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Jane Street

Interviews run as conversations, not quizzes: probability, expected value, making markets and estimation, all reasoned out loud. No finance knowledge, and you code in any language you like.

The Jane Street process

3 of 4 stages you can practise here

  1. 01
    Recruiter Screen30 minchill

    Light, warm, conversational

    curious, organized, and open-mindedmotivation fitproblem-solving mindset
  2. 02
    Phone interviews (remote)

    One or more remote interviews to start. For trading these are conversational probability/logic and market conversations with an actual quant trader; for SWE they are live coding. The interviewer calls you (Zoom if connectivity is poor).

    2 rounds you can practise

    Probability & Expected Value (spoken)45 minrealistic

    Run by an actual quant trader

    approach the problem methodicallycommunicate clearlycorrect your mistakes
    Coding Phone Screen45 minrealistic

    Collaborative, discussion-heavy live coding in your own language and setup

    correctnessdata structures & complexitycommunication
  3. 03
    In-person final round (onsite)

    The final stage is in person: multiple back-to-back interviews mixing probability, a market-making game, estimation, a light coding/data-analysis chat, and fit. Jane Street books and pays for travel and hotel; interviews run weekdays only, dress casual.

    4 rounds you can practise

    Fit / Why Jane Street30 minchill

    Low-key and genuine, not a McKinsey-style structured behavioral

    curious, organized, and open-mindedhumble and open to feedbackcommunicate clearly
    Market-Making Game (spoken)45 minbrutal

    The signature Jane Street round

    expected-value reasoningspread-settingadverse selection
    Estimation & Problem Solving (spoken)30 minrealistic

    Fermi/estimation and open reasoning, plus a light data-analysis and general-interests chat

    structured thinkingnumeracy as a sanity checkcalibration
    Onsite Coding60 minbrutal

    Harder onsite live coding, same collaboration-over-a-right-answer ethos

    correctnessalgorithmic reasoningdebugging under light pressure
  4. 04
    Decision

    Jane Street says you should hear back within about a week after the final stage. Reapplication is explicitly allowed (recommended wait ~1 year).

Common questions

Do I need to know OCaml to interview for software engineering?
No. Jane Street says you can interview in whichever language you know best, and it strongly encourages you not to try OCaml for the first time during the interview. Use the language and setup you're most comfortable with.
Is the trading interview a mental-math quiz?
No. Jane Street says the interview 'will feel a lot more like a conversation than a quiz,' requires no previous finance knowledge, and does not involve complicated math. They often prefer the simple, intuitive answer over one built on esoteric theorems.
Will I fail if I get the wrong final answer?
No. Jane Street explicitly says a wrong final answer is not a fail: 'we care about how you think about and approach tough problems, which includes how you take hints and respond to being wrong.' Their four principles are approach methodically, communicate clearly, correct your mistakes, and ask why.
How is the loop structured?
Publicly it's two stages: one or more remote phone interviews to start, then an in-person final round of back-to-back interviews (Jane Street books and pays for travel). You should hear a decision within about a week, and reapplication is allowed.

Sources

Built from what Jane Street publishes about its own process and from real interview data. No leaked question lists. The questions you get are generated against your own resume, so they are not from anyone else's interview.

Sources last checked . Hiring loops change, so this date is the honest limit on everything above.