The Old Mission Capital Interview Process

Old Mission Capital runs a compact process where working traders test options pricing and hedging judgment across just a few interview rounds.

Old Mission Capital's interview process follows the same broad shape as other Chicago-based options and ETF market makers, an early quantitative screen followed by interviews built around options pricing and hedging, run at a scale small enough that candidates typically interact with several senior traders directly rather than a large standardized recruiting team.

Old Mission Capital is an options and ETF market maker based in Chicago, quoting prices and managing risk across listed derivatives in a business model closely related to larger peers in the options market-making industry. The firm's smaller size means new hires typically sit close to experienced traders from the start, and the interview process is built to identify candidates who will pick up that floor-based mentorship quickly rather than candidates who already know the material cold.

Because the trading floor is compact, communication style matters as much as raw quantitative ability, and interviewers commonly weigh how clearly a candidate explains a decision alongside whether the decision itself was correct.

Candidates typically start with an online assessment or an initial phone interview covering probability and quantitative reasoning, followed by one or two further rounds with traders from the desk that is hiring. A final round, often condensed given the firm's smaller recruiting scale, combines technical questions about options behavior with a conversation about fit on a specific desk.

Old Mission's smaller applicant pool per cycle generally means fewer rounds overall compared to the largest market makers in this series, with candidates reporting a process that can conclude in as few as three total interviews for some roles.