Head of Quant
About Wincent
We do HFT on crypto. We make ~1% of global crypto trading volume. Our team is 150 people—mostly engineers, traders, and quants. We are a bit weird:
We strongly care about our culture.
We are self-taught. Our founders do not come from any of the big HFTs.
No VCs on our cap table. We reserve the spot for our employees instead.
Our central hub is neither in London nor Amsterdam, but in Bratislava.
Culture
We spend half of our waking hours working. That’s a lot. We don't see why we should treat work as a chore. We want it to be worth it.
Integrity isn’t for sale.
No amount of money is worth your soul. We choose to be the good guys in the market. Handshakes are sacred for us.
Say things as they are.
Life is too short for games of politics, or fluff in general.
We choose to trust people.
We embrace radical transparency inside—whether it’s compensation, bonuses, or trading strategies.
About the Position
We are looking for a Head of Quant who combines deep quantitative expertise with leadership, strategic vision, and a drive to build a world-class research-first firm. You will enrich our existing knowledge and help us discover what we might be missing today that will be crucial for tomorrow. Building upon your experience, you will be the primary driver of the research direction, helping to define and execute on a range of frequencies, asset classes, and market structures, depending on where you believe the strongest opportunities lie.
While you will lead overall strategy, you will also remain 'hands-on’, overseeing the modeling, testing, and production monitoring of our trading strategies. Ultimately, your success in this role will be defined by your ability to manage and mentor the team to peak performance.
Expectations
Must-Haves
8+ years of quant experience in systematic trading environments (MFT, HFT, medium-frequency, or multi-asset quant research).
Track record of originating and scaling successful strategies.
Strong collaboration working style.
Deep understanding of probability, statistics, modeling, and scientific reasoning
Strong coding ability (Python or similar).
High agency: you own problems fully, you care about results, and you improve the world around you proactively.
Leadership experience in a quant or research organization where you’ve mentored junior researchers or traders.
Experience mentoring or leading researchers.
Willingness to relocate to Bratislava or Hong Kong.
Nice-to-Haves (Absolutely Not Necessary)
Crypto experience.
Ability to write a production grade code.
What Will You Do?
You lead a group that typically works in small teams. We expect you to be generating research ideas, but we also have a backlog of our own. These can be either improvements to our existing strategies, or completely new ones. Given your experience, you would be the primary driver of the research direction for the entire team.
Responsibility for a strategy means responsibility for: modeling, testing, but also monitoring its trading in production.
Lastly, just like with the members of the team you will lead, we also expect you to collaborate with others and share findings and knowledge.
Interview Process
Our interview process is pretty simple:
Online Problems: Low-to-medium complexity problems focused on probability, logic, and mathematical skills. This is a take-home challenge that you can do in your free time.
Quant Interviews: Video-call with our quants focused on solving medium-to-hard complexity problems.
Betting Games: Engage in a set of betting games to evaluate your quantitative reasoning and decision-making skills.
Deep-Dive into Your Experience: Discussion with our CIO, CEO and COO around your experience in trading, quant research and leadership.
Compensation
Our compensation package consists of four parts: cash, equity, bonuses, and the ability to invest into our fund.
Equity
We want you to have skin in the game and big upside if we succeed as a company. We typically give 5-year equity grants to senior people.
Bonuses
We pay bonuses twice a year. These are discretionary and based on factors such as direct P&L you generated for the company, but also on your positive influence on the wider team. All bonuses are fully transparent within the company.
Fund Investment
Since its 2017 inception, our fund has achieved a net annualized return of over 50%. You can choose how much money you'd like to invest.
Working at Wincent
At Wincent, we foster a culture of transparency, ownership, and autonomy, where every team member is empowered to make a meaningful impact. We prioritize clear objectives and give you the freedom to innovate and grow within a supportive, high-performing environment.
We value exceptional TOP 1% talent over a perfect match to a job description. If our vision and values resonate with you, we’d love to hear from you. Don’t hesitate to reach out—let’s explore how you can be part of shaping the future of cryptocurrency trading with us!