The SIG Technical HR / Recruiter Screen interview is stage 2 of 7 in the SIG interview process, after the Problem-Solving Assessment (online assessment). Format: 30–45 min · audio Zoom. Despite the name, this call is technical.
Preparing for this round? Practice the 74 questions mapped to the SIG Technical HR / Recruiter Screen, with worked solutions. A free account saves your progress.
What the Technical HR / Recruiter Screen tests
After a short introduction and a chat about your interests, the recruiter reads out two or three probability or brain-teaser questions and you work them on paper. Common families: uniform-arrival overlaps, coin-pattern waiting times, order statistics and geometric probability.
QuantVault maps 74 practice problems to this round. By topic, the biggest groups are probability (36), expectation (18), combinatorics (9), brain teasers (4); by difficulty, 66 easy, 8 medium and 0 hard. 27 of them were reported by candidates who interviewed at SIG, most recently in Jan 2026.
Who takes this round: All tracks. See the full SIG process and who takes each round.
How to prepare for the Technical HR / Recruiter Screen
- Narrate your reasoning. It's verbal — they're scoring how clearly you explain the setup and the intuition, not just the final number.
- Have the geometric-probability + coin-pattern classics reflexive (uniform-arrival overlaps, Penney's-game pattern races) — they recur almost every loop.
- Lead with the interests chat. Genuinely mentioning poker/bridge/mahjong lands well with SIG's culture.
Further reading: Behavioral questions at trading firms · How quant superdays work · Market-making game interview guide.
Question types in this round
The 5 largest question types in the SIG Technical HR / Recruiter Screen practice set; across them the most common sub-topics are discrete probability, conditional probability, expected value, independence, Bayes' theorem, symmetry. The questions themselves, with worked solutions, are in the round practice.
Probability36 in this round
Expectation18 in this round
Combinatorics9 in this round
Brain Teasers4 in this round
Finance3 in this round
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Frequently asked questions
What is the SIG Technical HR / Recruiter Screen interview?
It is stage 2 of 7 in the SIG interview process, after the Problem-Solving Assessment (online assessment). Format: 30–45 min · audio Zoom. Despite the name, this call is technical. After a short introduction and a chat about your interests, the recruiter reads out two or three probability or brain-teaser questions and you work them on paper.
How long is the SIG Technical HR / Recruiter Screen interview?
Candidates report: 30–45 min · audio Zoom.
What questions come up in the SIG Technical HR / Recruiter Screen interview?
The practice set QuantVault maps to this round centers on probability, expectation, combinatorics.
How should I prepare for the SIG Technical HR / Recruiter Screen interview?
Narrate your reasoning. It's verbal — they're scoring how clearly you explain the setup and the intuition, not just the final number. Have the geometric-probability + coin-pattern classics reflexive (uniform-arrival overlaps, Penney's-game pattern races) — they recur almost every loop.
What comes after the Technical HR / Recruiter Screen?
The Quant / Technical Phone (stage 3 of 7). Format: 45 to 60 min · 1 to 2 rounds · phone or video.
Practice the SIG Technical HR / Recruiter Screen round
Work the 74 mapped practice problems with progress tracking, then move to the next stage of the SIG funnel.