IMC Trading is a market maker founded in Amsterdam with major offices in Chicago and Sydney. Engineering interviews test coding and systems; trader interviews test numeric speed and probability, and IMC also runs a well-known student trading challenge called Prosperity. This page covers what IMC Trading builds and who it hires, the process candidates commonly report, the technical depth the teams care about, representative problem types, what interviewers score, and a three-week prep plan.
What IMC Trading builds and who it hires
IMC's engineers build the trading platform, research tools and infrastructure in C++, Java and Python. Traders run market-making strategies and rely on the platform being fast and correct.
- Software engineers: trading platform and tools.
- Hardware engineers: FPGA and low latency.
- Traders: market making and risk.
- Quantitative researchers: models and data.
What the process tends to look like
| Stage | What happens | How to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| Online assessment | Commonly reported: an online coding test for engineers; numerical tests for traders | Timed problems with hidden test cases; check edge cases before submitting |
| Phone or video interviews | Technical interviews on algorithms and systems for engineers | Explain approach and complexity before coding |
| Final round | A final round of several interviews, including design and team conversations | Rehearse systems depth and one project deep dive |
Processes differ by team, level and office and change over time, so treat this as the common shape candidates report and confirm the specifics with your recruiter.
Coding, systems and numeric tests
Low-latency C++. Know object layout, virtual dispatch costs, templates versus runtime polymorphism, cache lines and false sharing, and why allocation on the hot path is avoided.
Java and Python too. Not every IMC team writes C++. Know your interview language's memory model and concurrency tools as well as you know its syntax.
Trader-style reasoning. Trader candidates report fast arithmetic, sequences and probability. IMC's Prosperity challenge is a good way to practice algorithmic trading ideas before applying.
Representative problem types
These are the kinds of problems candidates describe, not a leaked question list. Practice the category, not the exact question.
- Implement matching for limit and market orders.
- Calculate rolling profit and loss over a stream of trades.
- Design a service that distributes reference data to many systems.
- Find the k most active instruments in a time window.
- Concurrency questions on locks, atomics and queues.
- Expected value questions with simple games.
- Algorithm problems under a time limit.
What interviewers score
- Correctness first: edge cases, overflow and off-by-one errors matter more here than elsewhere, because a bug costs money.
- Speed of reasoning: how quickly you reach a correct approach and how you check it.
- Low-level understanding: what your code costs in memory, cache misses and system calls.
- Clear thinking under pressure: saying what you are unsure of and how you would test it.
The behavioral side
Technical rounds decide most outcomes, but every IMC Trading loop also asks about how you work. Prepare a short story for each of these, with a result and what you learned:
- A mistake you made and what you changed. Trading firms value people who own errors quickly, because errors cost money.
- A decision under uncertainty. Explain what you knew, what you did not, and how you updated.
- Why trading, and why this firm? Be specific about the problems that interest you: speed, markets, research or infrastructure.
Structures and sample answers for the common questions are in our software engineer behavioral answers guide.
A three-week prep plan
- Week 1: algorithms at speed: two medium or hard problems a day under a 30-minute limit, with complexity stated aloud.
- Week 2: systems depth: C++ memory and object layout, concurrency primitives, Linux and networking basics, plus probability practice if the role touches trading.
- Week 3: mixed mock interviews, one per day, and a review of every bug you made so you stop repeating them.
For other trading firms, compare Jane Street, Citadel and Two Sigma, and read the Citadel online assessment for a typical HackerRank screen.
Where CoPilot Interview fits
Most of a IMC Trading loop is spoken: you explain an approach, defend a trade-off and talk through your past work. CoPilot Interview is an AI interview assistant whose free AI mock interview builds technical and behavioral questions from your résumé and the job description, reads them aloud and scores each spoken answer out of ten, so you can rehearse the explanation as well as the code. The free plan gives 15 minutes a day of live help in sessions of up to 15 minutes, with AI mock interviews included. Online assessments and many coding rounds forbid outside help, so practice beforehand and follow your employer's rules on the day.
Disclosure: CoPilot Interview is our product, so weigh what we say about it accordingly.
Frequently asked questions
What programming language should I use in a IMC Trading interview?
C++, Java and Python, depending on the team. Use the language of the team you applied to where you can.
Does IMC Trading send an online assessment?
Early-career engineering applicants commonly report an online coding test; trader applicants report numerical and reasoning tests.
How should I prepare for IMC Trading coding questions?
Practice the problem categories above under time limits, explain every solution out loud, and spend the last week on the team's domain. Review the C++ or language fundamentals the role lists, because IMC Trading interviewers tend to follow a working solution with questions about cost and trade-offs.
Can I use AI tools in a IMC Trading interview?
Only if the instructions you receive say so. Online assessments and live coding rounds generally forbid outside help, and some companies now state their AI policy in the invitation. Use AI to practice beforehand, and follow your employer's rules.
Practice this interview before the real one
The AI mock interview builds questions from your resume and the job description, reads them aloud and scores each spoken answer out of 10. Included on the free plan.
Start a mock interview