Jane Street vs. Citadel: What's the Difference?

When aspiring quants think of "top tier", two names almost always come up: Jane Street and Citadel. While they often compete for the same talent talent, their cultures, business models, and interview styles are distinct.

The Business Model

Jane Street (The Prop Shop)

Jane Street is a Proprietary Trading Firm. They trade their own money. Their bread and butter is market making—providing liquidity to ETFs and other instruments. They are known for using functional programming (OCaml) and having a very flattened, collaborative culture.

Citadel (The Hedge Fund)

Citadel (and Citadel Securities) operates as both a hedge fund and a market maker. The hedge fund side (Citadel LLC) manages outside capital. Their culture is known to be more competitive and siloed, but arguably more meritocratic with lower base pay but potentially uncapped upside for top performers.

The Interview Differences

What Jane Street Looks For

Jane Street interviewers often act as collaborators. They will give you a vague problem and expect you to ask clarifying questions. They love "games" where you have to bet on an outcome, testing your risk tolerance and ability to think in expected value (EV).

What Citadel Looks For

Citadel interviews can be more traditional. For Quant Dev roles, expect heavy C++ and OS internals. For Quant Research, expect heavy statistics and large dataset manipulation questions. They want to see that you can work hard and execute quickly.

Which One Should You Choose?

If you love pure math, puzzles, and a laid-back wearing-jeans-to-work culture, Jane Street is the dream. If you want to be close to the markets, thrive in high-pressure environments, and want to test your mettle against the best, Citadel is the place.