I applied through university. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at WorldQuant (New York, NY) in Feb 2018
Interview
The process is standardised: online test and consequent 5 interviews ( 3xResearch and 2xStrategy/Research Directors)
Test with two parts 40 and 20 questions each. The time for the first part question is 2-4min and a second part question is up to 7 minutes. Sometimes you have to choose the answer, sometimes you must type it.
Each phone interview is of about 45 mins, with a 10min general discussion and 2-3 math/coding questions.
All focused on Problem Solving, Combinatorics, Algo plus general career discussion on cultural fit, delivering tasks etc. on interviews.
The questions are mostly about:
- Simple math problems
- Coin Problems: Unbiased and Biased.
- Probability problems
- Statistics, like "find expectation of ...".
- Programming in pseudocode, Basic algorithm like "what will variable x be equal to after this code is executed".
Preparation:
1. Heard on the street
2. Online teasers
3. Glassdoor research
4. Relevant job questions: Alpha, Smart Beta strategies etc.
Interview questions [17]
Question 1
If |a-M|<=c and |b-M|<=d, which of the statements is sufficient to imply that |a-b|<e?
A vector X of 100 real numbers has a mean value of 14. A second vector Y of 100 real numbers has a mean value of 40. A third vector Z is constructed by picking 100 numbers from X or Y at random and multiplying each by 2. A forth vector W is constructed by picking the remaining 100 numbers of X and Y and multiplying each by 2. What is the sum of all elements in Z+W.
The population of desolate, remote planet is kept alive by a life support system. The population quadruples every 54 years, but the life support system capacity can only be doubled every 54 years. If the initial population is 2 people and the initial life support system has capacity for 16384 people, how many years will pass before the population reaches the capacity of the support system?
When flipped a biased coin has a probability of 0.9 for heads. You get $1 for heads and loose $10 for tails, what is your expected wealth after 10 tosses?
First player tosses perfect dice 2017 times. Second - 2016 times. What is probability that the first got strictly more odd numbers that the second one?
Stock fluctuated everyday by 5%, up or down, with same likelihood. Assuming zero interest, friction, and dividends what strategy is the best over 100 days.
We cut zero-one interval into 6 parts by dealing the 5 separator points uniformly and independently from zero-one interval. What is the probability that all six pieces are shorter than half?
Miner in a cave with three different paths. First one leads for 3h to exit, second - 4 hours to start and third - 6 hours to start. Assuming miner does not know, which path was taken last time, how much time needed to escape the cave?
You need to forecast the number that will be drawn from a continues uniform distribution between and 60. You will be charged 3 dollars for every unit overestimated and 1 dollar for every unit underestimated. No charge if the number is forecasted correctly. What number to forecast to minimize the cost?
Two ferries at the same time on opposite sides of a river move at constant but different speeds. First meet at 300m from left, second time after the turn and 200m from the right side. How wide is the river?
Mark a point randomly inside the circle of radius 1 meter. Let D is the distance from the point to the centre if the circle. Observe the distribution of d. Where the median is located?
Consider a random permutation of numbers 1,…,2017. What is the variance of the number of its fixed points (ie numbers which are not moved by permutation)?
one written test
five interviews with team members
It mainly describes past experiences, with problems related to mathematics, finance, and machine learning
The interviewer will give you lots of hints
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Q: Texas Hold 'Em related probability questions
Q: Basic concepts of machine learning
Q: Integral
I was shortlisted based on CV from college after which we were subjected to an online Quantitative round which tested our mathematical skills and comprised around 60 questions with each question having individual timers.
