February 20265 mins read
The Best Cities for Quant Developer Jobs
Quant developer jobs continue to expand globally as financial institutions deepen their investment in systematic trading, advanced analytics, and data-led strategies. From hedge funds and proprietary trading firms to global investment banks and asset managers, quant developer roles are central to translating research into production-grade trading infrastructure.
External labour data reflects this upward trend. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment for computer and information research scientists, a category closely aligned with quantitative engineering and advanced modelling roles, is projected to grow 23% between 2022 and 2032, significantly faster than the average for all occupations. Financial firms are a key driver of this demand as algorithmic trading, AI integration, and automation reshape markets.
While remote work has broadened access, geography still influences opportunity, compensation bands, team exposure, and long-term progression. For professionals building careers in quantitative engineering, selecting the right city remains a strategic decision.
What quant developers do
Quantitative developers sit at the intersection of research and production engineering. They build and optimize the systems that power systematic strategies across equities, fixed income, commodities, derivatives, and digital assets.
Responsibilities commonly include:
- Translating quantitative models into scalable, production-ready code
- Developing back testing and simulation frameworks
- Building low-latency trading systems
- Managing data pipelines and market connectivity
- Supporting researchers and portfolio managers with analytical tools
Quant developer roles require strong programming capability in languages such as Python and C++, alongside advanced mathematical and statistical foundations. Increasingly, firms also seek experience in distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, and machine learning frameworks, reflecting the broader evolution of quantitative engineering.
As competition intensifies, particularly in digital assets, firms are refining hiring strategies to secure niche technical skill sets.
Read our article on the competition for quant crypto talent and discover how this demand is reshaping hiring timelines and compensation expectations.
For those exploring entry routes or progression paths, this guide to quant finance careers provides further clarity.
Factors that make a city strong for quant developers
Not every financial center offers the same depth of opportunity for quant developer jobs. The most competitive markets typically share several characteristics:
A strong market for quant developer jobs starts with density. Cities that host a critical mass of hedge funds, proprietary trading firms, and electronic market makers create a self-reinforcing ecosystem. Talent moves between firms, technical standards rise, and new funds launch from established platforms.
At Selby Jennings, we are seeing consistent hiring across low-latency trading systems, research engineering platforms, and scalable data infrastructure in these hubs. In concentrated markets, hiring is ongoing and tied to strategy expansion, not short-term backfills.
The depth of quant developer jobs in a city reflects where capital is flowing. Markets attracting sustained allocator backing into systematic macro, statistical arbitrage, multi-asset quant platforms, and options strategies generate long-term infrastructure buildouts.
When capital scales, technology must scale with it. At Selby Jennings, we are seeing increased demand for senior engineers who can support production-grade research environments, portfolio construction tools, and cross-asset execution systems. Cities with active capital deployment into systematic strategies consistently show stronger hiring momentum.
Market infrastructure remains a differentiator, particularly for high-frequency and execution focused firms. Cities with direct exchange access, mature colocation ecosystems, and established data center networks continue to attract firms building performance-sensitive systems.
In these markets, we are seeing sustained demand for C++ engineers focused on latency optimization, exchange connectivity, and network performance. Where this infrastructure is limited, hiring tends to skew toward research engineering rather than true high-frequency trading buildouts.
Leading universities matter, but conversion into industry matters more. The strongest quant hubs maintain close links between top mathematics, physics, and computer science programs and trading firms. Internship pipelines are structured, and PhD talent moves directly into systematic strategies.
We are also seeing growing competition between large technology firms and quant funds for distributed systems and machine learning infrastructure engineers. Cities that retain technical graduates and foster active engineering communities build deeper and more resilient quant ecosystems.
Established hubs continue to set compensation benchmarks for quant developer jobs. Base salaries remain strong for experienced C++ and platform engineers, while total compensation increasingly reflects direct impact on trading performance and platform scalability.
Mobility between firms keeps pay competitive and pushes firms to differentiate through both mandate and technical complexity. In emerging markets, firms often need to offer aggressive compensation packages or compelling strategic exposure to attract senior talent.
Firms investing in systematic strategies require predictable regulatory environments. Clear market structure rules and tax frameworks support long-term infrastructure investment and headcount growth.
At Selby Jennings, we are seeing hesitation in markets with uncertain regulatory direction, particularly around digital assets. Stable environments continue to attract sustained capital deployment and team expansion.
What this signals for quant developer jobs
The strongest cities for quant developer jobs combine systematic capital, infrastructure maturity, and technical talent density. At Selby Jennings, we continue to see the highest and most consistent hiring demand in established hubs with deep systematic penetration, while emerging markets must compete aggressively on compensation and strategic mandate to attract senior engineering talent.
Best cities for quant developer jobs
New York
New York sets the benchmark for quant developer jobs in the US. It combines multi-strategy hedge funds, systematic asset managers, proprietary trading firms, and bulge bracket banks in one market. Firms such as Two Sigma, D. E. Shaw, Citadel and Citadel Securities, Jane Street, Hudson River Trading, Millennium Management, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs all run large quantitative engineering teams.
What differentiates New York is its breadth. Engineers here support equities, macro, credit, derivatives, and digital assets under one roof. That drives demand for scalable research platforms, distributed compute infrastructure, and production-grade data engineering. Strong Python and C++ skills matter, but so does experience building end-to-end research environments that portfolio managers rely on daily. The bar is high for engineers who can translate strategy requirements into stable, front office systems. Compensation reflects direct PnL impact, especially inside systematic hedge funds and market makers.
Chicago
Chicago remains structurally different from New York. It is anchored in derivatives and proprietary trading, with firms such as Citadel Securities, Jump Trading, DRW, IMC Trading, Optiver, and Cboe Global Markets shaping the ecosystem.
Quant developer jobs in Chicago lean heavily toward high-frequency trading and execution. The skill profile is more specialized. Deep C++ expertise, latency optimization, exchange connectivity, and systems-level performance tuning are core requirements. Engineers often work closer to the matching engine, focusing on nanosecond-level improvements and hardware-aware development. Compared to New York, there is less emphasis on broad multi-asset research platforms and more focus on speed, determinism, and execution quality. The hiring environment is technical and competitive, with firms benchmarking against each other on performance.
London
London leads quant developer jobs in Europe and serves as a cross-asset hub. It brings together systematic hedge funds, traditional asset managers building quant platforms, and global investment banks. Firms such as Man Group, Winton, Aspect Capital, GSA Capital, Marshall Wace, Citadel, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and Barclays all maintain quantitative engineering teams in the city.
London stands out for its cross-asset exposure across rates, FX, equities, and commodities. Engineers here often need multi-asset fluency and experience building research and execution systems that support global trading desks. Compared to Chicago, the focus is less on ultra-low latency and more on robust research infrastructure, portfolio construction tools, and risk systems. Experience working across regulatory frameworks and supporting global trading hours can also differentiate candidates in this market.
Hong Kong and Singapore
Hong Kong and Singapore anchor quant developer jobs in Asia Pacific, but they serve different strategic purposes. Both host firms, such as Tower Research Capital, Hudson River Trading, Jump Trading, Citadel Securities, Qube Research and Technologies, and Flow Traders, alongside global hedge funds expanding systematic desks in the region.
Hong Kong remains tightly connected to mainland China markets. Engineers often support cross-border equity and derivatives trading, with strong demand for exchange connectivity and multi-venue execution expertise. Low-latency C++ skills remain important, particularly for firms running electronic market-making strategies in Asian markets.
Singapore has positioned itself as a broader regional base. In addition to systematic trading, there has been growth in fintech and digital asset firms. Quant developer jobs here increasingly require experience building scalable cloud native infrastructure, digital asset trading systems, and cross-asset research platforms. The market rewards engineers who can operate across traditional finance and newer trading ecosystems.
Zurich and Geneva
Zurich and Geneva offer a different model for quant developer jobs. The ecosystem is anchored by systematic asset managers and quantitative investment platforms rather than high-frequency proprietary firms. Firms such as GAM, Pictet Asset Management, UBS quantitative investment strategies, and Swiss-based multi-strategy and macro funds shape the landscape.
The technical demand here skews toward portfolio construction, risk modeling, and long-horizon systematic strategies. Engineers are more likely to work on robust research pipelines, analytics platforms, and integration with private banking or institutional mandates. Ultra-low latency skills are less central than in Chicago or parts of Asia. Instead, strong quantitative foundations, clean software architecture, and the ability to support institutional-scale capital allocation are highly valued.
Each of these cities supports quant developer jobs, but the skill profile that drives hiring success differs meaningfully. Candidates who align their technical depth with the structural strengths of each market position themselves far more competitively.
Emerging or secondary cities
Several secondary hubs are also gaining traction:
- Amsterdam, supported by electronic market-making firms
- Paris, with an expanding systematic hedge fund presence
- Austin and Miami, driven by fintech and digital asset growth
- Toronto, with a strong engineering talent base
These markets may offer strong progression potential and competitive compensation relative to the cost of living.
Diversity within quantitative teams is also receiving increased attention, and a new generation of female quant talent highlights how hiring pipelines are evolving.
Market momentum remains active across quantitative functions. As discussed in our talent report insights, firms continue to invest in quant roles as strategies become more systematic and data-led.
Exploring quant developer jobs?
If you are exploring quant developer jobs or looking to progress within quantitative engineering, now remains an active period across global financial hubs.
Selby Jennings partners with leading hedge funds, proprietary trading firms, investment banks, and asset managers worldwide to place business-critical quantitative talent.
Browse our latest quant developer jobs here or register your resume for roles that are not currently advertised.