How to Apply to Susquehanna International Group

11 min read Last updated April 20, 2026 40 current roles tracked
Blake Crosley
Blake Crosley Researched using publicly available information, hiring data, and ATS analysis.

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Key Takeaways

  • SIG is one of the world's largest options market makers, handling roughly one in seven stock options contracts traded globally and employing 3,500+ people across 17+ offices worldwide.
  • The firm's culture is uniquely built on game theory, decision science, and poker — founded by a group of poker-playing friends, SIG integrates strategic gaming into training, hiring, and daily operations. Competitive gaming experience (poker, chess, bridge) is a genuine asset on your resume.
  • SIG uses iCIMS as its applicant tracking system (careers-sig.icims.com). Format your resume with standard sections, avoid complex layouts, and submit as PDF for optimal parsing.
  • The interview process includes an online quantitative assessment, phone screen, technical video interview, and a multi-hour Super Day with rotating interviews, group problem-solving, and team meetings. Expect heavy emphasis on probability and brainteasers for trading roles.
  • Internships are the primary pipeline for full-time hiring. If you are a student, targeting an SIG internship is the highest-probability path to a full-time offer, as the firm preferentially converts strong interns.
  • SIG's venture capital arm made one of the most successful early-stage investments in history — $5 million into ByteDance (TikTok) in 2012, which grew to a $15+ billion stake. The firm is not just a trading operation but a diversified financial conglomerate.
  • Preparation should focus on probability, combinatorics, expected value, and Bayesian reasoning — not memorized formulas but structured problem-solving approaches. Resources like tradermath.org and The Mathematics of Poker by SIG employees Bill Chen and Jerrod Ankenman are directly relevant.
  • SIG values collaboration over individual brilliance. The group problem-solving session during the Super Day evaluates how you work with others, not just how smart you are in isolation.
  • The firm offers comprehensive training for new hires including options theory, game theory, decision science, programming, and poker — so domain expertise in finance is less important than raw analytical ability and cultural fit.

Source basis: This guide combines the company's public careers materials, detected ATS-provider data, and ResumeGeni analysis. Employer-specific details should be read alongside the Sources section below; interview-culture guidance may synthesize public candidate reports when official documentation is limited.

About Susquehanna International Group

Susquehanna International Group (SIG) is a privately held global quantitative trading and technology firm headquartered in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia. Founded in 1987 by Jeff Yass, Arthur Dantchik, and four other entrepreneurs who met while playing cards at the State University of New York at Binghamton in the late 1970s, SIG has grown into one of the largest and most influential options market makers in the world. The firm handles approximately one out of every seven stock options contracts traded globally, making it a foundational pillar of global derivatives liquidity. Through its subsidiary Susquehanna Securities, the firm traded 2.7 billion options contracts in 2023 alone — more than the entire options industry traded in 2007. SIG employs over 3,500 people across 17+ offices worldwide, with major presences in Philadelphia (headquarters), New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Dublin, London, Sydney, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and other financial centers. Unlike many trading firms that focus narrowly on a single asset class, SIG operates across equities, fixed income, energy, commodities, index and derivative products, private equity, and venture capital. The firm is a specialist or designated primary market maker in approximately 600 equity options and 45 index options on major exchanges including the CBOE, AMEX, PHLX, and ISE, covering blue-chip names such as Google, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, GE, PepsiCo, and Microsoft, as well as major indices like the Nasdaq and Russell 2000. Beyond trading, SIG has built a significant venture capital portfolio. The firm invested $5 million in ByteDance (parent of TikTok) in 2012 when the company was founded — a stake that was valued at over $15 billion by 2020, representing roughly 15% of ByteDance's fully diluted capitalization. SIG also operates Susquehanna Growth Equity, which invests in software and information services companies in the US and Israel, and SIG China and SIG Asia VC for venture investments across Asia. What truly distinguishes SIG from other trading firms is its deep integration of game theory, decision science, and poker into its corporate culture and training programs. The firm was literally born from a group of poker players, and that strategic, probabilistic thinking permeates everything from trader education to risk management. SIG is home to World Series of Poker Bracelet winners Bill Chen and Jerrod Ankenman, co-authors of The Mathematics of Poker, and runs an annual company-wide No Limit Texas Hold'em tournament where employees from global offices compete. This poker-and-game-theory culture is not a gimmick — it reflects the firm's fundamental belief that the skills required for excellent poker play (probabilistic reasoning, risk management, reading opponents, decision-making under uncertainty) are directly transferable to options trading.

Application Process

  1. 1
    Apply through SIG's careers portal at careers

    Apply through SIG's careers portal at careers.sig.com or their iCIMS-powered careers center at careers-sig.icims.com. Browse roles by category — Trading, Technology, Quantitative Research, Operations, and more. Internship applications are especially important, as the internship program is SIG's primary pipeline for full-time hires.

  2. 2
    For trading roles, complete the SIG Quantitative Evaluation

    For trading roles, complete the SIG Quantitative Evaluation — a 20-minute online assessment testing logic, quantitative reasoning, and problem-solving. Expect questions on linear systems of equations, expected value calculations, grid path-finding puzzles, and probability brainteasers. This is a screening gate, so preparation matters.

  3. 3
    Candidates who pass the online assessment receive a phone screen with a recruite

    Candidates who pass the online assessment receive a phone screen with a recruiter lasting 30-45 minutes. This covers your background, motivation for joining SIG specifically, market awareness, and initial behavioral and cultural fit questions. Demonstrating genuine knowledge of SIG's game-theory culture and trading operations helps here.

  4. 4
    The next stage is a technical video interview (approximately 60 minutes) with a

    The next stage is a technical video interview (approximately 60 minutes) with a senior trader or engineer. For trading candidates, this is heavily probability-focused: conditional probability, combinatorics, expected value, and Bayesian reasoning. For engineering candidates, expect medium-to-hard coding problems covering data structures, algorithms, and system design, typically in C++, Python, or C#.

  5. 5
    Final-round candidates are invited to an in-person Super Day at SIG's Bala Cynwy

    Final-round candidates are invited to an in-person Super Day at SIG's Bala Cynwyd headquarters or a regional office. This is a multi-hour event involving rotating interviews with different teams across the trading floor, group problem-solving sessions with other candidates (collaborative brainteaser exercises), and meetings with HR and potential managers. For trading roles, you will face intensive probability and brainteaser questions throughout the day.

  6. 6
    After the Super Day, the hiring team deliberates

    After the Super Day, the hiring team deliberates. SIG's process from application to decision typically takes 2-6 weeks depending on the hiring cycle and team availability. Strong internship performers may receive return offers before the general recruitment cycle, making the internship a highly strategic entry point.

  7. 7
    For campus recruiting, SIG runs Discovery Programs for students curious about fi

    For campus recruiting, SIG runs Discovery Programs for students curious about finance but not yet eligible for internships. These programs introduce SIG's culture, trading concepts, and decision science through multi-day events, serving as an early pipeline for future interns and full-time hires.

Resume Tips for Susquehanna International Group

recommended

Highlight quantitative and analytical skills prominently

Highlight quantitative and analytical skills prominently. SIG hires across STEM disciplines — mathematics, computer science, physics, statistics, engineering, and economics are all valued. Lead with your quantitative coursework, research projects, or thesis work that demonstrates rigorous analytical thinking.

recommended

Showcase competitive gaming, poker, chess, or strategy game experience

Showcase competitive gaming, poker, chess, or strategy game experience. SIG explicitly values candidates who compete in strategic games — poker tournaments, chess ratings, Magic: The Gathering competition results, bridge, competitive programming (ICPC, Codeforces), or math olympiad achievements (Putnam, IMO) all signal the probabilistic and strategic mindset SIG seeks.

recommended

For technology roles, emphasize proficiency in C++, C#, Python, and SQL

For technology roles, emphasize proficiency in C++, C#, Python, and SQL. Highlight experience with low-latency systems, high-performance computing, distributed systems, or financial data infrastructure. Include specific projects that demonstrate algorithmic thinking and clean, efficient code — SIG's trading infrastructure demands both correctness and speed.

recommended

Demonstrate collaborative experience

Demonstrate collaborative experience. SIG's culture is deeply team-oriented, and interviewers actively assess whether you work well with others. Include team projects, group research, hackathons, or open-source contributions where you contributed as part of a team rather than as a lone operator.

recommended

Include any trading, market-making, or financial markets experience, but do not

Include any trading, market-making, or financial markets experience, but do not overweight it relative to your quantitative and technical skills. SIG values the analytical foundation more than domain knowledge — they will teach you options theory and market microstructure through their comprehensive training program.

recommended

Quantify your achievements wherever possible

Quantify your achievements wherever possible. Instead of 'built a data pipeline,' write 'built a real-time data pipeline processing 2M events/second with 99.9% uptime.' SIG is a quantitative firm — numbers on your resume demonstrate that you think quantitatively by default.

recommended

Ensure every bullet point on your resume can withstand detailed follow-up questi

Ensure every bullet point on your resume can withstand detailed follow-up questions. SIG interviewers will probe anything listed on your resume, so remove anything you cannot discuss in depth. Listing a skill or project you cannot explain thoroughly will count against you.

recommended

For the iCIMS ATS, use standard section headers (Education, Experience, Skills,

For the iCIMS ATS, use standard section headers (Education, Experience, Skills, Projects) and avoid complex formatting like tables, columns, or graphics that may not parse correctly. Submit in PDF format to preserve layout while maintaining ATS readability.

ATS System: iCIMS

SIG uses iCIMS as its applicant tracking system, with the careers portal accessible at careers-sig.icims.com. iCIMS is a widely adopted enterprise-grade ATS used by many large financial services and technology firms. The system processes applications submitted through SIG's careers website (careers.sig.com), which routes to the iCIMS backend for candidate tracking, screening, and workflow management. All open positions across SIG's global offices — trading, technology, quantitative research, operations, and internships — are posted through this system.

  • Apply directly through careers.sig.com or careers-sig.icims.com rather than third-party job boards to ensure your application enters SIG's system cleanly and promptly.
  • Use standard resume section headers (Education, Experience, Skills, Projects) that iCIMS can parse reliably. Avoid multi-column layouts, tables, text boxes, and embedded images.
  • Submit your resume as a PDF to preserve formatting while maintaining ATS readability. iCIMS handles PDF parsing well for standard document layouts.
  • Include relevant keywords from the job description naturally within your experience bullets — iCIMS supports keyword matching for recruiter searches, so alignment with the posting language improves visibility.
  • Set up job alerts on careers.sig.com to receive notifications when new positions matching your interests are posted. SIG's hiring is cyclical, with campus recruiting concentrated in fall and experienced hire roles posted year-round.

Complete iCIMS Resume Guide →

Interview Culture

SIG's interview culture is distinctively shaped by the firm's roots in game theory, poker, and decision science.

Unlike traditional finance interviews that focus on market knowledge and deal experience, or pure tech interviews dominated by LeetCode problems, SIG interviews blend quantitative problem-solving, strategic thinking, and cultural fit assessment in a way that reflects how the firm actually operates. For trading candidates, the interview is overwhelmingly quantitative. You will face a relentless stream of probability puzzles, expected value problems, combinatorial reasoning, and Bayesian inference questions. These are not trick questions designed to make you fail — they are genuine assessments of how you think under uncertainty, which is the core skill of an options trader. Interviewers care as much about your reasoning process as your final answer. Explaining your thought process clearly, acknowledging when you are uncertain, and adjusting your approach when given new information are all critical signals SIG evaluates. A candidate who gets the wrong answer but demonstrates structured, creative reasoning will often advance over one who recites a memorized solution without understanding. The group problem-solving session during the Super Day is particularly distinctive. You will work through brainteasers and strategy problems alongside other candidates, and interviewers observe how you collaborate: Do you listen to others' ideas? Can you build on someone else's approach? Do you dominate unproductively or withdraw entirely? SIG's trading desks operate as collaborative teams where traders share information and challenge each other's assumptions in real time, so the ability to think collectively under pressure is essential. For technology candidates, the interview includes standard coding problems (data structures, algorithms, system design) but with a quantitative twist. You may be asked to optimize a simulation, implement a pricing model, or design a system that handles high-throughput market data. SIG's tech roles are tightly integrated with the trading business, so demonstrating curiosity about how your code connects to trading decisions sets you apart from candidates who treat the role as a generic software engineering position. Culturally, SIG interviews feel energetic and intellectually playful rather than adversarial. Interviewers are often traders and engineers who genuinely enjoy puzzles and games, and they want to see candidates who share that enthusiasm. Mentioning your experience with poker, chess, competitive gaming, or other strategic pursuits is welcomed and often sparks engaging side conversations. The firm explicitly recruits chess players and poker enthusiasts because it believes the decision-making skills those games develop transfer directly to trading. Behavioral questions at SIG focus on decision-making quality, not just outcomes. You might be asked about a time you made a decision with incomplete information, how you assessed risk versus reward, or how you handled being wrong about something. SIG's culture prizes intellectual honesty, willingness to update beliefs based on new evidence, and comfort with uncertainty — qualities that mirror the firm's approach to markets. Candidates who demonstrate rigid thinking or an inability to consider alternative perspectives will struggle, regardless of their quantitative horsepower. Preparation should include practicing probability and combinatorics problems from resources like tradermath.org, reviewing game theory fundamentals, and being ready to discuss your strategic gaming experience. Research SIG's specific programs — their sports trading operations, poker culture, venture capital investments — and be prepared to articulate why SIG's culture appeals to you specifically rather than offering generic 'I want to work in trading' motivation.

What Susquehanna International Group Looks For

  • Exceptional quantitative reasoning — the ability to break down complex probability, combinatorics, and expected value problems quickly and accurately. This is the foundational skill for trading roles and a strong plus for all positions at SIG.
  • Strategic and game-theoretic thinking, ideally demonstrated through competitive poker, chess, bridge, Magic: The Gathering, competitive programming, or math competitions. SIG explicitly seeks candidates whose minds work in terms of probability, risk assessment, and optimal decision-making under uncertainty.
  • Strong programming skills in C++, C#, Python, or related languages, with emphasis on writing clean, efficient, and correct code. For technology roles, experience with low-latency systems, distributed computing, or financial infrastructure is highly valued.
  • Collaborative mindset and strong communication skills. SIG's trading desks and tech teams operate as tight-knit groups where information sharing and constructive disagreement are expected. They want people who make their teammates better, not lone operators.
  • Intellectual curiosity and a genuine passion for problem-solving. SIG values people who are energized by hard problems, enjoy learning new domains, and approach challenges with enthusiasm rather than viewing them as obstacles to endure.
  • Decision-making quality under uncertainty — the ability to make sound judgments with incomplete information, assess risk versus reward, and update your beliefs when presented with new evidence. This mirrors the core of options trading.
  • Cultural fit with SIG's game-theory-driven, energetic, and intellectually playful environment. Candidates who demonstrate genuine interest in SIG's poker culture, decision science approach, and collaborative ethos consistently perform better in the interview process.
  • Integrity, honesty, and intellectual humility. SIG prizes people who can clearly distinguish what they know from what they are guessing, who admit mistakes openly, and who treat colleagues with respect regardless of seniority.

Frequently Asked Questions

What applicant tracking system does SIG use, and how should I format my resume?
SIG uses iCIMS as its applicant tracking system, accessible at careers-sig.icims.com. To optimize your resume for iCIMS, use standard section headers (Education, Experience, Skills, Projects), avoid tables, multi-column layouts, and embedded graphics that may not parse correctly, and submit in PDF format. Include relevant keywords from the job description naturally within your experience bullets. iCIMS is a widely used enterprise ATS, so standard resume formatting best practices apply.
What is the SIG Quantitative Evaluation and how do I prepare?
The SIG Quantitative Evaluation is a 20-minute online assessment given to trading candidates early in the process. It tests logic, quantitative reasoning, and problem-solving through questions involving linear systems of equations, expected value calculations, grid path-finding puzzles, and probability brainteasers. You will not need to recall specific formulas, but you must think quickly and methodically. Preparation resources include tradermath.org (which has an SIG-specific guide), probability textbooks, and brainteaser collections focused on expected value and combinatorics. Practice under timed conditions to build speed.
Does SIG hire people without finance backgrounds?
Yes, absolutely. SIG actively recruits from STEM disciplines — mathematics, computer science, physics, statistics, and engineering — and does not require prior finance experience. The firm provides comprehensive training for all new hires covering options theory, financial markets, game theory, and decision science. What SIG values most is raw quantitative ability, strategic thinking, and cultural fit. Many successful SIG traders and engineers had no finance background before joining. Your analytical and problem-solving skills matter far more than knowing what a put option is before your first day.
How important is poker or gaming experience for getting hired at SIG?
Poker and competitive gaming experience is genuinely valued at SIG — it is not a gimmick or interview trivia. The firm was founded by poker players, employs World Series of Poker champions, and integrates poker into its training program. Competitive experience in poker, chess, bridge, Magic: The Gathering, competitive programming, or math olympiads signals the probabilistic thinking and strategic decision-making SIG seeks. That said, gaming experience is not required. Candidates without gaming backgrounds succeed by demonstrating the same underlying skills — quantitative reasoning, risk assessment, and decision-making under uncertainty — through their academic or professional work.
What is the Super Day like at SIG?
The Super Day is the final interview round, typically held at SIG's Bala Cynwyd headquarters. It is a multi-hour event that includes rotating one-on-one interviews with traders, engineers, and managers from different teams; a group problem-solving session where you work through brainteasers collaboratively with other candidates; and meetings with HR. For trading candidates, expect intense probability and expected value questions throughout. The atmosphere is energetic and intellectually stimulating rather than adversarial. Interviewers are evaluating both your individual problem-solving ability and how you collaborate with others under pressure.
What are SIG's main office locations?
SIG's global headquarters is in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia. The firm has 17+ offices worldwide including New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, and Stamford in North America; Dublin and London in Europe; Sydney in Australia; and Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Tokyo in Asia. Most entry-level and internship hiring is concentrated at the Bala Cynwyd headquarters, though roles are available across all offices depending on the team and business unit.
How does SIG's internship program work, and does it lead to full-time offers?
SIG's internship program is the firm's primary pipeline for full-time hiring. Interns work on real projects alongside their teams, attend classroom training sessions on options theory, game theory, decision science, and programming (Python, SQL, VBA), and participate in social events including poker tournaments. Strong performers receive return offers for full-time positions or the graduate program. If you are a student targeting SIG, securing an internship is the highest-probability path to a permanent role. SIG also runs Discovery Programs for younger students not yet eligible for internships, providing early exposure to the firm's culture and work.
What is SIG's venture capital arm, and why does the ByteDance investment matter?
SIG operates several venture capital entities including Susquehanna Growth Equity (US and Israel, focused on software and information services), SIG China, and SIG Asia VC. The firm's most famous investment is its $5 million stake in ByteDance (parent of TikTok) in 2012, which grew to a valuation exceeding $15 billion by 2020. This investment demonstrates SIG's breadth beyond trading — the firm identifies and capitalizes on opportunities across asset classes and stages, from public market options to early-stage technology companies. For candidates, it signals that SIG is a diversified financial conglomerate, not a narrow trading shop.
How long does the SIG hiring process take from application to offer?
The typical timeline is 2-6 weeks from initial application to final decision, depending on the hiring cycle, role, and team availability. The process moves through online assessment (for trading roles), recruiter phone screen, technical video interview, and Super Day. Campus recruiting follows a seasonal cycle with applications opening in late summer and fall for the following year's internships and full-time positions. Experienced hire timelines can vary more widely. SIG generally communicates decisions promptly after the Super Day, often within one to two weeks.
What programming languages and technologies does SIG use?
SIG's technology stack spans C++, C#, Python, and SQL as primary languages. The firm builds high-performance, low-latency trading systems that process massive volumes of market data in real time. For technology roles, experience with distributed systems, real-time data processing, performance optimization, and Linux environments is valued. SIG's tech teams are tightly integrated with the trading business — engineers build the infrastructure that directly powers trading decisions, so understanding the connection between code and market activity is a differentiator for candidates.

Current Role Context

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