DRW selects its trading interns and graduates in four steps: an application, a timed online test on probability and logic, a Zoom interview and a two-day final round at DRW’s office. This guide covers each round of the interview process and how to prepare.
- Online assessment
You take a timed quantitative challenge on probability and logic at home. Candidates in the 2027 cycle described it as probability questions. - Zoom interview
It lasts about 45 minutes, with a quantitative trader, researcher or developer, and mixes technical and behavioural questions. - Final round
It takes two days at DRW’s office: an afternoon of introductions and a technical challenge, then a full day of technical and behavioural interviews. Candidates describe a data task and several interviews.
In our course
Our DRW lesson in the Company Preparation Course covers the online assessment, the Zoom interview and both days of the final round, including the data project and the market making games. Below are its practice test for the online assessment and the DRW questions in our question bank:
Table of Contents
DRW 2027 internships and graduate roles
The Quantitative Trading Analyst internship runs for 10 weeks. Interns work in a small team on a series of projects, each advised by a trader, complete an options course taught by an experienced trader and a technology immersion course, and present their results to senior leadership at the end. Projects range from analysing macroeconomic data to machine learning on tick data.
- Chicago
DRW posted the US internship on 13 July 2026, for students graduating between December 2027 and June 2028. The application form asks you to rank the US offices you are open to: Austin, Chicago, Greenwich, Houston and New York. For new graduates, DRW posted a Floor Trader role on 16 September 2026, for students graduating between December 2026 and June 2027: you split your time between the Cboe trading floor and DRW’s trading desk. - London
DRW posted the internship on 13 July 2026, for students graduating between December 2027 and August 2028. The form lets you choose a summer internship, an off-cycle internship of 4 to 6 months or an end-of-study internship. A graduate Quantitative Trading Analyst role followed on 7 August 2026, for students graduating between December 2026 and June 2027. - Singapore
Singapore took internship applications for the shortest time. DRW posted the internship on 13 July 2026 and took it down on 10 September 2026. It was for students graduating between December 2027 and October 2028. A graduate Quantitative Trading Analyst role went up the same day, for students graduating between December 2026 and June 2027.
All three internship postings ask for proficient programming in Python, and the graduate Quantitative Trading Analyst postings for familiarity with Python, C++, C or a similar language.
- Your transcript
DRW’s careers pages say an application needs only your CV, but the 2027 forms for the Chicago and London internships, the London graduate role and the Floor Trader role also ask for your most recent transcript. The Singapore forms do not. - Offer deadlines
The Chicago internship, London graduate and Floor Trader forms ask whether you have upcoming offer deadlines, and with which companies.
DRW’s current openings are listed on our DRW company page.
What changed this cycle
- Pay in Chicago
The 2026 internship posting gave a range of $175,000 to $200,000. The 2027 posting states one figure, $250,000. - US graduate roles
The 2026 cycle had a graduate Quantitative Trading Analyst posting in Chicago. By the end of October 2026 there was none for 2027, and the US trading posting for the 2027 graduation window was the Floor Trader role. - One London interview
London reviews from the 2026 cycle describe a separate recruiter or behavioural call before the technical interview. A London candidate in the 2027 cycle reported one 45-minute Zoom interview that mixed probability and behavioural questions.
Discover DRW
Discover DRW is a two-day quantitative trading event in Chicago and London with networking, trading lectures and hands-on quantitative challenges, and strong participants are fast-tracked in the internship interviews. The 2026 edition ran from 31 March to 1 April 2026, for students graduating between December 2027 and June 2028, and DRW provided travel and a hotel. Chicago took students at US universities, London students at UK or European universities. DRW posted it on 15 December 2025, and applications closed on 23 January 2026.
Selection includes an online quantitative assessment at fixed times. In London it took about an hour under proctored conditions over Zoom, and candidates chose one of two sittings. Chicago had a single sitting. A student guide by previous attendees, posted in September 2026, says the test has 5 probability brainteasers and is followed by a mostly behavioural interview.
What DRW pays
- Chicago internship
The posting states “The annual base salary for this position is $250,000.” Interns in Chicago and London get a furnished apartment close to the office, and the Singapore posting does not mention housing. - London and Singapore
The internship and graduate postings give no figure. - Floor Trader, Chicago
The posting states an annual base salary of $200,000, and the role is eligible for an annual discretionary bonus.
Overview of the DRW interview process
DRW’s student pages list the same four steps for interns and graduates:
- Application
DRW reviews applications on a rolling basis, so apply early. - Technical challenge
A timed test at home: depending on the role, a quantitative challenge on probability and logic or a coding challenge on computer science fundamentals. - Zoom interview
A conversation with a quantitative trader, researcher or developer, with technical and behavioural questions. - Final round
Two days at DRW’s office. Day one is an afternoon of introductions followed by a technical challenge, and day two is a full day of technical and behavioural interviews.
There is time to meet potential future teammates on both days of the final round, and the process can differ from these four steps.
How long it takes
For the 2027 internships, candidates took the online assessment in July 2026, soon after the postings went up. One candidate was invited to the Zoom interview about 12 days after the test, in early August. Final rounds followed in September 2026.
Stage 1: DRW online application
You apply on DRW’s website with your CV. The forms also ask for your transcript (except in Singapore), when you finish your studies and, for the US roles, the offices you are open to in order of preference. DRW reviews applications as they come in, so applying soon after the postings go up gives you the most time.
In our course
The DRW lesson of our Company Preparation Course sets out the 2027 programmes, Discover DRW and the timeline of the process, round by round.
Stage 2: the DRW online assessment
DRW’s technical challenge is a timed test you take at home: depending on the role, a quantitative challenge on probability and logic or a coding challenge. Trading candidates describe the quantitative one.
- 2027 cycle
A quantitative trading candidate reported in August 2026 that every question was probability, some manageable and others hard to solve unless you had seen a similar problem before. The same candidate filmed themselves on their phone while taking it. A London intern candidate in the 2027 cycle described a probability and statistics test. - Earlier reports
London reviews for 2026 internships, from interviews in October 2025, describe a 45-minute maths and statistics test and a test of 6 questions. A candidate recalled in August 2026 questions on determinants and correlation matrices in the previous cycle’s test.
In our course
The Round 1 lesson of our DRW course covers the test and contains our DRW Online Assessment practice test: 6 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes, mostly probability.
Stage 3: the DRW Zoom interview
The next step is a Zoom interview with a quantitative trader, researcher or developer, with technical and behavioural questions.
- Length
About 45 minutes. A 2027 internship candidate was invited to a 45-minute call in August 2026, and a London candidate described a 45-minute Zoom interview. - Content
London intern reviews from September 2026 describe probability and behavioural questions in one interview, mainly maths questions from a quantitative trader, and a market making problem built on a probability distribution. - Two calls in London in the 2026 cycle
London reviews for 2026 internships describe a separate call about motivation (why DRW, why quantitative trading, some mental maths) before a technical interview on probability distributions and market making games. - Estimates
A candidate recalled in August 2026 estimation questions that were not hard, judged on how good and how fast the estimates were.
In our course
The Round 2 (& 3) lesson of our DRW course covers the behavioural questions, the facts about DRW worth knowing, and the probability, estimation and market making questions of the technical interview.
Stage 4: the DRW final round
The final round takes two days at DRW’s office: an afternoon of introductions followed by a technical challenge on day one, then a full day of technical and behavioural interviews on day two, with time to meet the team on both days.
Candidates describe a data task and several interviews:
- Data project
A candidate’s final-round invitation in September 2026 set out a 90-minute data project followed by two back-to-back interviews. A Chicago intern candidate, in a review posted in September 2025, described data analysis with an emphasis on building predictive models, and a London review for the 2026 internships a machine-learning data task. - London, 2027 cycle
A candidate reported in September 2026 a data challenge, an HR chat and interviews with two different desks. - Trading games
US candidates described trading games at the final round, including group mock trading with a market on the number of heads in 100 coin flips.
In our course
The Round 4 lesson of our DRW course covers both days, the data project, the interviews and the market making games you can expect.
Quant research and software development at DRW
- Quantitative Researcher
DRW posted research internships in Chicago and New York, London and Singapore on 13 July 2026. Research intern candidates reported getting the online assessment in August 2026, about 5 days after applying. - Software Developer
DRW posted developer internships in Chicago, London, Amsterdam, Montreal and Singapore on 13 July 2026. Depending on the role, the technical challenge is a coding challenge on computer science fundamentals instead of the quantitative one.
How to prepare for DRW
Probability runs through every stage, from the online assessment to the final round, so start there.
- Probability questions
Work through a wide range of probability and statistics questions, including ones you have not seen before. Our question bank has probability and statistics questions and the questions tagged DRW. - Market making
Practise making a market quickly and updating it as new information arrives, both in an interview and in a group trading game. On our site, Make Me a Market and the Cards Game train the interview version and Market of Cards the group game, and our Market Making Games Explained lesson walks you through Make Me a Market and the Cards Game. You can also play Make Me a Market and Market of Cards on Market Making Games, our site for market making practice. - Estimates
Practise giving a reasonable estimate quickly with our Fermi Questions game, also on Market Making Games. - Data in Python
The internship postings ask for proficient Python, and the final round has a data task, so practise analysing a dataset and building a simple predictive model. Our Important Python Libraries lesson covers pandas, NumPy and scikit-learn, and the Linear Regression and Model Evaluation Metrics lessons of our Machine Learning course cover building and testing a model. - Motivation
Prepare answers to why DRW and why quantitative trading. The Round 2 (& 3) topic of our DRW lesson covers the behavioural questions and the facts about DRW worth knowing.
For everything in one place:
- DRW practice hub
Our DRW practice hub puts our DRW practice tests and the training we recommend for DRW on one page. - DRW lesson
For every round with worked examples and a practice test for the online assessment, see the DRW lesson in our Company Preparation Course.
FAQ
Who founded DRW?
Donald R. Wilson Jr. founded DRW in 1992, and the firm is named after him.
Is DRW a hedge fund?
No. DRW trades its own capital at its own risk and has no outside investors.
Where are DRW’s offices?
DRW is headquartered in Chicago and has 13 offices: Chicago, Amsterdam, Austin, Dubai, Greenwich, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Montréal, New York, Palo Alto, Singapore and Tel Aviv.
What does a DRW Floor Trader do?
DRW’s 2027 Floor Trader role in Chicago is a training role for new graduates: you split your time between the Cboe trading floor and DRW’s trading desk, for an annual base salary of $200,000 plus an eligible discretionary bonus.
Does DRW have off-cycle internships?
Yes, in London: the 2027 London internship form offers a summer internship, an off-cycle internship of 4 to 6 months or an end-of-study internship.
What is Discover DRW?
A two-day quantitative trading event in Chicago and London with networking, trading lectures and quantitative challenges, and strong participants are fast-tracked in the internship interviews. The 2026 edition ran from 31 March to 1 April 2026, for students graduating between December 2027 and June 2028.
When does DRW open its internships?
In July. The 2027 internships went up on 13 July 2026, and the 2026 ones between 6 and 14 July 2025. DRW reviews applications on a rolling basis.
How much do DRW interns make?
The 2027 Chicago internship posting states an annual base salary of $250,000, and interns in Chicago and London get a furnished apartment close to the office. The London and Singapore postings give no figure.
Are DRW internships paid?
Yes. The Chicago posting states the salary, and the London and Singapore postings do not list one.
How hard is it to get a DRW internship?
You need to get through four steps: the application, a probability test that a 2027 candidate described as hard in places, a Zoom interview and a two-day final round with a data task. The 2027 Chicago and London forms also ask for your transcript.
Is the DRW online assessment proctored?
It is a timed test you take at home. A candidate reported in August 2026 that you film yourself on your phone while taking it, and the Discover DRW test in London was proctored over Zoom.
How long is the DRW Zoom interview?
About 45 minutes: a 2027 internship candidate was invited to a 45-minute call, and a London candidate described a 45-minute Zoom interview.
What is the DRW superday?
DRW’s final round takes two days at its office: an afternoon of introductions and a technical challenge, then a full day of technical and behavioural interviews. Candidates describe a 90-minute data project and two back-to-back interviews.