Robinhood vs Citadel Software Engineering

New
czpj54

New

czpj54
Oct 17, 2020 95 Comments

Hey guys I'm currently interviewing for both robinhood and citadel. Still in the early stages of Citadel but my friend told me a total comp of 325k (and a 50k sign on added on to the 325) while robinhood I have an onsite soon but from the recruiter I imagine my total comp would be something like 165k + 70k equity and maybe a small sign on. I also have an offer from Google but I don't really want to work at something more slow-paced but the package is comparable to robinhood's and less than Citadel's. I have 3 YOE and currently work at a big company that I won't name.

My concerns with Citadel are that I'm not sure if Silicon Valley will respect SWE as much Robinhood for future opportunities in high growth startups, tech lead positions etc. Robinhood might be more fast growth and they seem to be doing really well but I feel like I might have just missed the right time to join.

Please let me know what you think! And also if you have any recommendations on what else to check out.

#softwareadvice #citadel #robinhood #engineering

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  • I commend you for asking the question. It really is not as black and white as people seek to think - Citadel‘s prestige isn’t really technical. It just pays a lot, and a lot of people want to work there so their interviews are hard

    In terms of the work itself, almost everyone on blind says the tech is shit, sw engineers are super back office, and career development is basically non existent

    If you simply want to grind it out and make as much money as quickly as possible take citadel. But I think you are correct for considering the different outcomes targeting growing to a hogh growth startup leadership type role

    To all the people who are obviously gonna shit on this comment (and my employee), just ask yourself - if you were running like Dropbox in 2014 and needed people to lead nascent eng departments and carry it to unicorn status, who are you going to hire: some guy who is E6/7 and launched several highly scaled features / products, or some guy who slogged it out at citadel for 10-15 years?
    Oct 19, 2020 41
    • Citadel
      BrutеForce

      Go to company page Citadel

      BrutеForce
      Cool, I definitely didn't answer in my original comment.
      Oct 27, 2020
    • That is correct, you didn’t answer the question of the avg case. You said “you could”, which isn’t the same, as I already explained in my first response, as you could make that at fb too (but most likely will not)

      Again, what is the avg comp of someone who’s been there 10y?
      Oct 27, 2020
  • VMware / Eng
    cohQ50

    Go to company page VMware Eng

     cohQ50
    Take the citadel offer if it comes in at 325.

    Don’t worry about finding a job 4 years later in the valley. If you pass the coding interview you will be fine.

    This is your time.
    Oct 17, 2020 0
  • Facebook
    hellllooo1

    Go to company page Facebook

    hellllooo1
    not sure about the future opportunities with high growth startups, but Citadel is way more prestigious than robinhood so I wouldn’t worry about respect. Also, if you’re worried about risk robinhood seems to be one of the most questionable of the “top” startups rn with other platforms removing trading fees; their only true edge now seems to be a nice UI. If this were stripe vs citadel I think it’d be a harder decision but citadel seems to be the winner
    Oct 17, 2020 5
    • Dropbox
      drop_tab

      Go to company page Dropbox

      drop_tab
      You will be a second class citizen but Citadel > Robinhood in terms of prestige and looks like TC for you as well.
      Oct 30, 2020
    • Google
      recsys

      Go to company page Google

      recsys
      Disagree here. Citadel has the lowest bar among the tech heavy trading firms and the work is not transferable in many cases to tech company work. I haven’t been impressed by Citadel folks as much as HRT/JS/etc or Robinhood alumni.
      Oct 30, 2020
  • Apple
    TrjD37

    Go to company page Apple

    TrjD37
    At this point Robinhood is a dying company. Why take $150k less a year in HcOL in non public stock for this
    Oct 18, 2020 6
    • New
      zxyzyxz

      New

      zxyzyxz
      It depends. Look at WeWork, they continued raising because they were burning cash so fast. Based on your comment it doesn't really seem like you have experience in fundraising. Companies can indeed raise money for scaling but their valuation doesn't magically get bigger just because they raise. The goal is to raise as little as possible to retain as much ownership as the founders can.
      Oct 19, 2020
    • You are right that it’s not good if some companies raise money at a flat valuation or decreased valuation. But if you look at the valuation increase of Robinhood in this year you will know rh is not like wework.
      Oct 19, 2020
  • Google
    hJvJ38

    Go to company page Google

    hJvJ38
    Definitely citadel. Engineering talent and brand is top notch. You can always come back to faang in future.
    There is no moat at Robinhood. And talent has no bar or respect. They're hiring a lot and many ppl getting in
    Oct 18, 2020 4