Akuna Capital Interview Guide: Chicago Options Market Making, Python Stack, Trader Training

Akuna Capital Interview Guide: Chicago Options Market Making, Python Stack, and Trader Training

Akuna Capital is a Chicago-based proprietary trading firm specializing in options market making. Founded in 2011 by veterans of Australia’s Optiver office, Akuna has grown into a multi-hundred-person trading and technology operation across Chicago, Sydney, Shanghai, and Boston. For quant-trading candidates, Akuna is a serious contender alongside Optiver, SIG, and IMC: high pay, intellectually rigorous interview process, and a distinctive Python-heavy engineering culture that sets it apart from C++-dominant rivals.

What Akuna Does

Akuna is a proprietary trading firm trading its own capital, primarily as a market maker in listed options across global exchanges (CBOE, ICE, Eurex, ASX). The firm provides liquidity by continuously quoting bid and offer prices on options contracts and profits from spread capture and disciplined risk management.

Distinctive features:

Python-first engineering: Akuna’s trading systems are built primarily in Python (with C/C++ for performance-critical paths). This contrasts with most competitors (Optiver, IMC, Jump, HRT) where C++ dominates. Python expertise is meaningfully valuable for SWE candidates targeting Akuna.
Australian roots: founders from Optiver Sydney brought a similar trading philosophy and culture, and Akuna’s Sydney office remains a meaningful hub.
Smaller and more nimble than the giants: ~300–500 employees, vs Optiver’s several thousand. Closer-knit culture, faster iteration on new products and strategies.

Roles Akuna Hires For

Trader

Quotes markets, manages risk on a desk. New-graduate traders enter through a structured training program in Chicago or Sydney; they spend months learning options theory, market microstructure, and Akuna’s systems before joining a live desk. Hiring is highly selective.

Quantitative Researcher

Builds models, signals, and analytics for trading desks. Math, stats, and ML-heavy. PhD candidates often start here.

Software Engineer

Builds and maintains Akuna’s Python-based trading systems, exchange connectivity, internal tooling, market data infrastructure. Strong Python is essential; C/C++ is a plus for low-latency-path work. Akuna’s SWE culture is more research-friendly and less rigid than larger competitors.

Internships

Akuna runs trader, quant researcher, and SWE internship programs in Chicago and Sydney. Conversion rates are reasonably high for strong performers.

Akuna Interview Process

Round 1: Online assessment

For traders: probability and math questions, sometimes mental-math drills (lighter than Optiver’s 80-in-8 but similar in spirit). For SWE / quant: a coding challenge in Python, plus quantitative reasoning.

Round 2: First-round interview

Phone or video, 30–45 minutes. For traders: probability brainteasers, expected-value problems, possibly a small market-making mock. For SWE: a coding question, often in Python, plus discussion of past projects.

Round 3: Technical interview

For traders: deeper market-making round, more brainteasers, maybe a live trading game. For SWE: harder coding (algorithms or system design), Python-specific questions (decorators, context managers, GIL implications, async patterns), and discussion of low-latency considerations even in a Python context.

Round 4: Superday

On-site (or virtual on-site) at Akuna’s Chicago office (or Sydney for Australia hires). Multiple back-to-back interviews, a trading game / market-making simulation for traders, more coding for SWE. Lunch with current employees, behavioral conversations, sometimes a presentation.

Round 5: Final / decision

Senior partner review. Decision typically within 1–2 weeks.

What Akuna Tests For

Probability and EV reasoning (traders + quants)

Standard quant-finance probability stack. Expect 4–6 problems across the process.

Market-making intuition (traders)

Quote a two-sided market, manage inventory, update on information. See Market-Making Interview Questions.

Python depth (SWE)

Akuna’s Python-first stack means SWE candidates face deeper Python questions than at C++-dominant firms. Expect: Python data model (dunder methods), GIL implications, async / asyncio, NumPy / pandas idioms, decorators, generators, context managers, performance profiling. You should be able to discuss when you’d reach for Cython, NumPy vectorization, multiprocessing vs threading.

Options understanding (traders + quants)

Calls, puts, put-call parity, basic Greeks intuition (delta, gamma, vega, theta), implied volatility. Akuna doesn’t expect Black-Scholes derivation memorization, but you should understand the inputs and their economic meaning. See Options Pricing for Quant Interviews.

Cultural fit

Akuna’s culture is Chicago-pragmatic with Australian directness from its founders. Less structured than Optiver, less academic than Two Sigma. Candidates who fit are direct, comfortable with markets, and not putting on a “quant” persona.

Preparation Strategy

Months -3 to -2 (foundations)

Probability classics. A Practical Guide to Quantitative Finance Interviews (Zhou). For SWE: Python deep-dive (Fluent Python by Luciano Ramalho is excellent; cover descriptors, dunder methods, async, performance topics).

Months -2 to -1 (track-specific)

For traders: market-making mock rounds; options basics from Hull. For SWE: practice Python interview problems with a focus on idiomatic solutions, plus systems-design fundamentals. For quants: review your most relevant research projects and be ready to discuss them deeply.

Month -1 (mock interviews)

Mock superdays. Behavioral prep: why Akuna specifically (not just “any prop shop”), why Chicago / Sydney if relevant, why options trading.

Akuna vs Other Firms

Akuna vs Optiver: Both options-focused; Akuna is smaller, more Python-driven, and somewhat less rigid culturally. Optiver pays slightly higher at the new-grad level on average; Akuna is competitive.

Akuna vs IMC: Both are mid-sized options market makers. IMC is larger and slightly more institutional; Akuna is more entrepreneurial and Python-driven.

Akuna vs SIG: SIG has the poker / decision-theory cultural angle; Akuna is more straightforwardly options-focused. Both are in the same compensation tier.

Akuna vs Jump / HRT: Different products and tech stacks. Jump and HRT are HFT and C++-heavy; Akuna is options market-making and Python-heavy. Different candidate fit.

Compensation

New-graduate trader compensation typically lands $250,000–$400,000 first-year (base + sign-on + first-year bonus), with strong upside in years 2+. SWE compensation is competitive at $200,000–$300,000 first-year, somewhat lower than top trader comp but higher than typical FAANG-level new-grad packages. Bonuses are tied to firm and desk performance; Akuna’s smaller size means individual contribution is more visible.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Akuna’s Python-first stack a positive or negative for my career?

It depends on your goals. If you love Python and want to work on a sophisticated Python codebase under real performance pressure, Akuna is one of the few quant firms where Python is the primary language rather than glue code — that’s a meaningful career advantage if Python is your strength. If you specifically want low-level C++ HFT work, Akuna is not the right fit; consider Jump, HRT, or Citadel Securities. The stack shouldn’t be the only factor, but it’s a real differentiator.

How is Akuna different from Optiver, given the founder lineage?

Akuna’s founders came from Optiver Sydney, so the trading philosophy is similar (options market making, disciplined risk management, options-pricing rigor). The differences are scale and culture: Akuna is much smaller (~300–500 vs Optiver’s several thousand), more Python-driven, more entrepreneurial, and faster-iterating. Optiver is more institutional, more rigid, and operates at a global scale. The interview processes are similar but Akuna’s is somewhat less mental-math-heavy.

What’s the trader training program like?

New-graduate traders enter a multi-month program in Chicago or Sydney covering options theory, market microstructure, Akuna’s trading systems, risk management, and supervised mock trading. The program is intensive and meaningfully filter on top of the interview — not every new hire passes onto a live desk. After training, traders are placed on a desk and ramp up risk gradually under senior-trader mentorship. The structure mirrors Optiver’s “Class” program but at smaller scale.

Where does Akuna hire and how location-flexible are roles?

Chicago is HQ and the largest office. Sydney is the second-largest, with substantial trader and SWE presence. Boston has a smaller engineering office. Shanghai is the international presence. Trader roles are typically tied to a specific office; SWE roles have somewhat more flex but Akuna doesn’t offer fully remote arrangements. If you have a strong location preference, raise it explicitly in recruiting.

Should I apply to Akuna and Optiver simultaneously?

Yes. Both firms compete for similar talent, and a strong candidate at one is generally a strong candidate at the other. Interviewing at both gives you optionality and signal: comparing offers, comparing cultures, comparing specific desk fits. The downside is two intensive interview processes during the same window; plan your prep accordingly.