“Hedge fund gross leverage reached 294% in June 2025 — the highest level in five years.”
In mid-2025, hedge funds running systematic and quantitative strategies are deepening their investment in engineering talent and technology infrastructure. This follows a sharp rise in leverage across the industry, with Goldman Sachs’ prime brokerage unit reporting gross hedge fund leverage at a five-year high. This uptick in risk appetite has been met with a pragmatic shift in hiring: beyond the AI hype cycle, many firms are now prioritising foundational engineering capabilities to support performance and operational resilience. This report presents an evidence-based analysis of hiring patterns, compensation benchmarks and organisational investment across the sector. All source links have been included at the end of this document.
Leverage and Risk Appetite
Goldman Sachs reported in June 2025 that gross hedge fund leverage, calculated as the ratio of long and short positions to capital, has reached its highest level since 2019. The figure now stands at 294%, marking a five-year high. This signals a return to risk-on positioning, particularly among funds seeking to exploit short-term dislocations. In such environments, execution stability and data infrastructure become critical, increasing pressure on engineering and platform teams.
Point72/Cubist and the Global Engineering Expansion
Point72 has emerged as one of the most visible examples of renewed engineering investment, both within the core fund and its systematic unit, Cubist. The firm is currently building new technology hubs in India, London and Poland, with job postings indicating over 70 backend engineering roles in execution systems, market data pipelines and infrastructure platforms with significant focus on supporting Cubist’s expanding trading operations.
Meanwhile, Man Group has significantly increased its focus on engineering hiring in Bulgaria (Sofia), with roles related to execution infrastructure, real‑time data processing and system reliability. This mirrors the growth in Poland and emphasises the broader trend of hedge funds establishing regional engineering hubs to support leveraged trading systems.
A Post-Hype Pivot to Engineering Resilience
While AI and machine learning remain long-term priorities for many hedge funds, recent months have seen a shift in focus. According to HedgeWeek reporting, several large systematic funds have rebalanced their technology hiring away from speculative AI roles and towards foundational software engineering. This includes renewed investment in backend systems, execution pipelines and real-time data handling. Working across the space we can confirm that demand for engineers with experience in high-performance systems has remained strong, particularly in teams responsible for platform stability.
Compensation Insight: US and UK Benchmarks
Conversations with candidates and hiring teams indicate that total compensation for mid to senior engineers at leading hedge funds in the US often ranges from USD 450 000 to 700 000, with some roles, particularly in execution infrastructure or platform teams, reaching even higher. Base salaries typically fall between USD 220 000 and 280 000, with discretionary bonuses and long-term incentive components making up the remainder. These levels match or exceed compensation at Big Tech, with funds offering smaller, more focused teams and direct alignment with business outcomes.
In London, senior engineers supporting core infrastructure or trading systems at top hedge funds regularly see total compensation packages in the GBP 300 000 to 500 000 range. Base salaries commonly land between GBP 130 000 and 160 000, with bonuses linked to individual, team or fund performance. While absolute numbers may trail US peers, some candidates prefer the balance of impact, autonomy and long-term upside sometimes available in London-based roles, especially where engineering teams remain small and tightly integrated with trading desks.
Hiring Focus and Role Clarity
Positions across firms including Point72, Cubist, Schonfeld, Millennium, Citadel and Balyasny Asset Management consistently highlight focus on execution platforms, pricing engines and market data systems. While there is insufficient signal to suggest a sharp increase in this type of hiring relative to recent years, the range of firms investing in backend and infrastructure talent reinforces the trend. The most visible expansion appears to be in core engineering and platform roles, rather than in new function areas.
Implications for Candidates and the Market
Candidates with software engineering experience in high‑performance systems, real‑time data processing or infrastructure design are increasingly being approached by hedge funds. This spans both traditional financial services and Big Tech, where similar skills are cultivated in distributed systems, data platforms and cloud‑scale services.
Firms are placing particular emphasis on candidates with experience in latency‑sensitive environments, familiarity with C++, Python or hybrid stacks, and the ability to manage full software lifecycles in mission‑critical systems. Engineers who can demonstrate an understanding of trading workflows, or show adaptability to develop this fluency quickly, are typically prioritised.
Demand is high, but funds remain selective. Cultural fit, communication skills and an ability to work effectively across quant, trading and operations functions are frequent differentiators. Increasingly, candidates are also being assessed on their ability to contribute to long‑term platform stability rather than short‑term feature delivery.
This market favours those who combine technical depth with a genuine interest in trading mechanisms and who excel in small, high‑impact teams.
Looking Ahead
The combination of increased leverage, rising trading volumes and growing technical complexity has triggered a clear shift across systematic and quantitative hedge funds. Engineering is consistently being viewed as a strategic priority underpinning performance, scale and resilience.
Citadel, Balyasny, Man Group, Schonfeld and Millennium have all advertised significant numbers of roles in execution infrastructure, real-time data platforms and system reliability during the first half of 2025, reinforcing a broader market trend across the systematic space.
Geographic patterns are shifting too. Established hubs such as New York, London and Chicago remain active but regional centres like Poland and Bulgaria are gaining prominence as firms expand engineering capacity beyond traditional locations.
What we are seeing is a clear recalibration of technology priorities. Speculative AI hiring is giving way to a renewed focus on foundational engineering — a reflection of both market maturity and operational necessity. For candidates with the right mix of systems depth and trading fluency, the remainder of 2025 presents a strong window of opportunity.
Sources
- Goldman Sachs Prime Brokerage Report, hedge fund leverage – Reuters, 23 June 2025: https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/hedge-flow-hedge-fund-leverage-reaches-five-year-high-buying-bank-stocks-goldman-2025-06-23/
- Point72 technology hiring expansion – Business Insider, 2 April 2025: https://www.businessinsider.com/point72-cto-ilya-gaysinskiy-tech-talent-ai-plans-hedge-fund-2025-3
- Operational resilience focus post-AI hype – HedgeWeek, 5 June 2025: https://www.hedgeweek.com/hedge-funds-face-ai-hiring-hangover-as-core-tech-role-talent-pipeline-dries-up/
- Citadel and Balyasny job postings – Company websites and public LinkedIn job listings (retrieved June 2025)
- Compensation and tech hiring trends from extensive, anonymous recruiter interviews and client sources