Typical base, US
$175,000 to $250,000
Middle half of the base firms file
Graduate base, top firms
$300,000
Jane Street and HRT, in their US ads
First year, US
EstimateAbout $295,000 to $510,000
Base plus bonus, before tax
4 to 6 years, US
EstimateAbout $325,000 to $545,000
Base plus bonus, before tax
A quant developer in the US typically earns a base salary of $175,000 to $250,000. At the best-paying trading firms, graduate engineers start on $300,000, the same base as graduate traders. Elsewhere the base is lower, and the yearly bonus grows more slowly than a trader’s.
This page sets out base pay and total pay by years of experience, what the top firms advertise, pay in London and Amsterdam, and how developers compare with quant traders and researchers.
How much does a quant developer make?
The typical base salary for a quant developer in the US is $175,000 to $250,000, with a median of $200,000. That range is the middle half of the base pay firms file for developer and software engineer positions in their US salary filings. In New York it is $187,000 to $262,000, and in Chicago $175,000 to $200,000.
Typical base pay, July 2025 to June 2026
| City | Typical base | Median |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $187,000 to $262,000 | $223,000 |
| Chicago | $175,000 to $200,000 | $200,000 |
| Miami | $154,000 to $191,000 | $170,000 |
| Bala Cynwyd | $155,000 to $169,000 | $162,000 |
The middle half of the base firms file, across every firm and every level. Graduates at the best-paying firms start higher, and the bonus is paid on top.
The typical base sits below the $300,000 that Jane Street and HRT advertise to graduate engineers, for two reasons. It covers every firm that hires developers, including the many that pay less, and every level from graduate to senior. And a firm that files a range of pay counts at the middle of that range, not at its top.
How much do quant developers make with the bonus?
Our estimate for a first-year quant developer in the US is $295,000 to $510,000 a year, base plus bonus, before tax. With 1 to 3 years of experience the estimate is $310,000 to $520,000, and with 4 to 6 years an estimated $325,000 to $545,000. From 7 years the estimate reaches $400,000 to $900,000.
A developer’s pay starts strong and grows steadily. The first bonus is already large at the top firms, and later bonuses rise less sharply than a trader’s. The low end of each range is an ordinary year at an ordinary firm, and the top is a strong year at the best-paying firms. In New York the first-year estimate is $325,000 to $510,000.
At a $200k base, quant developers in the US make an estimated $295k to $510k in the first year and $400k to $900k after 7 years. The base barely moves with the years; the bonus does the growing, and in a strong year at the best-paying firms it takes total pay to about 4 and a half times the base.
Typical range of base filed for the role: $175k to $250k.
- Developer, Year 1: base about $200k, estimated total pay $295k to $510k.
- Developer, 1 to 3 years: base about $200k, estimated total pay $310k to $520k.
- Developer, 4 to 6 years: base about $200k, estimated total pay $325k to $545k.
- Developer, 7 years or more: base about $200k, estimated total pay $400k to $900k.
Senior pay goes well past this chart. Jane Street paid an average of $2.68 million per employee in 2025.
A year, before tax, not counting a sign-on bonus. The low end of each column is an ordinary year at an ordinary firm; the top is a strong year at the best-paying firms.
How this estimate is worked out
The base is the one on the slider, within the range firms file for the role in their US salary filings. The bonus is the share of base that people in the role report at each stage, from the lower quarter of reports to the top tenth. The top of a column is at least what the best-paid tenth of employees report in total, because the best-paying firms also pay the highest base. The top firms state $300,000 for graduates. The bonus stays the same share when you move the slider, so a higher base brings a larger bonus.
Estimated total pay for a quant developer in the US, base plus bonusEstimate
| Experience | Bonus | Estimated total pay |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 45% to 155% of base | About $295,000 to $510,000 |
| 1 to 3 years | 55% to 160% of base | About $310,000 to $520,000 |
| 4 to 6 years | 65% to 170% of base | About $325,000 to $545,000 |
| 7 years or more | 100% to 350% of base | About $400,000 to $900,000 |
An estimate, a year before tax, not counting a sign-on bonus. It starts from the median base filed for the role. The low end adds the bonus of an ordinary year at an ordinary firm; the top is a strong year at the best-paying firms, at least what the best-paid tenth of employees report in total.
Firms do not publish engineer bonuses. Entry-level engineers at three firms have shared what they were paid in total, and their reports are below.
Entry-level software engineer total pay reported by employeesReported
| Firm | Reports | Average total pay |
|---|---|---|
| Hudson River Trading | 12 | $467,000 |
| Jane Street | 9 | $386,000 |
| Two Sigma | 13 | $247,000 |
Reported by employees.
Which firms pay quant developers the most?
Jane Street and Hudson River Trading advertise the highest base for graduate engineers in the US: $300,000. Citadel Securities advertises $235,000 to $300,000, Jump $200,000 to $250,000 for campus systems engineers, IMC $200,000 and Two Sigma $165,000 to $190,000.
Software engineer base salary in live job ads, checked 24 September 2026
| Firm | Role | Base salary |
|---|---|---|
| Jane Street | Software Engineer, new grad, New York | $300,000 |
| Hudson River Trading | Software Engineer (C++ or Python), 2027 Grads | $300,000 |
| Citadel Securities | Software Engineer, University Graduate | $235,000 to $300,000 |
| Jump Trading | Campus Systems Engineer, Chicago | $200,000 to $250,000 |
| IMC | Graduate Software Engineer, Chicago | $200,000 |
| Two Sigma | Software Engineering, Campus Hire, New York | $165,000 to $190,000 |
| Jane Street | Software Engineer, experienced, New York | $300,000 |
| Citadel | Software Engineer, six years or more | $150,000 to $300,000 |
Graduate engineer pay varies widely between firms, from $165,000 at Two Sigma to $300,000 at Jane Street. The type of firm does not explain the gap. Citadel Securities and IMC are both market makers, yet one advertises up to $300,000 and the other $200,000.
With experience, the base moves little at the top. Jane Street’s ad for an experienced software engineer states the same $300,000 as its graduate ad, and it files every Software Engineer position at $300,000. Citadel, the hedge fund, advertises $150,000 to $300,000 for engineers with six years or more. Two Sigma files its engineers under two titles.
Filed US base salaries, July 2025 to June 2026
| Job title as filed | Median base | Lowest to highest |
|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | $195,000 | $165,000 to $264,000 |
| Quantitative Software Engineer | $225,000 | $175,000 to $275,000 |
The median is the middle filing for the title; the range runs from the lowest to the highest, across every level the firm hires at.
How much do quant developer interns earn?
Engineering internships at trading firms pay a yearly rate for the weeks you work. Jump states $250,000 a year for its campus software engineer interns in Chicago, DRW $225,000 for software developer interns and IMC $200,000 for software engineer interns. Citadel Securities pays its engineering interns $4,500 to $5,800 a week.
What is a quant developer’s salary in London and Amsterdam?
In London, our estimate for a quant developer with 1 to 3 years of experience is £160,000 to £220,000 a year before tax. Recruiters put the base at £70,000 to £100,000 for developers with up to 3 years, £105,000 to £150,000 with 3 to 5 years, and £150,000 to £195,000 with 5 years or more.
In Amsterdam, recruiters put the mid-level quant base at €85,000 to €120,000 and senior pay at up to €160,000. Our estimate for a first-year quant developer there is €125,000 to €140,000.
Base pay in Europe is lower than in New York, and the bonus narrows the gap. Tax then decides what is left, and the city comparison works out take-home pay in each city in one currency.
How does quant developer pay compare with the other quant roles?
In base pay the three quant roles sit close together. The typical US base is $175,000 to $250,000 for a developer, $165,000 to $250,000 for a quant trader and $180,000 to $250,000 for a quant researcher.
Typical base pay in the US, July 2025 to June 2026
| Role | Typical base | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Quant trader | $165,000 to $250,000 | $197,000 |
| Quant researcher | $180,000 to $250,000 | $213,000 |
| Quant developer | $175,000 to $250,000 | $200,000 |
The middle half of the base firms file, across every firm and every level. Graduates at the best-paying firms start higher, and the bonus is paid on top.
At graduate level, the top firms pay engineers the same as traders. Jane Street advertises $300,000 to new software engineers, traders and researchers alike. IMC is the exception among the large firms, with $200,000 for graduate engineers against $250,000 for graduate traders and researchers.
The gap opens with experience. In the first year our estimate for a developer is $295,000 to $510,000, close to the estimated $290,000 to $450,000 for a trader. From 7 years the estimate is $400,000 to $900,000 for a developer against $590,000 to $1,380,000 for a trader, because a trader’s bonus follows the money the trading makes.
Estimated total pay in the US, base plus bonusEstimate
| Experience | Quant trader | Quant researcher | Quant developer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | About $290,000 to $450,000 | About $310,000 to $450,000 | About $295,000 to $510,000 |
| 1 to 3 years | About $330,000 to $560,000 | About $355,000 to $600,000 | About $310,000 to $520,000 |
| 4 to 6 years | About $390,000 to $930,000 | About $420,000 to $930,000 | About $325,000 to $545,000 |
| 7 years or more | About $590,000 to $1,380,000 | About $640,000 to $1,490,000 | About $400,000 to $900,000 |
An estimate, a year before tax, not counting a sign-on bonus. It starts from the median base filed for the role. The low end adds the bonus of an ordinary year at an ordinary firm; the top is a strong year at the best-paying firms, at least what the best-paid tenth of employees report in total. From 7 years, Tradermath sets the trader and researcher bonus from what senior people in these roles earn in the market, because too few of them report their pay.
What does a quant developer do?
Quant developers build the systems that trading runs on: exchange connections, pricing, risk and research tooling. Most trading firms advertise the job simply as software engineer, and Jane Street says its software engineers work in every part of the firm. Some roles sit close to the traders and tune code for speed; others build the platforms researchers use.
How do you become a quant developer?
Firms hire developers from computer science and related degrees, often after a summer internship. The interviews are coding rounds in Python or C++: data structures and algorithms first, then questions on performance, memory and concurrency for roles close to trading. HRT names both languages in its graduate engineering ad.
Coding interviews reward practice under time pressure. Tradermath’s coding problems follow the style of trading-firm interviews, in Python and C++, and the interview guide explains each round.