RenTech New Hires: PhD in what exactly?

I've read from a variety of sources that RenTech frequently recruits from PhD's in pure/applied math, physics, comp-sci, etc. but beyond an occasional reference to "information theory" or "machine learning" I haven't found much information about what these PhD's were actually doing. 

I'm mostly curious about the exact work some of the recruits were doing during their PhD that RenTech thought was valuable. Ideally I'd like to find some dissertations from recent recruits to see if there are some common themes either in techniques used or subject area. 

Does anyone here have any insight into this or any directions you could point me in to learn more? Thanks. 

6 Comments
 

Trolling through LinkedIn I was able to find ~6 PhD dissertations from current employees from Mathematics, Physics/Astrophysics, Statistics, and Comp Sci, and yeah this comment does seem to be spot on. These were all over the place. It seems insanely strong quantitative skills with a good research track record and strong coding skills is really what they're looking for rather than any specific research area (from my n=6 sample). 

(I would post links to the dissertations but I feel like that might count as doxxing and they're really not that hard to find if you're reading this and interested)

 

Molestiae excepturi deserunt et magni repudiandae id nihil. Fugit minus ut voluptatem doloremque culpa iure aspernatur. Illum molestiae harum quod eos. Distinctio non est rerum aspernatur. Nisi itaque similique quisquam ipsa.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 97.1%
  • AQR Capital Management 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.0%
  • Millennium Partners 95.0%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 98.1%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.2%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.2%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (12) $423
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (86) $288
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (76) $192
  • Analysts (242) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (29) $145
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (282) $96
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”