Pros
There is an endless stream of meaningful projects at Virtu and new employees are given responsibility right away. Individuals here have agency and can have real, lasting impact towards our goal of improving financial markets. Management is committed to making sure every member of the team has a path for growth and finds their role within the company. There is a retired army general on the board of directors who routinely works with members at all levels of the organization on teamwork and peer leadership. Virtu employees who have worked in other organizations as senior leadership are blown away by the culture of personal growth, accountability, leadership, and results Vinnie and Doug have built. I’ve heard the same sentiment expressed by people in all roles at Virtu. Compensation is very generous: well above other tech companies and I imagine similar to other trading companies in the space. There are lots of fun tech company perks and company outings: breakfast and lunch catered daily, laundry, haircuts, massages, omelet day, food truck Fridays, paintball, and a gym and Pilates studio with classes daily. The people here are really smart and down-to-earth. This is a collaborative environment; you won’t get away with sitting alone at your computer until it’s time to go home. There are opportunities every day to work with people in all different areas of the organization and all are enthusiastic, helpful and offer interesting perspectives. Every day is different, and most days are very fun. The company feels like a family.
Cons
Sometimes day-to-day maintenance and firefighting can eat up too much of the day. Stay positive, alert, and keep learning. Occasionally there will be tough problems you need to solve at the end of the day when you’d prefer to go home. 12-hour days are the norm, but you'll need to work later than that if there is a pressing need to keep the 24 hour/day trading system chugging along. There is a lot going on and it can be a challenge to stay focused and keep making progress towards meaningful goals. Support, encouragement, and feedback are there but you might need to ask for it.
