What is working from home like at Susquehanna International Group?

Project led. Learnt a lot

No work from home no allowed

Project led. Learnt a lot

No work from home no allowed

free food and nice perks

No work from home for intenrs

Good benefits, interesting work, good food

Heavy workload, limited work from home options

lunch and breakfast provided, snacks, and large number of vacation days

small bank of sick days, change in wfh policy from 2 days per week to a bank of 52 days in the year, low pay rate

Good Pay, Free Lunch and Breakfast. Encourage poker nights. Regular team outings. One day work from home.

Just one bad apple in the team makes all the difference whether you want to work there or not.

Many of the managers I worked with at SIG, both directly and indirectly, were exceptional. My contributions were genuinely appreciated by my division, and they made sure I knew it. Thanks to my dedication and hard work, I was given outstanding career growth opportunities. For recent college graduates without significant personal responsibilities, SIG can be an excellent choice. The company demands a significant amount of time and commitment, but in return, you’ll gain invaluable experience and knowledge that will serve you well in your career. The people at SIG — the real individuals on the business and technology sides — are truly remarkable. You would be hard-pressed to find people as intelligent, collaborative, and kind as those at SIG. Their warmth and dedication create a unique and supportive work environment. Additionally, the help desk team at SIG is one of the company's unsung heroes. The individuals within End User Support (EUS) are incredibly talented and worth their weight in gold. Every time I reached out for assistance, they were thorough, efficient, and friendly. They exemplify exceptional customer service and an unwavering commitment to their work, yet their efforts often go underappreciated. The same can be said for the kitchen staff who provide the free lunches. These exceptional individuals work hard to ensure the meals are enjoyable, and their kindness and dedication do not go unnoticed. Unfortunately, like many other support roles at SIG, they are severely undervalued. Recognizing and compensating these employees fairly would be a step toward fostering a more equitable and appreciative workplace culture.

My experience at SIG was generally positive, however, please consider the below points: Human Resources at SIG has consistently demonstrated a lack of respect for employee privacy, violating it on multiple occasions. Trust in HR is extremely low, and employees are justified in their skepticism. The company culture clearly values traders above all others. While it’s true that traders generate the firm's revenue, the operational and technology teams are the backbone that supports their success. Unfortunately, this imbalance in recognition and respect is driving valuable talent away. SIG would be wise to reassess its priorities before further talent is lost. For engineers, career growth can be limited by the company’s reliance on proprietary, homegrown platforms. While this environment offers opportunities to develop niche skills, it may restrict future career prospects compared to experience with widely-used technologies. The return-to-office policy has been a significant source of dissatisfaction. After initially offering flexibility, the company reverted to a rigid stance, disregarding the demonstrated productivity of remote work during the pandemic. The inconsistent work-from-home policies are particularly frustrating. While some teams enjoy three remote days a week, others receive none. Managers are often given no remote flexibility at all. Additionally, taking paid time off or even observing a holiday can cost employees a remote work day. The policy reflects a lack of trust in employees to manage their responsibilities independently. The disparity in commuting experiences exacerbates these frustrations. Some employees travel only minutes to the office, while others endure two-hour commutes each way. The dismissive attitude of leadership, suggesting that employees knew what they signed up for pre-COVID, completely ignores the fundamental changes the world has undergone. Many employees experienced a better work-life balance during remote work, leading to greater happiness and productivity. Leadership’s lack of empathy is particularly evident when it comes to employees with children. Unlike some executives who may have access to extensive childcare support, many employees do not. The rigid approach to remote work makes it difficult for working parents to manage childcare emergencies. The limited three-day sick leave policy further compounds this issue. While employees are technically allowed up to seven sick days, using them often results in managerial disapproval. Breaks are also a contentious topic. In some departments, they are neither encouraged nor explicitly permitted. Some teams are even prohibited from stepping outside for a short walk. This micromanagement erodes morale and productivity. Speaking of which, the firm's chat platform of choice is Symphony. While it is designed for financial firms, the vendor's performance leaves much to be desired. This isn’t SIG’s fault, but Symphony’s uptime and reliability are consistently poor, creating unnecessary frustration for employees. On the topic of compensation, while SIG does offer raises, they often fall short of market standards. The firm’s reliance on outdated or manipulated compensation data is widely acknowledged. Employees who seek fair market pay are often better off exploring opportunities elsewhere. Given that SIG’s owner ranks among the wealthiest individuals globally, it is unacceptable that certain employees, including kitchen staff, struggle to earn a livable wage. It’s especially frustrating to witness the firm investing heavily in non-essential amenities like a brand-new gym while refusing to pay employees what they deserve. To be fair, not all aspects of SIG are negative. For those who thrive in high-stress, fast-paced environments, the work can be intellectually stimulating. However, the company’s technical debt is significant, often resulting in an overwhelming workload with little opportunity for meaningful innovation. In conclusion, SIG has significant room for improvement. Respecting employee privacy, valuing non-trader roles, adopting fair and consistent remote work policies, and providing competitive compensation would go a long way toward retaining talent and fostering a healthier workplace culture.

You walk into the office after 9 past the old trading floor shirts framed at the entrance. Maybe they miss the days when they could use hand signals and didn't need to pretend to invest in technology. You leave by 5 sharp and WFH means you lay in bed with Symphony Chat not Teams giving you an occasional nod to change a config.

Technology is called "IT" internally by the quants and traders. You are treated as a support function. The firm struggles to hire experienced external engineering talent and this is one reason why. The APAC office does not do core development. Most of the work is config changes, support, and parameter updates. This is what "releasing features" actually means. There are too many alignment meetings and too many layers of approval for simple changes. Hard to point to real accomplishments when you move on. At some point something breaks in production. You open Remote Desktop Connection because the automated trading strategies run on a Windows GUI box in the colocation facility. You are now staring at a Windows desktop with a taskbar and icons. You double-click the right ones. This is the disaster recovery procedure for a system moving real capital through real markets. There is no CLI, no API, no automated failover. There is you, a mouse cursor, and a Start menu. You fix it like you're helping your dad find his email and go back to your snack break. Most of the other developers come from banking IT backgrounds, not systems or quant engineering. Compensation is very flat across different ability levels. They recently increased graduate pay without adjusting senior pay, so a new grad now earns roughly the same as someone who has been there for several years or even a decade. People who deliver a lot and people who deliver nothing are paid roughly the same. Good luck motivating anyone. Retention of good people is very poor. People leave quickly once they see the setup.

- Food is free - nurse on-site is nice to have for minor illnesses (however, just another way to keep employees in the office)

- management does not take feedback, whether good or bad, they do not like to be questioned whatsoever. They will let you go without blinking twice - you are a sheep, easily replaced - breaks and home life are not respected - training is terrible. - racist- I am a white female and was getting paid 20k more than an African American female who had been there longer than me and had more experience than me. - constant protestors in the parking lot

good pay for the position

Work from home is not supported