The Team
Applied AI is the initiative to make Systematic, Man Group's quantitative investment business, an AI-native research firm: making general-purpose AI useful for quantitative research, and closing the gap between what frontier models can do and what the research process needs. We sit centrally within it as a combined research and technology team, and collaborate with Systematic's research teams across London, Boston, Sofia, Hong Kong and Shanghai to integrate AI into their research processes.
Applied AI is a newly established team, and much of what we build is greenfield. Within the initiative, our technologists own the AI-native foundations: the knowledge layer over our code, research and data; the platform for long-horizon multi-agent research systems; and the evaluation harnesses and patterns that let researchers build reliable agent systems themselves.
The team is part of Systematic’s broader technology group of over ninety technologists, with backgrounds spanning Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Engineering. What unifies us is a passion for technology and high-quality code, and a conviction that AI will change how systematic research is done. We are small and hands-on: everyone on the team writes code, works with researchers and owns what they ship.
Role Responsibilities
Work collaboratively with researchers to build and own the AI-native research process, scoping problems and contributing ideas as well as code
Design, build and maintain agents and agentic workflows for research
Build knowledge bases and retrieval systems that give agents and Quant Research reliable access to the firm’s research, code and data
Build evaluations and benchmarks for AI tools and workflows, so that their value is measurable and changes to models, prompts or tooling can be compared
Follow developments in applied AI, prototype the ones that matter quickly, and harden what works into the platform
Key Competencies
Essential
Strong software engineering in Python; experience building production applications and services in a formal development environment
Proficient on Linux and with the Python numerical stack
Strong interpersonal skills; able to work closely with quantitative researchers, traders and senior business people alike
Experience building agents, agentic workflows, and harnesses
A solid grounding in machine learning and modern LLMs: their strengths, weaknesses, limitations and evolution
Good judgement about what to build; able to turn an ambiguous need into a useful tool
Proficient, ambitious use of agentic coding tools such as Claude Code or Codex
Demonstrable passion for applied AI and technology e.g. personal projects, open-source involvement, writing or talks
Advantageous
Hands-on experience of quantitative finance or of working alongside quants
Experience building knowledge bases and retrieval systems
Hands-on experience of reinforcement learning or LLM post-training, e.g. fine-tuning, RLHF, reward modelling
Awareness of frontier AI research and products, in particular long-horizon agents and recursive self-improvement
Experience with distributed compute frameworks like Spark, Ray or Kubernetes
A research background, academic or industrial, in any field
Inclusion, Work-Life Balance and Benefits at Man Group You'll thrive in our working environment that champions equality of opportunity. Your unique perspective will contribute to our success, joining a workplace where inclusion is fundamental and deeply embedded in our culture and values. Through our external and internal initiatives, partnerships and programmes, you'll find opportunities to grow, develop your talents, and help foster an inclusive environment for all across our firm and industry. Learn more at www.man.com/diversity.
You'll have opportunities to make a difference through our charitable and global initiatives, while advancing your career through professional development, and with flexible working arrangements available too. Like all our people, you'll receive two annual 'Mankind' days of paid leave for community volunteering.
Our comprehensive benefits package includes competitive holiday entitlements, pension/401k, life and long-term disability coverage, group sick pay, enhanced parental leave and long-service leave. Depending on your location, you may also enjoy additional benefits such as private medical coverage, discounted gym membership options and pet insurance.
Equal Employment Opportunity Policy
Man Group provides equal employment opportunities to all applicants and all employees without regard to race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, religion, disability, sex, gender identity and expression, marital status, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, age or any other legally protected category or status in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.
Man Group is a Disability Confident Committed employer; if you require help or information on reasonable adjustments as you apply for roles with us, please contact TalentAcquisition@man.com.
