Chicago, IL·Founded 2011
Akuna Capital
Options Trading.
About
What Akuna actually does
Akuna Capital is a boutique proprietary trading firm specializing in derivatives and options market making. Known for its startup-like culture, strong technology focus, and emphasis on options expertise.
- Founded
- 2011
- HQ
- Chicago, IL
- Team
- 500+
- Process
- 2-4 weeks
Focus areas
Interview process · 2-4 weeks
Round-by-round breakdown
- 1
Online Assessment
60-90 minutesCoding challenges for dev roles, probability/math questions for trading roles. Tests fundamental skills.
- Practice LeetCode for dev roles
- Review probability for trading
- Write clean, efficient code
- 2
Phone Interview
45-60 minutesTechnical interview with probability/coding questions. May include market scenarios for trading roles.
- Practice live coding if applying for dev
- Review options basics for trading
- Explain your reasoning clearly
- 3
Onsite/Virtual Final
Half to full dayMultiple interviews covering technical skills, cultural fit, and role-specific assessments.
- Research Akuna's culture
- Prepare questions about the team
- Show enthusiasm for options/derivatives
Roles & tracks
Pick the desk that fits
Junior Trader
Trade options and derivatives on Akuna's market-making desks. Learn from experienced traders.
Quantitative Developer
Build trading systems and quantitative tools. Strong focus on Python and C++.
Quantitative Researcher
Develop trading strategies and models. Research-focused with immediate production impact.
Salary · 2026
What Akuna pays
- Intern
- $3,000 - $4,000 per week
- New grad
- $150k - $250k+ total compensation
- Senior
- $300k - $600k+ total compensation
Akuna offers competitive compensation with strong bonus potential. Being smaller, there's more opportunity for rapid advancement.
See full comp datasetOpen roles
Currently hiring at Akuna
Junior Trader
Quantitative Developer
Quantitative Researcher
Candidate experience
What candidates flag at Akuna
2-4 weeks from OA to offer
3 rounds total. The first round is a 60-90 minutes online assessment; the final round is a half to full day onsite/virtual final. Plan the prep arc against this timeline, not a generic one.
Options Market Making · Derivatives · Cryptocurrency
Options Trading. Interview rounds lean on the surface area where Akuna actually makes money. Expect questions that probe options market making and derivatives more than generic LeetCode patterns.
Understand options fundamentals (puts, calls, Greeks)
Across the prep tips on this page, the recurring theme is reasoning out loud. Akuna interviewers care more about how you arrive at an answer than the answer itself. Plan to narrate.
Editorial summary derived from interview-process and prep-tip data. Anonymous member reviews launching with the /comp dataset.
Prep tips
What actually works for Akuna
- Understand options fundamentals (puts, calls, Greeks)
- Akuna has a startup-like culture - show entrepreneurial spirit
- Practice Python and C++ for dev roles
- Review probability and expected value
- Research their crypto trading arm
- Prepare questions about growth and learning opportunities
FAQ
