Intern - Quantitative Trading

Hilltop Securities Inc. (NYSE: HTH) is looking for qualified students to join our team as a Quantitative Trading Intern in the Commodities and Structuring group during the summer in our Chicago, New York, Minneapolis, or Dallas locations. By working with directly with the business group’s lead strategist, the intern will gain applied knowledge of capital markets by working on production grade models to support trading activities. Hands-on/applied experience comes through working on a trading floor and by conducting original quantitative research with the latest analytical methods and processes.

This individual will gain firsthand exposure to commodities, interest rates, foreign exchange, and other related assets by working with our commodities business unit on commercial hedging and speculative investment strategies. These strategies will include futures, options, structured products, and other derivatives. The primary component of the role is to help develop production quality applied deep learning predictive models in PyTorch to support revenue producing business/trading activities. 

Our Summer 2027 Internship Program is an in-person experience lasting from May 24, 2027 to July 30, 2027, with opportunities located in downtown Dallas at our HTS Tower location and throughout the country at various branch locations.

Responsibilities

• Work directly with lead strategist to learn about capital markets. 
• Applied quantitative financial model development inside diverse domestic and global capital markets.
• Work with lead strategist on predictive model development.
• Develop original predictive models using the latest quantitative techniques neural networks (NN), and other large language models (LLM) models with PyTorch. 
• Will work with QIS (quantitative investment strategies) product development. 
• Will work with different types of data with a focus on large data sets. 
• Deliver presentations to internal and external stakeholders including Managing Directors. 
• Other special projects and duties as assigned. 

Qualifications

• Excellent analytical, verbal, written communication skills.
• Experience using Python, PyTorch, VS Code, Anaconda, Excel are essential. 
• Exposure to neural networks (NN), large language models (LLM), large data sets, deep learning methods. 
• Experience/exposure to AI centric image recognition/processing techniques is a benefit but not required. 
• Experience/exposure to Bloomberg is a plus but not required. 
• Proven self-starter who can initiate tasks, work independently, and follow up to completion to produce high quality results in a timely manner. 
• Exceptional time management and organizational skills.
• Rising sophomore or junior or studying (but not limited to) mathematics, statistics, economics, pure sciences, data science, computer science, engineering, finance, or other related fields. 
• Candidate must have authorization to work for any employer in the US without requiring sponsorship, whether in student status or not. 

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals in, or assigned to, the above position and are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required, and may be changed at the discretion of the Company.

At HilltopSecurities, we believe in building noble and collaborative relationships that enrich the financial future of individuals, businesses and communities. With an extensive portfolio of products, we deliver a broad range of investment banking and related financial services that help our clients achieve their definition of success. As a subsidiary of HilltopHoldings, which also encompasses PlainsCapital Bank, and PrimeLending, we have the financial strength and stability that has withstood the test of time. Our nationwide presence in 400 locations across 44 states provides our associates with extensive opportunities to grow their careers in a diverse organization that truly values relationship capital above all else.

HTS Commodities offers risk management and advisory services for farmers, ranchers, agribusinesses, and institutional and individual investors. As a member of our Commodities department, you will be part of a team of experienced and highly skilled brokers, traders, and investment bankers. Our areas of expertise include hedging advisory, brokerage services, investment solutions, financial products and structuring, market insights, and post-trade maintenance. We tailor unique consulting services and hedging strategies for each producer, consumer, and investor we serve. Our hedging advisory is an NFA-registered Commodity Trading Advisor and Swap Firm that targets initial program development in areas such as program feasibility analysis, document negotiation, and counterparty/FCM selection. Our professionals are specialized providers in a variety of sectors including livestock, grains and crops, energy, interest rates, financial markets, metals, and softs. HTS Commodities also values education and is committed to training clients and other decision-makers to be able to make calculated choices related to futures, options, and OTC derivatives transactions. We use our investment banking experience to provide transparency and knowledge through published market insights and trade reports. Joining our Commodities team sets you up for a career that can make a lasting, positive difference in our agricultural society and beyond.