interns describe it. Round 1 is basic mental maths and round 2 probability and brainteasers, and the online rounds are more technical than at most firms. Expect Green Book style questions in that second round. No candidate has shared a specific question. Heard on the Street is good preparation: after it, the round should feel easy.
How to prepare
The cards and coins collection and the probability trainer cover the Green Book ground. Our guide to quant brainteasers covers the reasoning patterns.
Stage 4: Superday
Onsite in Chicago, with travel and hotel paid, and sometimes scheduled straight after the first round. Expect around 5 interviews, only one or two of them technical, with the same behavioural questions repeated. The technical part focuses on probability, and you may meet the partners. No trading or market making game, case or take-home is reported at any stage.
Reported questions: why BlackEdge, and what book you read in the past year.
How to prepare
Prepare 5 behavioural conversations, not 1. Have a specific answer to why BlackEdge, which means knowing it makes markets in interest rate options and is small and partner-run. Have a book. Keep probability warm, because it comes back here. Personality counts here as much as ability: be a person worth sitting next to for 10 weeks.
Developer and researcher roles
Software engineering graduates sit a test of 2 LeetCode medium problems with a note to focus on code quality, then a 1-hour technical round with no LeetCode questions but a requirement to know C++ and explain computer science principles, for example how the CPU cache works. Round 3 was described as a take-home and round 4 a technical interview over it. No brainteasers or probability. No candidate reports exist for the quantitative developer intern, the graduate researcher or the option pricing intern.
The systems programming course covers the C++ internals, and the coding practice catalog the LeetCode mediums.
Key tips for success
- Train for the October 2026 format and keep basic probability ready in case your version is the older one.
- Practise decimal expansions to 5 places. It is the most repeated question in the record.
- Treat the superday as mostly behavioural and bring more than one story.
- Expect automated rejections and slow replies. Replies can be slow at every stage.
- Apply in July or August and apply early.
Closing remarks
BlackEdge screens on raw arithmetic speed, checks probability and estimation in conversation, and then spends most of a Chicago day deciding whether it wants to work with you. The firm is small, and candidates who do well treat the behavioural half as seriously as the maths. No candidate has described a trading game, the invitation email, proctoring or scoring, so prepare the pace and the conversation and tell us what you see.
Work through everything we have for BlackEdge, and read our full interview guide for how these stages compare across firms.