Pleasant trading firm paying juniors $500k not immune to AI firms poaching its staff
As we have observed here on a few occasions, working for Hudson River Trading (HRT) has traditionally been a kind of nirvanic experience for software developers and quants. But there are lately indications that greater rapture may be on offer elsewhere.
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In the past year, various members of HRTs development team have left for artificial intelligence start-ups. Many seem to be the sorts of up-and-coming junior technologists that HRT might have wanted to keep.
At least two have gone to OpenAI, whose propensity for hiring from trading firms is well known. Julius Vering, an algorithm developer who spent two and a half years at HRT, left for OpenAI in February. Aleksandr Efremov, a quant researcher and algo developer, left in April.
OpenAI isn't the only AI firm sniffing around HRT's people. Insiders point out that Evan Vogelbaum, another algo developer, left in April for Reducto, an API that uses AI to turn documents into data. Andy Hwang, a member of HRT's HAIL (AI Lab) left last July and initially turned up at OpenAI before moving again to Thinking Machines Lab, an AI firm founded by Mira Murati, the former chief technology officer of OpenAI, in August.
And beyond AI, Ian Minxing Chen, a London based HRT quant researcher, left for Ergonia, a defi start-up backed by DRW in April.
The exits are not entirely surprising in light of the enormous packages OpenAI has been offering and the rush of people who want to work there. However, HRT has traditionally had a reputation for retaining its staff through a combination of high pay, fine snacks, and a strong culture of kindness and collaboration. In this way, it is less intense than some rivals.
Pay at HRT is still high. Levels.fyi says junior software engineers at HRT are on $500k packages. However, there are suggestions that the culture at HRT has changed in recent years following an influx of external hires. People appear more susceptible to being hired by AI firms as a result.
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