How much do Citadel and HRT employees make?

This is the only correct answer. SDE is the equivalent of the IT helpdesk at trading firms. Necessary but not valued and seen as cost center.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 You know all the trading is automated, yes? If your trading tech sucks, no amount of god tier alphas are gonna save you if your fill rates are pathetic. There are some firms that are fully automated and have no traders, just QR and SWE. You need good QR’s and QT’s for alpha generation and good SWE’s and (if required) FPGA folks to ensure your tech doesn’t suck and you remain competitive.