Eclipse Trading is a proprietary derivatives trading firm headquartered in Hong Kong, founded in 2007, with offices in Sydney, Shanghai, and Chicago and a headcount of roughly 120+. Its core business is equity-derivatives market making plus arbitrage strategies across Asian markets — it trades its own capital, with no outside investors. That business model tells you almost everything about the interview: it is an options market maker, so the process leans hard on mental math speed, options theory, and probability, and much less on classic finance-technical or coding rounds for the trader track.
The reported interview process
Glassdoor holds 60+ interview reports for Eclipse Trading, and the commonly described format for the Graduate Trader / Trainee Trader role is:
- Timed online tests — a battery of short assessments (reports vary between three and five separate tests, each roughly 10–15 minutes).
- HR interview — motivation, CV walkthrough, why trading, why Eclipse. Some candidates report this happens immediately after passing the online tests.
- Trader / senior interviews — verbal options theory, probability questions, brain teasers, and market-making games. Some candidates report a final round with a co-founder, and overseas candidates have described being flown to Hong Kong for onsite days.
Candidates rate the difficulty around 2.8–3.2 out of 5 on Glassdoor — solidly prop-firm level, but reported as less brutal than the hardest US shops on our interview difficulty ranking. Reported end-to-end timelines run several weeks.
The online assessment battery
This is where most candidates get cut, and reports are consistent on the structure even if the exact test count varies by year and role:
| Test | Reported format | What it filters for |
|---|---|---|
| Mental arithmetic | ~70–100 questions in ~10 minutes, no calculator: percentages, fractions, multiplication, division, decimals | Raw calculation speed under time pressure |
| Financial / general knowledge | Short questions — candidates mention things like current market data, exchange rates, central bank figures | Do you actually follow markets |
| Options theory | Basics: what a market maker does, calls and puts, straddles, the Greeks (delta, gamma, theta) | Baseline derivatives literacy |
| Probability & estimation | Brain-teaser-style probability and estimation problems | Structured thinking, expected value |
One point comes up repeatedly in candidate reports: the mental math test is the gate. Candidates report that a weak arithmetic score gets you rejected even if you do well on the knowledge and probability sections. The volume-to-time ratio (roughly one question every 6–8 seconds at the reported pace) is comparable to the Optiver 80-in-8 standard, so train to that benchmark. If you have never sat one of these, read our primer on how quant online assessments work first.
What the interview rounds test
After the tests, the emphasis shifts from speed to reasoning. Based on candidate reports:
- Options strategies, verbally. Interviewers probe long straddles, strangles, butterflies, and condors — and how delta and gamma behave inside those structures. This is deeper than the online test: you should be able to sketch a payoff diagram in your head and explain how the Greeks evolve as spot moves. Our options pricing question bank covers exactly this layer.
- Probability and expected value. Prop-firm staples: dice, cards, EV calculations, quick Bayesian updates. Candidates describe the emphasis as “thinking, math, and probabilities” rather than finance trivia — drill the probability bank and expected value questions until the mechanics are automatic.
- Market-making games. Multiple reports describe a dice-based game: each candidate rolls dice without seeing the values, everyone trades the sum, and the interviewer throws buy and sell orders of varying size into the market. You are judged on computing the EV of the sum, quoting a sensible market around it, and adjusting your bid/ask as trades reveal information and your inventory builds. The dice probability guide covers the EV math; the game itself is about updating and inventory discipline, not just the number.
- Brain teasers. Standard prop-shop fare — see the brain teaser bank for the common families.
How to prepare, in order of leverage
- Mental math first. It is the reported hard gate. Daily timed drills for 2–3 weeks at Optiver-pace or faster.
- Options theory to the “explain it out loud” level. Not Black-Scholes derivations — payoffs, strategy structures, and Greek intuition you can talk through fluently.
- Play market-making games before the real one. Quoting a two-sided market with hidden information is a skill you build by repetition, not reading.
- Follow Asian markets for a week before interviewing. The general-knowledge test and trader chats reward candidates who can talk about what HK and regional markets are actually doing.
One honest caveat: Eclipse is mid-sized and APAC-focused, so reports are thinner than for Optiver or Jane Street, and formats shift year to year. Treat the structure above as the commonly described shape as of mid-2026, not a guarantee.
Ready to drill? Practice the exact skills the process tests: run timed sessions in our trading games (including a make-me-a-market simulator that mirrors the dice game format), and work through the probability question bank until EV calculations are reflexive.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the Eclipse Trading interview process?
Candidates report a battery of timed online tests (mental arithmetic, financial knowledge, options theory, and probability/estimation, each around 10-15 minutes), followed by an HR interview and then rounds with senior traders or a co-founder. Later rounds test options strategies verbally and often include a market-making game. Overseas candidates have reported being flown to Hong Kong for final onsite days.
How hard is the Eclipse Trading mental math test?
Candidates report roughly 70-100 arithmetic questions in about 10 minutes with no calculator, covering percentages, fractions, multiplication, division, and decimals. That pace is comparable to Optiver's 80-in-8 standard. Reports consistently say the math test is the gate: a weak score leads to rejection regardless of performance on the other sections.
What options knowledge does Eclipse Trading expect?
As an equity-derivatives market maker, Eclipse tests options theory at both the online and interview stages. Candidates report questions on calls, puts, straddles, strangles, butterflies, and condors, plus how delta, gamma, and theta behave within those structures. You should be able to explain payoffs and Greek intuition out loud rather than derive pricing models.
Does Eclipse Trading use a market-making game in interviews?
Yes, multiple candidate reports describe a dice-based market-making game where candidates trade the sum of hidden dice rolls while the interviewer sends buy and sell orders into the market. You are evaluated on computing the expected value, quoting a sensible bid-ask around it, and adjusting your market as trades reveal information and inventory accumulates.
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