BENGALURU/NEW DELHI: Algorithmic and proprietary trading firms as well as investment platforms are set to offer the biggest pay packages to the Class of 2026 at legacy Indian Institutes of Technology, where final placements begin Monday.
Da Vinci Derivatives (Rs 2.5 crore-plus), NK Securities (about Rs 1.65 crore), Rubrik (Rs 1.49 crore), Glean, IMC Trading, Databricks, APT Portfolio (Rs 1 crore-plus), Atlas Research, Quadeye, Quantbox and Graviton (Rs 90 lakh to Rs 1 crore) are likely to be among the top paymasters based on the pre-placement offers (PPOs) made and those expected during the final placements. These include both international and domestic offers, according to placement cells at these institutes.
Legacy or earlier-generation IITs are Delhi, Bombay, Madras, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Roorkee, Guwahati and BHU (Varanasi).
The packages may vary across campuses and include base pay, fixed and variable bonus, joining bonus, relocation allowance and other perks.
Big trading firms are ready to pay handsomely to hire top engineering talent to work on core infrastructure.
More Pre-placement Offers
In an automated machine-trading environment, a small improvement in the systems can bring a big difference in execution efficiency.
Last year, global trading firm Jane Street offered a PPO of about Rs 4.3 crore, the highest package across IITs, to an IIT-Madras student for a Hong Kong role, as ET first reported in December 2024. This year, Jane Street inducted interns from the Class of 2026, but it could not be ascertained till the time of going to press on Sunday if it offered any PPOs. The company did not respond to an email seeking comment.
While the bumper offers in the first few days do not reflect the number of total students who will get placed, placement cells are more optimistic this time around than the last couple of years. Across IITs, the number of PPOs has gone up and more recruiters, including first timers, are set to visit the campuses this season, said placement cell members.
“Recruiter performance has been strong, and the overall environment feels very promising.
We are optimistic,” said SK Shrivastava, coordinator for training and placement cell at IITBHU, Varanasi.
The top package at IIT-BHU from high-frequency algorithmic trading firm NK Securities for a software development engineer role is Rs 1.65 crore. Rubrik has made a PPO of Rs 1.49 crore to a student who interned with the data security platform. The number of PPOs at the institute has gone up by 7% from last year, said Shrivastava.
“We had better internships and better PPO conversions,” said a placement cell member at another top IIT. “Though salaries for several companies have remained more or less the same, we are hopeful of a better season this time around.”
Salary packages on average are also likely to go up this year compared to last, a placement representative at another legacy IIT said.
Top companies such as Google, Microsoft, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Flipkart, Ola, Amazon and DE Shaw — including sectors ranging from technology, FMCG and ecommerce to consulting — will be vying for IIT talent on the first day of placements.
According to people in the know, salaries start at about `30 lakh and go up to Rs 50 lakh and more for these companies.
While companies are likely to be cautious on hiring, artificial intelligence, digital tech and product talents are likely to be in high demand as they invest in building AI-led solutions and services, said Sangeeta Gupta, senior vice president of IT industry body Nasscom.
PPOs have become an increasingly popular route for hiring, especially among high-frequency trading firms, some of which are hiring only those who have interned with them.
Sudeept Sinha, founder at quantitative high-frequency trading firm Atlas Research, told ET that the company is hiring through PPOs and off-campus.
“We intend to hire about 10-15 IITans from the Class of 2026 from streams such as computer science, engineering and maths and computing,” he said.
Da Vinci Derivatives (Rs 2.5 crore-plus), NK Securities (about Rs 1.65 crore), Rubrik (Rs 1.49 crore), Glean, IMC Trading, Databricks, APT Portfolio (Rs 1 crore-plus), Atlas Research, Quadeye, Quantbox and Graviton (Rs 90 lakh to Rs 1 crore) are likely to be among the top paymasters based on the pre-placement offers (PPOs) made and those expected during the final placements. These include both international and domestic offers, according to placement cells at these institutes.
Legacy or earlier-generation IITs are Delhi, Bombay, Madras, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Roorkee, Guwahati and BHU (Varanasi).
The packages may vary across campuses and include base pay, fixed and variable bonus, joining bonus, relocation allowance and other perks.
Big trading firms are ready to pay handsomely to hire top engineering talent to work on core infrastructure.
More Pre-placement Offers
In an automated machine-trading environment, a small improvement in the systems can bring a big difference in execution efficiency.
Last year, global trading firm Jane Street offered a PPO of about Rs 4.3 crore, the highest package across IITs, to an IIT-Madras student for a Hong Kong role, as ET first reported in December 2024. This year, Jane Street inducted interns from the Class of 2026, but it could not be ascertained till the time of going to press on Sunday if it offered any PPOs. The company did not respond to an email seeking comment.
While the bumper offers in the first few days do not reflect the number of total students who will get placed, placement cells are more optimistic this time around than the last couple of years. Across IITs, the number of PPOs has gone up and more recruiters, including first timers, are set to visit the campuses this season, said placement cell members.
“Recruiter performance has been strong, and the overall environment feels very promising.
We are optimistic,” said SK Shrivastava, coordinator for training and placement cell at IITBHU, Varanasi.
The top package at IIT-BHU from high-frequency algorithmic trading firm NK Securities for a software development engineer role is Rs 1.65 crore. Rubrik has made a PPO of Rs 1.49 crore to a student who interned with the data security platform. The number of PPOs at the institute has gone up by 7% from last year, said Shrivastava.
“We had better internships and better PPO conversions,” said a placement cell member at another top IIT. “Though salaries for several companies have remained more or less the same, we are hopeful of a better season this time around.”
Salary packages on average are also likely to go up this year compared to last, a placement representative at another legacy IIT said.
Top companies such as Google, Microsoft, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Flipkart, Ola, Amazon and DE Shaw — including sectors ranging from technology, FMCG and ecommerce to consulting — will be vying for IIT talent on the first day of placements.
According to people in the know, salaries start at about `30 lakh and go up to Rs 50 lakh and more for these companies.
While companies are likely to be cautious on hiring, artificial intelligence, digital tech and product talents are likely to be in high demand as they invest in building AI-led solutions and services, said Sangeeta Gupta, senior vice president of IT industry body Nasscom.
PPOs have become an increasingly popular route for hiring, especially among high-frequency trading firms, some of which are hiring only those who have interned with them.
Sudeept Sinha, founder at quantitative high-frequency trading firm Atlas Research, told ET that the company is hiring through PPOs and off-campus.
“We intend to hire about 10-15 IITans from the Class of 2026 from streams such as computer science, engineering and maths and computing,” he said.
