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Home / Compensation / Quant Trading Compensation Report 2026
Jane Street, Citadel, Hudson River Trading and Two Sigma are the highest-paying software employers in our dataset by a wide margin, and the ones whose compensation searches convert least often into a clear answer - because the structure (a modest base plus a discretionary bonus that can exceed it several times over) does not map onto the base-plus-RSU model every salary site assumes. This report lays the four firms against Big Tech level by level, with the bonus share made explicit.
Published 2026-09-14. Public-source estimates (Beta). Figures are annualized USD total compensation (base + equity + bonus). Free to cite with a link to this page.
Mid-level median $1.0M across the quant firms vs $395K at Big Tech (+155%). Cash share averages 99% vs 68%.
| quant firms | Entry (p50) | Mid (p50) | Senior (p50) | Mid p25 - p90 | Cash share (mid) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hudson River Trading4 levels | $475K | $1.1M | $1.6M | $780K - $2.2M | 100%base $310K + bonus $775K |
| Jane Street4 levels | $450K | $1.1M | $1.7M | $800K - $2.0M | 100%base $325K + bonus $750K |
| Citadel4 levels | $425K | $935K | $1.4M | $680K - $1.8M | 99%base $310K + bonus $620K |
| Two Sigma4 levels | $302K | $505K | $670K | $400K - $840K | 99%base $250K + bonus $250K |
| Big Tech | Entry (p50) | Mid (p50) | Senior (p50) | Mid p25 - p90 | Cash share (mid) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meta5 levels | $220K | $480K | $1M | $390K - $730K | 65%base $245K + bonus $65K |
| Google5 levels | $195K | $410K | $800K | $340K - $580K | 71%base $240K + bonus $50K |
| Apple5 levels | $195K | $395K | $820K | $320K - $590K | 67%base $225K + bonus $40K |
| Amazon5 levels | $170K | $360K | $850K | $290K - $560K | 64%base $185K + bonus $45K |
| Microsoft5 levels | $165K | $340K | $730K | $280K - $500K | 74%base $215K + bonus $38K |
Mid-level median $2.5M across the quant firms vs $840K at Big Tech (+194%). Cash share averages 100% vs 49%.
| quant firms | Entry (p50) | Mid (p50) | Senior (p50) | Mid p25 - p90 | Cash share (mid) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hudson River Trading4 levels | $1.5M | $2.6M | $3.7M | $1.8M - $5.9M | 100%base $435K + bonus $2.2M |
| Jane Street4 levels | $1.5M | $2.6M | $3.6M | $1.8M - $5.5M | 100%base $500K + bonus $2.1M |
| Citadel4 levels | $1.3M | $2.3M | $3.4M | $1.6M - $5.1M | 100%base $435K + bonus $1.9M |
| Two Sigma4 levels | $720K | $1.2M | $1.7M | $900K - $2.4M | 100%base $360K + bonus $870K |
| Big Tech | Entry (p50) | Mid (p50) | Senior (p50) | Mid p25 - p90 | Cash share (mid) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meta4 levels | $510K | $1.1M | $1.4M | $820K - $1.8M | 47%base $370K + bonus $130K |
| Apple4 levels | $440K | $920K | $1.3M | $720K - $1.6M | 48%base $350K + bonus $95K |
| Google4 levels | $430K | $840K | $1.2M | $680K - $1.4M | 51%base $325K + bonus $100K |
| Microsoft4 levels | $360K | $790K | $1.3M | $620K - $1.3M | 56%base $320K + bonus $120K |
| Amazon4 levels | $280K | $620K | $920K | $480K - $1.0M | 44%base $185K + bonus $85K |
At the quant firms the year-end bonus is the compensation; base is a floor. That makes the p25 to p90 spread at a single level far wider than at any Big Tech employer, and it makes the median a weaker guide to an individual offer. A first-year offer at any of the four is typically a guaranteed bonus; after that it tracks desk and firm performance.
The firms run short ladders - four levels where Big Tech runs five or six - and promotion is about scope, not title. The 'senior' figure here is the top of a ladder that most engineers never reach, so compare on entry and mid, and treat the senior row as the ceiling rather than the trajectory.
These numbers are available to a small pool: the loops lean heavily on probability, systems and low-latency C++ or OCaml, and pass rates are low. If the compensation is the reason you are looking, prepare for the loop the firm actually runs rather than a generic FAANG round.
Ranges are aggregated from Levels.fyi public reports, US DOL H-1B disclosures, state pay-transparency postings and public career-page postings, then bucketed into p25/p50/p75/p90 per level. Entry, mid and senior in the summary tables are the p50 total compensation of the first, middle and last level on each company's ladder. Cash share is (base + bonus) / total at the mid level; at the quant firms this is close to 100% because equity is rare. This is a beta dataset refreshed quarterly; treat it as an anchor, not a quote.
Company detail pages list the sources behind each ladder: Jane Street · Citadel · Hudson River Trading · Two Sigma. Corrections: patrick@noblerworks.com.
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