Citadel Securities Intern Quantitative Researcher Interview Experience — Six Weeks after a Virtual Onsite

I interviewed with a small Citadel Securities alpha-capture team in New York. There was no online assessment. Two technical interviews covered my doctoral research and internship projects, and subsequent interviews were arranged quickly, often the same day.

An internship conflict prevented an in-person onsite, so I completed four virtual rounds. One explored ordinary least squares, lasso, and ridge under different correlation conditions. Two revisited projects in greater depth with earlier interviewers and discussed ideas for the internship. A last-minute interviewer change led to a broader discussion of language-model fundamentals.

Then the process stalled. I followed up every two weeks and repeatedly heard that a response might come that week while other interviews continued. I was rejected after six weeks and felt frustrated by the wait.