Ken Griffin’s Citadel and Citadel Securities are making their largest-ever bet on entry-level talent, launching a record-breaking summer internship program with over 350 interns—the biggest global class to date. The program kicked off with an offsite in Palm Beach, Florida, and comes from a staggeringly selective process: out of more than 115,900 applications, only 0.36% were accepted, a 6.4% increase in applications from last year’s record. Iris Wang, who oversees campus recruitment at Citadel, emphasized that the expansion is driven by the proven value of campus talent, noting the firms are not “headcount-restrained.” This commitment to young hires stands out amid widespread anxiety over AI’s impact on entry-level roles, but aligns with a broader trend among top hedge funds racing to build talent pipelines rivaling those of major Wall Street banks. Competitors like Millennium and Balyasny are also launching new internship and training programs this year.
The internship offers highly competitive compensation: weekly base salaries range from $4,300 to $5,800 depending on role and experience, plus a signing bonus and either corporate housing or a $15,000 housing stipend. The intern class hails from over 90 schools globally, with heavy representation from MIT, the University of Chicago, Stanford, Georgia Tech, and UT Austin. About 90% of interns have technical backgrounds in mathematics, physics, or computer science, while the rest come from finance and economics. The class also boasts more than a dozen USA Computing Olympiad Platinum award winners and 20 International Olympiad medalists. Recruiters Fabian Figi and Iris Wang noted that many interns hold PhDs and that roles in quantitative finance are especially attractive because they integrate cutting-edge technology and AI, offering a long-term bet against workforce disruption. Some AI labs have even attempted to poach top quants from these firms with multimillion-dollar pay packages, underscoring the fierce competition for talent.
Citadel’s recruitment process assessed applicants on AI fluency and judgment, with top candidates distinguished by their adaptability and soft skills rather than just technical expertise. Wang and Figi noted that while traditional STEM degrees remain valued for signaling intellectual rigor and a willingness to tackle hard challenges, the strongest applicants know how to leverage AI tools effectively. This year’s interns will have more time to focus on complex, higher-order problems as AI automates simpler tasks. Evaluation remains centered on impact during the summer: interns work on real business projects with the same AI tools as full-time employees, receive weekly one-on-one feedback, and present their work to leaders Ken Griffin and Citadel Securities CEO Peng Zhao. While the firms have no specific return offer quotas, Figi expects a majority to receive offers, consistent with past years. Notably, campus hires are about twice as likely to become high performers based on annual reviews. “We’re going to continue to have an almost insatiable appetite for exceptional talent,” Figi said, stressing that the firms move “incredibly fast” to secure top candidates once identified.
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