Hudson River Trading

• Good pay.
• Great food.
• Full access to the codebase.
• I met some really great people that I'll remember forever.
• Some C++ in the codebase is pretty cool.
• Non-compete pay.
• Some extremely talented individuals.
• Great place for some people.

I decided to leave HRT when they let someone I knew who is neuro-divergent go without warning. They never spoke to them about the situation, so they never had the opportunity to share their disability. This was due to conflict avoidance on their lead's part.

Your experience depends heavily on which team you join:

• Echo-chamber culture lacking ideological diversity.
• Code reviews could feel more about demonstrating dominance instead of discussing tradeoffs.
• Some smart people have trouble working with those who think and process differently.
• Algo-devs > algo-engi, even over engi code.
• Some parts of the code are terrible.
• Smart people, some of whom are too sure of their knowledge and have to be right.
• Someone said, "It feels like I'm getting hazed by the code." The reply was, "Welcome to HRT."
• Leads seem inexperienced at getting the most out of people and tapping into their strengths.
• Leads admitted there was a problem on a team but did not step in, deeming it most profitable to let the golden goose run amok.
• I regretted joining, and unfortunately, the pay and smiles made me feel I should like it and be appreciative.

Think of a rich, psychologically domineering, and abusive husband. After leaving, my headspace improved greatly.

They have so much potential. Unfortunately, some toxic personas run amok. It depends heavily on what team you get put on.

Some of those that seem the friendliest are actually very toxic. Value those that have the courage to disagree with you on things you are convinced of. Stop empowering thin-skinned ego-maniacs; look at the small things to get a read.