Source: news.efinancialcareers.com
Sending your resume to a firm through a generic HR inbox tends not to be the best way to get noticed, particularly if there isn’t a current opening that’s a perfect fit for your background. It’s therefore in your best interest to know the person who acts as the gatekeeper one step beyond human resources. If you want a data science role at Point72, that person just revealed themselves.
The new senior recruiter for Point72’s market intelligence group – made up of data scientists and engineers – is veteran recruiter Andy Legg. What should be particularly helpful is that Legg has spent the last decade specializing in tech recruiting at hedge funds with a recent focus on data scientists and quants. He recently worked at rival AQR Capital Management after a long stint at GQR Capital Markets. His experience suggests he’ll know much more than just the buzz words that are often used in data science job descriptions.
One of the more interesting aspects of Point72’s market intelligence group is the end goal that the fund has for new hires. Speaking at the AI and Data Science and Trading Conference earlier this year, Matthew Granade, Point72’s chief market intelligence officer, said the firm hopes to eventually transition its data scientists toward the front-office. “Over time, we look to move them to revenue-generating roles,” he said. “We find that’s a really important part of the pitch [to candidates] as well.”
Point72 also utilizes a different organizational strategy when it comes to the hires that Legg will be working on. Granade said that Point72 has built a separate team just for its group of data scientists, siloing them from the firm’s general technology division – a move that likely cuts down on the bureaucracy that can accompany larger organizational structures.
While compensation for data scientists is discretionary, particularly for those connected to the front-office, Point72 told eFinancialCareers last month that interns within its market intelligence group earn a prorated salary of $80k plus a $5k signing bonus. Take that for what it’s worth.