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Five Rings interview preparation
Proprietary trading · New York, United States
Readiness and your plan need JavaScript. The firm's process below does not.
The process
Reviewed November 2026
Timed maths and estimation online assessment
Online assessment, reported by candidates and guides
timed numeric, 20 min, 17 questions, no calculator
- Estimation and mental computation Mental math, Estimation, Calculus
- Rapid probability Probability, Statistics
Reported 17 to 20 questions in about 17 to 30 minutes, roughly 1 minute per question, webcam on, no calculator, short forced pause before each question. Counts and timings vary by cycle.
First-round timed maths phone screen
Phone screen, reported by candidates and guides
live interview, 25 min, +1 / 0, no calculator
- Speed arithmetic, expectation and Fermi estimates Mental math, Estimation, Expected value
20 to 30 minute call reported.
Trader technical interviews
Technical interview, reported by candidates and guides
live interview, 50 min, +1 / 0, no calculator
- Probability and distributions Probability, Statistics, Expected value
- Game theory with layered follow-ups Game theory, Brainteasers
Three or more one-on-one (sometimes two-on-one) rounds of 45 to 60 minutes.
Betting / strategy game round
Game assessment, reported by candidates and guides
game-based, +1 / 0, no calculator
- Interactive betting game with a trader Betting games, Expected value, Game theory
Research data project
Take-home, reported by candidates and guides
take-home task, +1 / 0, no calculator
- Dataset analysis Data analysis, Statistics, Coding
Single guide, under NDA, details scarce.
Final round
Final round, reported by candidates and guides
live interview, 360 min, +1 / 0, no calculator
- Harder probability and game theory Probability, Game theory, Expected value
- Motivation and fit Behavioural
Around 6 hours reported, with traders, quants and developers; references sometimes requested. Developer-specific process (C++ on Linux) not documented.
What it tests
| Topic | Weight |
|---|---|
| Probability | 22% |
| Mental math | 14% |
| Expected value | 13% |
| Estimation | 12% |
| Game theory | 10% |
| Statistics | 7% |
| Betting games | 6% |
| Behavioural | 5% |
| Brainteasers | 4% |
| Calculus | 3% |
| Data analysis | 2% |
| Coding | 2% |
Shares estimated from the public sources below.
Practise for it
Offices
New York, London
Sources
Five Rings publishes no process details; official positions page only states QR candidates must be exceptionally mathematically proficient, devs use C++ on Linux, researchers Python/R. Per-question timing conflicts across guides (30-60 s vs 1-3 min). Durations are midpoints of reported ranges. Software developer track is largely undocumented.
- Five Rings interview guide (TraderMath) guide
- Five Rings Interview Process & Prep (QuantVault) guide
- Five Rings - Positions firm's own page
Compiled from public sources, retrieved 2026-11-03. Five Rings has not reviewed or endorsed this page.