Akuna Capital Interview ProcessTier 4
Akuna is a Chicago-based options market maker known for an interview that leans into trading instinct. The loop opens with an online assessment, then runs a distinctive live trading / market-making game (make markets, manage inventory, react to fills), alongside probability, expectation, and brain-teaser rounds. Engineers add coding. The bar is fast mental math and genuine market-making sense.
Online Assessment
Akuna Capital runs a different online assessment per role: Quant Researchers get a Python coding OA (HackerRank / CodeSignal) and a separate camera-proctored Math OA on EasyHire (pen and paper, verbalize your reasoning); Traders open with a 30-question HackerRank Trader Probability Test (zero-EV bet sizing, about 12 minutes), then a recorded video game round, a Trading Competition of fast market-making games and optimal-stopping coding puzzles; Software Engineers get a C++ / Python low-latency coding OA; and there is a distinct Hardware (FPGA) track. The pipeline is OA -> video interview -> phone screen -> onsite (C++, options / market-making, mental math) -> a live trading final.
Practice this round 58 problems ProThe second QR screen is a camera-proctored EasyHire sitting: about five single-choice calculus and linear-algebra items where you must verbalize your reasoning before answering, then three timed probability brain-teasers (about 5 minutes each), then a short behavioral block. It leans heavily on green-book probability plus first-year calculus and linear algebra. Practice the full recoverable bank below.
Take the timed assessmentReal reported OA questions, on the clockProThe QR Python coding OA: 3 algorithm problems (all test cases must pass). The recurring ones below are auto-graded - write and run your solution in the editor.
Minimum Swaps to Sort by PopularityThink of where each item must go: item that belongs at sorted position is currently somewhere, and following 'who sits in the seat I need' traces a cycle. ADelivery Management SystemIt is a best-first search, not a layer-by-layer BFS: the queue always coughs up the globally smallest known id, even if a smaller id sits one layer deeper than Binary Circuit Maximum CostFlipping a block only matters through how it changes the integer value. A `'0'` bit ADDS its place value when flipped; a `'1'` bit SUBTRACTS it. Assign each posThe 2027-cycle coding screen ('2026 - 2027 Quant Coding Challenge (Python)'): 3 HackerRank Python questions in 120 minutes, with fullscreen forced and a multiple-monitor check. Five candidate-reported sittings (four PDF exports plus an Aug 20, 2026 photo report) reveal a shared pool - their 15 question slots contain only 8 distinct problems; closestLatencySpikes and maxPower each ran in three of the five, and getSubstring, getMaxCost and countFaults in two each. Mostly easy-to-medium strings / sorting / simulation / BFS / small DP; getMaxCost is the one genuinely tricky item, and Movie Ratings (maximizeRatings) is the DP that tripped the photographed candidate on 4 of 15 hidden tests. The timed simulation below runs one sitting exactly as it ran plus the rest of the pool.
Take the timed assessmentReal reported OA questions, on the clockProThe first Trader screen, 'Akuna Capital Trader Probability Test (2025-2026)': 30 fill-in questions on one shared clock of about 12 minutes (roughly 24 seconds each), camera on. Every question is the same task - an elementary event is described (cards, coins, dice, spinners, calendars, primes, divisibility, a failure rate) and you enter the dollar stake that makes a bet paying $1,000 plus your stake exactly zero-EV, rounded to the nearest dollar: stake = 1000 x wins / losses. A July 2025 candidate photographed 23 of the 30 slots; the timed replica below runs them verbatim in sitting order, with a verified answer key and the arithmetic shortcut for each.
Take the timed assessmentReal reported OA questions, on the clockProAkuna's trading competition includes an optimal-stopping "uniform sampling" game. Implement the optimal threshold and the fair price.
Uniform Sampling Game - Optimal ThresholdBob's decision at each draw is memoryless: the fee and past resample costs are sunk, so all that matters is whether the current value beats the expectedUniform Sampling Game - Fair PriceThe threshold is exactly the point where the marginal benefit of one more draw equals its cost . Above you keep; below it you payDeveloper candidates report 10 multiple-choice questions on modern C++ (C++17/20) before or alongside the coding problems: code reading, object lifetimes, move semantics, templates and overload resolution, and several select-all items on what compiles or what is undefined behaviour. The replica runs the 10 questions as a 15-minute block (the time is an estimate; the real block shares a longer clock with coding), with every printed-output answer checked by compiling and running the code.
Free sample: 6 C++ questions in 9 minutesGenerated in the reported format, timed like the real test.ProFull simulation: 10 questions in 15 minutes (Pro)Generated in the reported format, timed like the real test.ProThe first stage is on us — you're seeing it in full. Unlock every later round, the must-do problems, and stage-by-stage prep across all 56 firms with QuantVault Pro.
Looking for other firms?
Every firm has a curated interview-questions playlist — a ready-to-drill set of problems matched to how that firm interviews, each with a full worked solution.
Practice every firm's OA: timed replicas, free game replicas and guides in one place →
Akuna Capital round-by-round guides
Akuna Capital interview guide: the firm, culture, roles and pay →
Stage guides for every firm: superdays · behavioral questions · market-making games
Akuna Capital interview — FAQ
What is the Akuna Capital interview process?
Akuna is a Chicago-based options market maker known for an interview that leans into trading instinct. The loop opens with an online assessment, then runs a distinctive live trading / market-making game (make markets, manage inventory, react to fills), alongside probability, expectation, and brain-teaser rounds. Engineers add coding. The bar is fast mental math and genuine market-making sense. The loop runs 5 stages: Online Assessment, Round 3 — Recorded Video Game Round, Probability & Mental Math, Brain-Teasers & Game Theory, Onsite - Hardest Rounds.
How many rounds does Akuna Capital have?
5 stages in total, starting with the Online Assessment and ending with the Onsite - Hardest Rounds.
How do I prepare for the Akuna Capital interview?
Work the stage notes above, then drill the Akuna Capital interview-questions set and the Akuna Capital online-assessment practice — each problem has a full worked solution.