What Top Market Makers Actually Look for in a Head of Trading
The Head of Trading role at a sophisticated market maker is among the most technically demanding senior positions in systematic finance. Here is what separates candidates who get offers from those who don't.
The Role Misunderstood
When a market maker searches for a Head of Trading, they are not looking for a senior execution trader. They are looking for someone who sits at the intersection of systematic strategy, market microstructure, risk management, and technology leadership — and who can perform all four simultaneously under time pressure.
Most candidates who apply for these roles are excellent at one or two of these dimensions. The rare candidates who get offers demonstrate competence across all four.
Dimension 1: Systematic Thinking Under Uncertainty
The best Heads of Trading at market makers think like quant researchers, not just operators. They can articulate why a particular execution approach outperforms alternatives, model the expected value of different risk-management regimes, and identify when a strategy's assumptions have broken down.
In interviews, firms test this by asking candidates to walk through a difficult market event — a flash crash, a liquidity vacuum, an unexpected correlation breakdown — and explain their decision-making in real time. The answer reveals whether the candidate's edge is systematic or intuitive.
Dimension 2: Microstructure Fluency
A Head of Trading who cannot discuss order book dynamics, adverse selection, inventory management, and fill quality at a technical level will not earn the respect of the quantitative trading teams they lead. This is non-negotiable at top-tier market makers.
The test is simple: ask the candidate to explain a specific microstructure problem they solved. Candidates who have solved real problems can explain them precisely. Candidates who haven't speak in generalities.
Dimension 3: Risk Ownership
Senior market makers want a Head of Trading who treats risk limits as minimum standards, not ceilings — someone who will reduce risk proactively when conditions deteriorate rather than waiting for a limit breach. This requires the psychological comfort to accept short-term PnL drag in exchange for long-term capital preservation.
This is a cultural fit question as much as a technical one. Firms assess it by probing the candidate's worst drawdown period in detail.
Dimension 4: Technology Credibility
The candidate does not need to be a developer, but they must be technically credible with the engineering teams who build and maintain the trading infrastructure. The test is whether the candidate asks good questions of the engineers — questions that reveal they understand the system, not just the outputs.
Bayes Group has placed Heads of Trading at market makers and systematic funds across the US, APAC, and Gulf. Speak with us about your next mandate.
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