AI/ML Researcher

NK Securities Research is a leading financial firm that leverages cutting-edge technology, data-driven research, and sophisticated algorithms to trade financial markets. Founded in 2011, we have built deep expertise in high-frequency trading across different asset classes.

We are a fast-growing organization with a strong research and technology culture. The firm’s lean and meritocratic structure enables individuals to work closely with experienced researchers, traders, and engineers, while taking ownership of high-impact problems from an early stage.

Role Overview

We are looking for an AI/ML Researcher to join our central AI/ML research team in India. This is a research-intensive role suited for individuals who enjoy mathematical problem-solving, experimentation, and working with complex, noisy, high-dimensional datasets. The role will involve close collaboration with quantitative researchers, traders, engineers, and business stakeholders to identify areas where AI/ML can create meaningful value across the firm.

The ideal candidate should be comfortable working on open-ended research problems, converting ideas into structured experiments, and building models that can be evaluated rigorously in real-world settings.

Key Responsibilities

As an AI/ML Researcher, you will:

• Work on our GPU cluster to research and understand the fine-grained behavior of large neural networks and LLM training.
• Fine-tune existing open-source models and build benchmarks to evaluate their performance.
• Explore and analyze large-scale financial market datasets.
• Build ML and statistical models for pattern discovery, prediction, and signal generation.
• Work on short-horizon, noisy, and non-stationary market data.
• Conduct feature engineering, model validation, and performance evaluation.
• Study pricing, market microstructure, and execution-related research problems.
• Convert research ideas into structured experiments with measurable outcomes.
• Collaborate with quantitative researchers, traders, and engineers to translate research into practical use cases.
• Present research findings clearly to technical and business stakeholders.
• Contribute to building reusable research frameworks, tools, and best practices for the AI/ML research function.

Ideal Candidate Profile

We are looking for someone with:

• Strong foundation in mathematics, statistics, probability, linear algebra, optimization, and machine learning.
• Strong programming skills in Python.
• Ability to work with large datasets, run experiments, and interpret results rigorously.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving ability.
• Comfort with ambiguity, open-ended problems, and iterative research.
• Ability to independently structure research problems and drive them to conclusion.
• Curiosity to learn new domains, ask thoughtful questions, and challenge assumptions.
• Strong communication skills to explain research outcomes clearly.

Preferred Skills

• Python, NumPy, Pandas, Scikit-learn
• Machine learning, deep learning, and time-series modelling
• Probability, statistics, and optimization
• LLMs, neural networks, model fine-tuning, and benchmarking
• Research-oriented problem solving
• Experience with Kaggle, research projects, trading datasets, ML competitions, or large-scale data problems
• Prior exposure to financial markets, quantitative research, or market microstructure is a plus, but not mandatory

Why Join Us

• Opportunity to be part of a central AI/ML research team being built within a research-driven trading firm.
• Work on real-world, high-impact problems involving complex and evolving datasets.
• Collaborate closely with experienced quantitative researchers, traders, and engineers.
• Strong ownership from an early stage.
• Exposure to research problems across AI/ML, quantitative finance, market microstructure, pricing, and execution.
• Fast-paced, meritocratic environment with significant learning and growth opportunities.

What We Offer:

• Competitive salary package.
• A dynamic, high-performance, and collaborative work environment.
• Strong focus on career growth and development.
• Catered breakfast and lunch.
• Monthly team dinners.
• Annual international and domestic team trips.