Machine Learning Quantitative Researcher

Stormlight Capital

Machine Learning Quantitative Researcher

Chicago, IL
Full Time
Paid
  • Responsibilities

    Benefits:

    Bonus based on performance

    Flexible schedule

    Home office stipend

    Opportunity for advancement

    Paid time off

    Profit sharing

    Signing bonus

    About Stormlight Capital

    Stormlight Capital LLC is a high-frequency trading firm and market maker specializing in event contracts. Leveraging advanced technology and quantitative expertise, we deliver deep liquidity, efficient pricing, and robust risk management for our proprietary trading strategies. Continuous innovation and disciplined execution keep us at the forefront of event-based markets.

    Role Summary

    You will spearhead research initiatives that transform large‑scale textual and structured datasets into systematic trading signals. Working closely with portfolio managers, data engineers, and software developers, you will own the full research lifecycle—from idea generation and data acquisition through model development, back‑testing, and hand‑off to production.

    What You’ll Do

    Identify predictive patterns in alternative textual and tabular data sources

    Mine time‑series and cross‑sectional relationships in high‑frequency and daily tabular data

    Build and compare NLP architectures (transformers, embeddings, topic & sentiment models)

    Develop statistical and machine‑learning models (linear factor, tree‑based, gradient boosting, neural nets) that combine text‑derived features with numeric factors

    Construct robust, transaction‑cost‑aware back‑tests

    Partner with Data Engineering to scale data pipelines and feature stores

    Work with Portfolio Engineering to integrate signals into systematic strategies and monitor live performance

    Present findings to senior leadership; contribute to Stormlight’s research culture through white‑papers, internal talks, and code reviews

    Minimum Qualifications

    Education – M.S. or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Statistics, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Applied Math, or a related quantitative field

    Programming – Expert‑level Python (pandas, NumPy, PyTorch or TensorFlow, scikit‑learn); solid SQL; version control (git)

    NLP & ML – Hands‑on experience training and fine‑tuning large language models, embeddings, and classical NLP pipelines; strong grasp of supervised learning, regularization, cross‑validation, and hyper‑parameter optimization

    Data Handling – Comfort manipulating TB‑scale datasets; proficiency with Spark, Dask, or comparable distributed frameworks

    Research Rigor – Track record of designing repeatable experiments, performing thorough statistical validation, and communicating uncertainty

    Communication – Ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear, actionable insights for stakeholders

    Preferred/Bonus Skills

    Prior alpha‑research or risk‑modeling experience in equities, futures, options, or FX

    Familiarity with market microstructure and execution cost modeling

    Contributions to open‑source ML/NLP projects or published research

    Why Stormlight

    Impact from Day 1 – Your models feed directly into active portfolios

    Research‑First Culture – time for blue‑sky experimentation; regular reading groups

    Competitive Total Compensation – Base salary, performance‑linked bonus, and profit‑share.

    Flexibility – Hybrid schedule or fully remote in a US‑friendly time zone

    This is a remote position.