About Careertakes

👉 Important disclosure: Careertakes is a third-party recruiting platform supporting this hiring process. If selected, you will be employed directly by our client, proprietary trading / financial services.

Applicants for this role may also receive access to additional matched opportunities through the Careertakes platform.

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Overview

Junior Fixed Income Relative Value Trader — Chicago, IL. Confidential Client is hiring an ambitious, technically-capable trader to work directly with the head of a fixed-income relative-value trading desk. This fast-paced proprietary trading role offers steep learning, hands-on exposure to portfolio construction, trade execution, quantitative research, technology development, and risk management from day one.

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Key Responsibilities

• Work directly with the head of the trading desk on live positions, research, execution, and risk management
• Monitor fixed-income markets, relative-value relationships, portfolio exposures, and trading opportunities
• Build and improve analytical tools, trading systems, data pipelines, dashboards, and automated workflows
• Research new strategies and test ideas using market data and quantitative methods
• Investigate pricing discrepancies and explain drivers of market and portfolio performance
• Execute accurately under pressure and follow through on operational responsibilities
• Own critical operational details that cannot be allowed to fail
• Learn the desk’s investment process and gradually assume greater trading and risk-taking responsibility

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Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in economics, mathematics, statistics, physics, computer science, engineering, or another rigorous quantitative discipline
• Strong quantitative reasoning and the ability to think clearly under pressure
• Genuine interest in markets, trading, technology, and risk
• Rapid learner who turns unfamiliar concepts into productive work
• Exceptional attention to detail — small mistakes matter in trading
• Strong ownership instincts; you identify problems and solve them proactively
• Resilience to handle direct feedback, demanding standards, and periods of intense work
• Willingness and ability to work full-time from the Chicago, IL office for at least the first 18 months
• Direct fixed-income or trading-desk experience is valuable but not required if you can demonstrate exceptional ability, curiosity, and drive

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Career Trajectory

• Not a conventional entry-level role — the expectation is rapid responsibility and impact
• Initial goal: become indispensable to the head of the desk; over time you will be given autonomy to research strategies, propose trades, build systems, and manage risk
• Long-term path: develop original ideas, establish a track record, and earn the opportunity to manage your own portfolio

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Benefits & Compensation

• Estimated salary (per source): $70,192 per year (estimated)
• Competitive base salary plus discretionary performance bonus
• Discretionary bonus eligibility
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• HSA, FSA, and dependent care options
• Employer-paid group term life and AD&D insurance; voluntary LTD and life options
• Flexible vacation policy
• Retirement plan with employer match

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Location & On-site requirement

This role is based in Chicago, IL. Candidates must be willing and able to work on-site in the Chicago office for the initial period (at least the first 18 months) as described above.

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Equal Opportunity & Hiring Transparency

Careertakes and our client are Equal Opportunity Employers committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We prohibit discrimination or harassment of any kind. To support a fair and efficient hiring process, AI tools may be used to assist with application review or resume screening. These tools do not replace human decision-making. Final hiring decisions are made by people.

If you have questions about how your data is used, please contact us directly.