DRW is a diversified trading firm with over 3 decades of experience bringing sophisticated technology and exceptional people together to operate in markets around the world. We value autonomy and the ability to quickly pivot to capture opportunities, so we operate using our own capital and trading at our own risk.
Headquartered in Chicago with offices throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia, we trade a variety of asset classes including Fixed Income, ETFs, Equities, FX, Commodities and Energy across all major global markets. We have also leveraged our expertise and technology to expand into three non-traditional strategies: real estate, venture capital and cryptoassets.
We operate with respect, curiosity and open minds. The people who thrive here share our belief that it’s not just what we do that matters–it's how we do it. DRW is a place of high expectations, integrity, innovation and a willingness to challenge consensus.
Fundamental Researcher - Compute Markets
The role
- DRW is seeking a Fundamental Researcher to develop investment views on compute markets and the infrastructure that supports them. You will research the economics of compute supply and demand, form views on the macro forces shaping the market, and translate them into investment recommendations for a compute derivatives strategy.
- You will work alongside a quantitative researcher who owns the pricing models. Your contribution is an independent, fundamental perspective: understanding the models well enough to test their assumptions against what is happening in the market, and flagging when the market has moved ahead of them.
- This is a founding seat on a small investment team. We are particularly interested in candidates with credit, commodities or semiconductor research experience who can apply rigorous analysis of cash flows, capacity, contracts and downside risk to a market that is still taking shape. We do not expect deep prior experience in compute. We expect strong analytical foundations and the curiosity to build sector expertise quickly.
What you'll do
- Develop macro and fundamental views on compute. Track and interpret the forces driving supply and demand: AI training and inference demand, hyperscaler and neocloud capital expenditure, chip supply and generational transitions, data center capacity, power availability, financing conditions and policy, including export controls.
- Translate pricing into investment views. Assess what compute pricing across contract terms and chip generations implies about demand, capacity and scarcity. Identify where prices diverge from fundamentals and recommend how to express those views.
- Validate pricing assumptions. Develop a working understanding of the pricing models and supply the fundamental evidence behind their key inputs, including supply pipeline, utilization, workload mix and the pace of price declines across hardware generations. Challenge those inputs when the evidence changes.
- Build research models. Develop supply-and-demand balances, unit economics and scenarios that connect fundamental drivers to compute pricing and investment outcomes, with assumptions documented and testable.
- Assess counterparties and assets with a credit investor's discipline. Evaluate revenue quality, utilization, cost structure, customer concentration, contractual commitments, leverage, liquidity and refinancing risk. Examine how generational turnover and the falling cost of compute affect asset values, counterparty resilience and recoveries.
- Make clear recommendations. Present to the Portfolio Manager and Investment Committee, setting out the investment thesis, valuation framework, catalysts, risks and the evidence that would change the view.
- Build differentiated information sources. Develop a network of industry contacts and data sources across hardware, cloud, data center and power markets to test assumptions and spot inflections early.
What we're looking for
- 5 to 7 years of fundamental investment research experience, ideally in credit research or investing (including structured or asset-backed finance), commodities (particularly power and energy), or buy-side or sell-side coverage of semiconductors and digital infrastructure.
- A demonstrated ability to turn complex or incomplete information into a clear investment judgment.
- Strong financial modeling skills and a thorough understanding of cash flow analysis, capital structures and downside scenarios.
- Enough quantitative fluency to engage with pricing models: understand how they work, interrogate their inputs and judge whether their outputs are consistent with the market. You will not be expected to build or maintain them.
- An understanding of how a fundamental view translates into a derivatives position such as a forward or swap, or the ability to learn this quickly.
- The ability to distinguish structural trends from temporary supply-and-demand imbalances and to assess what is already reflected in pricing.
- A strong interest in compute markets and the drive to build expertise across hardware, cloud services, data centers and power infrastructure. Prior experience in the sector is valuable but not required.
- Clear written and verbal communication, intellectual independence, and a willingness to challenge assumptions and revise views as evidence changes.
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