Trading Immersion Program

Program Highlights:

Kickstart your trading and quantitative finance career early through this highly selective Trading Immersion Program with Akuna Capital.

This unique internship opportunity will be delivered through an immersive two-week, in-person experience at our Sydney office. You will gain rare early exposure to real trading environments, desk rotations, and hands-on learning designed to help you explore a future career as a Trader or Quant at Akuna.

This program is designed as both a learning experience and a potential pathway to Sydney-based full-time roles after graduation, for students who demonstrate strong performance, curiosity, and trading intuition.

Internship Location & Timeline:

• Internship Location: Sydney, NSW


• Duration: 2 weeks (on-site)

Applicants must be available for one of the following fixed internship periods:

• Cohort 1: Monday 11 May 2026 – Friday 22 May 2026


• Cohort 2: Monday 29 June 2026 – Friday 10 July 2026

No alternative dates are available. Candidates will be asked to confirm availability as part of the application process.

What You’ll Experience:

This program offers a fast-paced, immersive introduction to quant and trading at Akuna, blending learning, real-world exposure, and mentorship.

You will gain exposure to:

• Akuna’s trading environment, market-making operations, and desk workflows


• Trading concepts through a mix of self-guided learning and interactive sessions


• Practical market experience via simulations, desk exposure, and shadowing opportunities


• Mentorship and feedback from traders and quantitative professionals across the firm


• A short, exploratory project designed to develop market intuition and analytical thinking

Requirements for this role:

We’re looking for curious, analytical, and motivated students who are excited to learn how quant and trading work in practice.

This program is intended for students:

• Graduating between August 2026 and July 2027


• Interested in pursuing a future career in trading, quantitative research, or related roles


• With strong numerical reasoning, pattern recognition, and problem-solving skills


• With strong verbal and written communication skills


• Risk appetite and ability to work well under pressure in a fast-paced, team environment


• From degrees such as Mathematics, Statistics, Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Actuarial Science, Data Science, or related disciplines

Qualities that make great candidates:

• Distinction Average or proven strong academics


• Awards, prizes, medals, competitions, and scholarships


• Achievements outside of studies through your hobbies and interests


• Previous internship experience that enhanced your communication, problem solving, analytical, and teamwork skills

Future Opportunities

• Strong performers may be considered for full-time Trader or Quant roles after graduation, subject to business needs and internship performance


• Candidates who have already graduated or will graduate in or before July 2026 are encouraged to apply instead for Akuna’s 2026 Junior Trader program (with training in Chicago)

Application & Interview Process:

• Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis


• The interview process may include online assessment; technical video interview(s); in-office final interview


• Exact steps may vary as the program develops. Candidates will be guided through the process by our APAC recruitment team.

About Akuna:

Akuna Capital is an innovative trading firm with a strong focus on collaboration, cutting-edge technology, data driven solutions, and automation. We specialize in providing liquidity as an options market-maker – meaning we are committed to providing competitive quotes that we are willing to both buy and sell. To do this successfully, we design and implement our own low latency technologies, trading strategies, and mathematical models. 

Our Founding Partners first conceptualized Akuna in their hometown of Sydney. They opened the firm’s first office in 2011 in the heart of the derivatives industry and the options capital of the world – Chicago. Today, Akuna is proud to operate from additional offices in Sydney, Singapore, Shanghai, Boston and London. 

At Akuna, we believe that the people are the centre of everything we do. We are growing and looking for the best talents to join us on this journey. If you enjoy being part of smart, driven teams with real challenges to solve - this could be the place for you!