What to Expect at a Maven Securities Interview
Maven Securities starts with one or more online assessments, chosen by programme: mental maths, probability, coding and a game-based Arctic Shores test. Trader candidates then describe a recorded video interview, an HR and technical interview, and a final round with senior traders built around market-making games. Maven says it aims to respond within two weeks of your online assessment. Expect heavy emphasis on mental maths and probability throughout, in keeping with Maven's identity as an options and derivatives market maker.
This guide covers what actually happens at each stage, the question types candidates report most often, and how to prepare for the trader, quant researcher and software engineer tracks. For background on the firm itself, its history and culture, see the Maven Securities firm page, and for how Maven compares to the other big London market makers, see our London prop trading firms guide.
Maven Securities at a Glance
Maven Securities was founded in London in 2011 and has grown into one of the leading options and derivatives market makers in Europe. Its graduate trading programmes are advertised in London, Amsterdam and Chicago, and it also hires in Hong Kong. Unlike Optiver and IMC Trading, which are headquartered in Amsterdam with large London offices, Maven is genuinely a London-native firm, which shapes its culture toward something candidates consistently describe as flatter and more entrepreneurial than some of its larger, more bureaucratic competitors.
The firm runs discretionary, systematic and pure market-making strategies side by side rather than specialising narrowly in one, and it is known for a strong structured training programme for new traders. Maven hires primarily for three tracks: Quantitative Trader, Quantitative Researcher and Software Engineer, with all three sitting close to the trading floor rather than in a separate technology silo.
The Process, Stage by Stage
Stage 1: Online Assessments
What Maven says. Its Emerging Talent page says "you may be asked to complete one or more online assessments. The assessments you complete will depend on the programme and business area you have applied to." It names four:
- Numerical, "designed to understand your mental maths ability". Maven itself suggests practising on Zetamac.
- Probability, with a published example (worked below).
- Coding, with a HackerRank practice test linked from the page.
- Arctic Shores, "a task-based assessment which measures a range of cognitive skills and traits".
Maven aims to respond within two weeks of your online assessment. You can make one Emerging Talent application per year across all regions, and if unsuccessful you can reapply the following year.
What candidates report, for trader roles:
- Mental maths: 50 questions in five minutes, with no calculator or paper. About four sources agree, including a candidate post from August 2026.
- Sequences: 30 number and letter sequences in six minutes.
- Probability: 18 questions in 30 minutes, with three sources reporting -1 for a wrong answer.
- Arctic Shores: five short games, though sources disagree on which ones.
- A recorded video interview, with questions such as "What are you passionate about outside your academic life?" and "If today is Monday, what day will it be in 80 days?" (Thursday: 80 days is 11 weeks and three days).
The order of the tests varies between reports, and the invites describe webcam proctoring.
A new format in 2026. Two candidate sources from August 2026 describe a changed test: typed answers rather than multiple choice, a probability section of "20 questions, 10 minutes" with instructions not to use "pen and paper, a calculator, AI", and a new estimation section where you give an 80% confidence interval for an unknown quantity. Maven has not described the change publicly, so follow the instructions on your own invite. An earlier format, reported in 2022, had 40 mental maths questions in six minutes, so the numbers have moved before.
Research candidates report maths and statistics tests plus a coding test and a video interview. Software candidates get the HackerRank coding test, which one Chicago graduate in October 2025 called "notably challenging".
Stage 2: HR and Technical Interview
For traders, candidates describe an HR conversation and a technical interview on probability, brainteasers and market making, done without paper. One London intern in November 2025 described a 15-minute first interview covering mental percentages, a confidence interval and whether 10^40 or 40! is larger. Software candidates describe a 30-minute HR call.
Stage 3: Final Round
For traders, a final round of one to four hours with senior traders: card-based market-making games and Fermi estimates. For software candidates, a final presenting a project to two engineers. Candidates put the whole process at anywhere from under a month to three months.
For the experienced-hire route, Maven describes a separate three-stage process where technical tests "vary in type and number depending on the role".
Question Themes You'll Actually See
Mental Maths and Probability
Traders see the most of this, from the five-minute online test through to interviews where you work without paper. Expect two and three-digit multiplication, percentage calculations, and quick division under a tight clock, alongside conditional probability and expected value problems. Candidates report the bar being calibrated for near-perfect accuracy at speed rather than for solving unusually hard problems slowly.
Market-Making and Trading Games
The trading simulation on assessment day is the centrepiece of the trader track. You are typically given an uncertain payoff, such as the value of a synthetic asset or the sum of several dice rolls, and asked to quote a bid and ask. The interviewer then trades against you, and what matters most is whether you update your price sensibly as trades reveal information, not whether you land on the "correct" fair value immediately.
Options and Derivatives Theory
Because Maven specialises in options and derivatives market making, later-stage interviews for trader and research candidates often include questions on how the Greeks behave, how implied volatility relates to expected price movement, and basic intuition around skew. You are not expected to derive Black-Scholes from scratch, but you should be comfortable discussing why an option's delta or vega changes as the underlying moves.
Coding (Software Engineer Track)
Engineering candidates face standard algorithmic coding covering arrays, hash maps and graph problems, plus questions on how you would design components of a trading system, such as an order book or a market data handler, with attention to correctness under concurrent updates.
Sample Questions
Maven's own probability example. You roll an eight-sided die and stop after two 8s in a row. What is the expected number of rolls?
Approach: Let p = 1/8. Set up states: E0 from scratch and E1 just after an 8. E1 = 1 + (1/8)(0) + (7/8)E0, and E0 = 1 + (1/8)E1 + (7/8)E0. The second gives E0 = 8 + E1, and substituting gives E0 = 72. The shortcut for two successes in a row is 1/p + 1/p², which is 8 + 64.
10^40 or 40!? (reported by a candidate, November 2025)
Approach: Stirling's approximation says n! is roughly (n/e)^n times √(2πn). Since 40/e is about 14.7, which is more than 10, (40/e)^40 alone is bigger than 10^40. So 40! is larger, by about eight orders of magnitude (40! is roughly 8 × 10^47).
Market-making a synthetic payoff. I roll two fair six-sided dice and will pay you the product of the two results in pounds. Make me a two-way market.
Approach: E[product] = E[X] times E[Y] for independent dice = 3.5 times 3.5 = 12.25. A reasonable opening market is 11 at 13.5, wide enough to protect against adverse selection before you have any information about which side the interviewer wants to trade. If they buy repeatedly at your offer, shift your fair value estimate upward and narrow the spread as you gain confidence.
Conditional probability. A box contains three coins: one fair, one that always lands heads, and one that always lands tails. You pick a coin at random and flip it twice, getting heads both times. What is the probability you picked the fair coin?
Approach: Apply Bayes' theorem. P(fair) = 1/3, P(HH given fair) = 1/4, P(HH given always-heads) = 1, P(HH given always-tails) = 0. P(fair given HH) = (1/3 times 1/4) divided by (1/3 times 1/4 + 1/3 times 1 + 1/3 times 0) = (1/12) divided by (5/12) = 1/5, or 20%.
How the Three Tracks Differ
| Dimension | Quantitative Trader | Quantitative Researcher | Software Engineer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online assessment | Mental maths, sequences, probability, Arctic Shores, video interview | Maths and statistics tests, coding, video interview | HackerRank coding |
| Final round focus | Card market-making games, Fermi estimates | Technical and statistical discussion | Project presentation to engineers |
| Options theory depth | Moderate to high | Moderate | Low |
| Typical background | Maths, physics, engineering | Maths, statistics, physics, often a master's | Computer science, strong Python or C++ |
| Brainteaser frequency | High | Moderate | Low |
Candidates without a finance background should not be put off the software engineer track in particular, since the bar there is focused on engineering fundamentals rather than market knowledge. For a sense of how Maven's process compares with the other big London market makers, our London prop trading firms guide and Optiver interview guide are useful companion reading.
A Four-Week Preparation Plan
Week 1: Mental arithmetic. Daily practice on Zetamac (Maven's own suggestion) or our mental math trainer, working toward 50 accurate answers in five minutes on two and three-digit multiplication, percentages and division. Add number and letter sequences.
Week 2: Probability and Bayes' theorem. Drill conditional probability problems daily and revisit expected value calculations until they are close to automatic. Our probability for quant finance guide covers the underlying theory in more depth.
Week 3: Options intuition and market-making practice. Read the basics of how the Greeks behave and practise quoting two-way markets on simple payoffs with a study partner, adjusting your price as they trade against you.
Week 4: Estimation and mock final. Practise giving 80% confidence intervals for unknown quantities and saying your reasoning aloud, since the 2026 test reportedly includes this. Then run a mock final covering mental maths, a card market-making game and Fermi estimates back to back. Our market making interview questions cover the game formats.
What Maven Looks For Beyond Technical Skill
Composure while trading against a live counterparty. The market-making game is designed to see whether you can hold a clear head while your prices are being tested, not whether you land on the mathematically perfect quote immediately.
Willingness to update. Interviewers watch closely for whether you adjust your price sensibly when new information arrives, or whether you anchor stubbornly on your first estimate regardless of what happens next.
A genuinely entrepreneurial mindset. Given Maven's flatter structure relative to some larger competitors, the firm favours candidates who can describe taking ownership of a problem rather than simply executing instructions.
Compensation & recruiting notes
Maven runs a well-defined graduate programme in London that is more standardised than most of its private-firm peers, though content still varies between the trader, researcher and engineer tracks and between offices. This guide is drawn from candidate reports, recruiter commentary and public sources; nothing here guarantees any specific interview format, question or outcome, particularly for later hiring cycles where trading simulation formats have shifted before.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many interview rounds does Maven Securities have?
For traders, candidates describe online assessments (including a recorded video interview), an HR and technical interview, and a final round of one to four hours with senior traders. Reports put the whole process at anywhere from under a month to three months. Maven says it aims to respond within two weeks of your online assessment.
What is on the Maven Securities online assessment?
Maven names four possible assessments: numerical (mental maths), probability, coding on HackerRank and a game-based Arctic Shores test, with the set depending on your programme. Trader candidates report 50 mental maths questions in five minutes, 30 sequences in six minutes and 18 probability questions in 30 minutes with negative marking. A reported 2026 version adds typed answers and a confidence-interval estimation section.
Is the Maven Securities maths test as hard as Optiver's?
It is shorter and faster: candidates report 50 questions in five minutes against Optiver's 80 in eight, with no calculator or paper. Both reward very high accuracy under time pressure, and both sit alongside probability tests that matter as much as the arithmetic.
Can I reapply to Maven Securities?
Yes, the following year. Maven's FAQ says unsuccessful applicants can reapply the following year, and you can make one Emerging Talent application per year across all regions.
Do I need a finance background to interview at Maven Securities?
No. Maven hires from mathematics, physics, engineering and computer science, and many successful traders have no formal finance education. What matters most is quantitative reasoning speed, comfort with probability, and composure in the trading simulation.
What is the Maven Securities trading game like?
You are typically given an uncertain payoff, such as a synthetic asset value or the outcome of dice rolls, and asked to quote a two-way price. The interviewer then trades against you, and the assessment focuses on whether you adjust your price sensibly as information arrives rather than on hitting the theoretically perfect fair value from the outset.
How does Maven Securities compare to Optiver and IMC Trading?
All three are options and derivatives market makers with broadly similar interview content, but Maven is genuinely headquartered in London rather than running a satellite office of an Amsterdam firm, which contributes to a culture candidates describe as flatter and more entrepreneurial. See our IMC Trading interview guide for how that firm's process compares in detail.
What roles does Maven Securities hire for?
Maven's three main technical tracks are Quantitative Trader, Quantitative Researcher and Software Engineer, based primarily in London, with graduate trading programmes also advertised in Amsterdam and Chicago. For a wider view of London-based market makers and prop trading firms hiring similar roles, see our prop trading firms guide.
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