Brittany on Software Engineering and Internships at Jane Street

RESUMEN

En 30 segundos

Brittany, a software engineer on Jane Street’s equities desk in Hong Kong, describes her experience as an intern and full-time employee. She emphasizes curiosity, practical learning, collaboration and the value of colleagues who are both capable and kind.

1Finance can be learnedBrittany had no finance experience when she joined as an intern; classes introduced trading and finance.
2Real intern projectsInterns take on meaningful work that full-time engineers would otherwise do, sometimes creating systems with lasting value.
3Learning OCaml and internal toolsA boot camp introduces new interns and full-time hires to OCaml and internal libraries.
4Working with traders and researchersClose collaboration gives Brittany fast feedback and a view of how her work helps others.

Conclusiones

Applicants do not need prior finance experience, but should be curious and willing to learn.
Interns work on challenging projects that can continue to provide value after the internship.
A boot camp introduces new hires to OCaml and internal libraries.
Working closely with traders and researchers provides a tight feedback loop.

TemasSoftware engineering Careers Onboarding Company Culture

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Background and learning finance

Brittany introduces her role on the equities desk in Hong Kong. She says finance experience is not required and describes classes for new interns.

I’m a software engineer on the equities desk in Hong Kong, where I’ve worked since 2020. When I applied to Jane Street, I had no finance experience; you do not need it to apply. As an intern, I attended classes introducing trading and finance. What matters more is being curious and willing to learn unfamiliar concepts.

Intern projects and technical onboarding

Interns take on meaningful work, while full-time projects tend to have a larger scope. Brittany describes OCaml boot camp and learning internal systems through projects.

Interns work on challenging, meaningful projects that full-time employees would otherwise take on. Those projects often continue to be useful: I have talked to people about a system and learned that it began as their intern project. The internship reflects full-time work reasonably well, although full-time projects tend to have a larger scope.

Before joining, I had taken courses in functional programming. New interns and full-time employees attend an OCaml boot camp that brings them up to speed and introduces internal libraries. Working on a wider range of projects exposes you to more of those libraries; digging into how something works is a great way to learn the internal systems.

Skills, collaboration and culture

Brittany values technical foundations, curiosity and multiple perspectives. She describes working with traders and researchers and an accessible, supportive workplace.

Software engineering is technical, so a foundation in data structures and algorithms is useful. But I think intellectual curiosity and a willingness to approach problems from different perspectives are more valuable than anything learned in one particular course.

Collaboration is a big part of the culture. On the desk I work closely with traders and researchers, which I enjoy because the feedback loop is tight. It is easy to see how my work affects what other people do and adds value to the firm.

The workplace feels open: it is easy to approach anyone with a question or an idea, whether they have been here for one year or ten. One of my favorite things is the people I work with every day. They are smart, humble and kind, and they care about one another as well as the firm.