Market Making — Head of Desk

Arm: Market Making · Places: 1 per team · Team size: 7

About QTE

Queen's Tower Exchange is a financial-markets simulation for Imperial College London students. You will compete against other student teams using live market data and simulated capital, then use the results to improve.

Responsibilities

• Allocate instrument coverage, research projects and internal risk budgets.
• Review trading ideas, approve strategy registrations and coordinate releases with developers.
• Arrange session coverage and monitor positions, quoting performance and available risk capacity.
• Lead the response to risk warnings, trading restrictions and failures to maintain quotes.
• Review results with the team and prepare for new instrument assignments each term.

What success looks like

A coordinated desk that maintains qualifying quotes while managing its inventory. Team scoring combines risk-adjusted returns, retained trading edge, market share and inventory discipline. Quoting obligations still apply during an exposure cure.

• A basic understanding of bid and ask prices, spreads and inventory risk.
• Confidence interpreting numerical evidence and explaining a decision.
• Experience organising a group project, society activity or similar shared work.
• Willingness to take responsibility, listen to challenges and learn from mistakes.

Professional trading or management experience is not required. Coursework and student projects are valid evidence of readiness.

Useful, but not required

Python analysis, probability and statistics, or experience testing a trading idea.

Much of your learning will take place during a dedicated training week, held after teams are selected and before trading begins. Your Head of Arm will deliver lectures exclusively for the teams in your arm, giving you a strong grounding in the concepts and tools you will use in your role.

• How QTE's order book, quoting obligations and risk controls work.
• How quote placement, inventory and adverse selection affect performance; adverse selection means trading just before the price moves against you.
• How to evaluate strategies using recorded sessions and live results.
• How to run strategy reviews, session handovers and responses to risk breaches.