Jane Street recruitment at IITs continues amid ongoing Sebi proceedings: Report

High-frequency trading firm Jane Street has continued recruiting from top Indian engineering campuses, extending offers to students for its Hong Kong operations. The New York-based quant firm has hired from the Class of 2026 at multiple Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT)- even as it contests regulatory action in India.

An executive aware of the development said the firm picked candidates from IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi and IIT Madras. These offers were made through pre-placement routes rather than the main placement season, per Live Mint reports.

Jane Street continues IIT hiring through PPO route
Jane Street is understood to have followed the pre-placement offer (PPO) model. That typically means students intern first, then receive full-time offers based on performance. In this case, the selected candidates from the 2026 batch would have interned during the summer of 2025.

The company did not visit campuses during final placements, as reported by Live Mint. It also did not respond to queries on compensation. However, past offers from the firm for similar roles have crossed ₹4 crore annually, placing it among the highest-paying recruiters at IITs. Quant and HFT firms are known to hire students with strong math and statistical skills for global desks.

Other firms active in this space include Optiver, Squarepoint, Tibra, JPMC Quant and Maverick Derivatives. Recent campus seasons have also seen names such as Quantbox Research, Graviton Research Capital and Quadeye.

Regulatory case continues in parallel

The hiring push comes as Jane Street remains locked in proceedings with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). In July 2025, the regulator barred four Jane Street entities from the securities market until alleged unlawful gains were deposited in escrow.

The firm has since placed ₹4,843.6 crore in escrow to regain market access, The Hindu reported. It has appealed to the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), arguing that earlier reviews by the National Stock Exchange and Sebi’s surveillance unit had examined its trades. The appeal is scheduled to be heard on February 25.

For now, recruitment activity appears unaffected. Offers this cycle are tied to Jane Street’s Hong Kong desk – not India operations. The number of students hired has not been confirmed.

Campus placement teams earlier reviewed the situation after Sebi’s order, but hiring has proceeded. The firm, meanwhile, has said it is cooperating with the regulatory process while seeking access to records relevant to its defence.