At a Glance
- Tasks: Develop and implement quantitative tools to enhance trading performance in London.
- Company: Join a leading investment firm with a focus on innovation and analytics.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, dynamic work environment, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Collaborate with senior traders and contribute to cutting-edge investment decision-making.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by driving high-value trading strategies and leveraging AI technology.
- Qualifications: 7-12 years in quantitative finance with strong programming skills in Python.
The predicted salary is between 99000 - 121000 £ per year.
We are seeking a Principal to join Apollo’s PM & Trading Strats team within Global Corporate Credit (GCC), based in London. GCC Strats sits inside the business and serves as the technical and quantitative resource for PM and Trading. In this role, you will work directly with senior traders and business leadership to identify opportunities, develop ideas, and drive execution on tools, analytics, and workflows that improve decision-making, risk management, execution, and investment performance.
This role will be primarily focused on the London trading business, covering Corporate Bonds, CDS, Loans, Equities, and Macro trading. We are looking for someone highly analytical, technically strong, and commercially minded – someone who can engage credibly with senior stakeholders, present ideas clearly, take ownership, and get high-impact work over the line. The candidate requires strong judgment, a bias toward action, and the ability to turn real desk problems into scalable tools and actionable analytics.
As artificial intelligence reshapes investment workflows, this person will help identify and drive high impact use cases across trading into production, including bringing research content such as analyst views and issuer intelligence more directly into day-to-day decision making.
The mandate of PM & Trading Strats is to contribute to investment performance by building the analytics, tools, and automation used by Traders and PMs across Global Corporate Credit. PM & Trading Strats turns Apollo’s market data, internal portfolio context, research content, and other investment inputs into actionable, real-time outputs that improve pricing and execution decisions, strengthen risk management, and systematically surface the best opportunities across markets.
The team also develops portfolio construction and decision tools that help PMs allocate capital, integrate new deal flow, and manage liquidity more deliberately through stronger start of day views, ranked adds/trims/switches, and automated flagging of drift, inefficiencies, and risk issues. The mandate includes laying the foundation for scalable systematic capabilities across the business and connecting research, data, and analytics more directly to day to day investment decision making.
This role reports directly to the COO of the business and also into the firm’s core Quant team, helping align business priorities with consistent quantitative excellence, technical discipline, and scalable execution across the Credit platform.
Primary Responsibilities:- Build and own quantitative tools & analytics that support alpha generation for London Trading, while coordinating closely with peers in NY to ensure alignment across the broader platform.
- Drive end-to-end delivery of desk critical tools, working directly with traders and business leadership to identify opportunities, source data, design models or logic, and lead implementation, rollout, and iteration.
- Lead alpha research and signal development by structuring datasets, running backtests and analysis, pressure testing assumptions, and translating outputs into scalable tools and monitoring.
- Partner with Engineering and Data to improve the reliability and scalability of Strats tooling, including data pipelines, APIs, compute, monitoring, and documentation.
- Help build out systematic capabilities across the London trading business, supporting signal to trade workflows and more scalable decision making across Corporate Bonds, CDS, Loans, Equities, and Rates, in alignment with the broader GCC Strats agenda.
- Apply quantitative analysis to day-to-day desk questions, including pricing and relative value, liquidity, risk, positioning, and what changed / why diagnostics, while turning recurring needs into reusable tools over time.
- Implement AI enabled workflows across trading, working with Strats, COO, Engineering, and the business to move high impact use cases into production, including areas such as research integration, summarization, and workflow automation.
- 7–12 years of experience in quantitative finance, strats, trading analytics, systematic research, risk analytics, or a comparable role on the buy side or sell side.
- Strong markets judgment and relevant product knowledge across some combination of corporate credit, CDS, loans, equities, and rates.
- Strong programming skills, with Python required, and a track record of building real tools used by investment teams, including analytics, dashboards, screens, alerts, and data pipelines. C++ or Java is a plus.
- Solid foundation in statistics, applied math, and modeling, with practical experience working with large and varied datasets including market data, issuer level data, positions, exposures, and liquidity measures.
- Proven ability to operate in a high touch environment with traders and senior stakeholders, with strong communication skills, clear ownership, and sound prioritization instincts.
- Experience identifying high value opportunities, presenting ideas clearly, and driving execution from concept through delivery.
- Exposure to AI and ML is a plus, especially LLM enabled workflows such as retrieval, search, extraction, summarization, and evaluation, but the core requirement is delivering scalable tooling that improves investment decision making.
- Degree in quantitative discipline such as Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Engineering, Computer Science, or a similar field. Advanced degree preferred but not required with strong relevant experience.
Location: London, United Kingdom
Type: Full time
Principal - Quant Trading in London employer: Apollo Global Management
Apollo is an exceptional employer that fosters a dynamic and collaborative work culture, particularly in its London office where the Corporate Communications team thrives. Employees benefit from a supportive environment that encourages creativity and professional growth, with opportunities to engage directly with senior executives and influence strategic communications across Europe. The company's commitment to integrity and excellence ensures that team members are not only valued for their contributions but also empowered to develop their skills in a fast-paced, rewarding setting.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal - Quant Trading in London
✨Tip Number 1: Tap Into Professional Networks
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We think you need these skills to ace Principal - Quant Trading in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Off Your Numbers Game:In financial controlling, detail is everything! Make sure your CV showcases your proficiency with numbers—highlight any relevant experience in budgeting, forecasting, or working with financial software. Quantifying your past achievements will make you stand out, so don’t be shy about flaunting those impressive percentages or cost savings you've implemented.
Tailored Cover Letter is Key:Your cover letter is a chance to shine, especially for a full-time role. Use it to express your genuine interest in Apollo Global Management and the specific impact you hope to make in financial controlling. Mention any relevant qualifications or experiences that align with the company’s goals, and don’t forget to show that you're ready for a long-term commitment!
Certifications Matter:List relevant certifications such as ACCA or CIMA on your CV. These qualifications not only showcase your dedication to the field but also your technical competence in financial principles. If you have any ongoing training or courses, make sure to mention those as well to demonstrate your commitment to continual learning in financial controlling.
Don’t Overlook Soft Skills:While numbers are crucial, so are those soft skills! Financial controllers need strong communication and analytical reasoning abilities. We recommend embedding examples of these skills in your CV and cover letter, like how you’ve successfully delivered financial reports to stakeholders or collaborated with teams to improve processes. Let’s show Apollo Global Management how you can be a team player!
How to prepare for a job interview at Apollo Global Management
✨Brush Up on Technical Skills
Make sure you're comfortable with key financial concepts, especially around forecasting, budgeting, and variance analysis. Sometimes, interviewers may throw in technical questions or case studies, so practicing these types of scenarios will help you shine!
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If you've had experience with specific financial software like SAP or Oracle, make it known! Be ready to discuss how you used these tools to improve processes or reporting, as this hands-on knowledge can really set you apart in a full-time role with Apollo Global Management.
✨Know Your Numbers
In full-time interviews, especially in financial controlling, be prepared for numerical reasoning tests or questions. Brush up on your mental maths and understand how to interpret and analyse financial statements on the spot, as this may come up during the assessment.
✨Connect with Company Goals
Familiarise yourself with Apollo Global Management's financial objectives and any recent developments. During the interview, try to weave your understanding of their business model and challenges into your answers—this shows your genuine interest and alignment with their goals!
