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Learning Pathway

CS Fundamentals

The algorithms and data structures required for quant developer and researcher roles.

About this pathway

CS Fundamentals prepares you for the coding component of quant interviews. Unlike generic SWE prep, every problem is framed in a quantitative finance context — from order book design to time-series algorithms and performance-critical numerical code.

Who it's for

Candidates for quant developer, quant researcher (with coding), and systematic trading roles. Relevant at all top prop firms, hedge funds, and HFT shops.

Skills covered

Data structures: heaps, trees, hash maps
Algorithms: sorting, searching, dynamic programming
Graph algorithms for portfolio optimization
Time-series algorithms & sliding windows
Order book simulation & market microstructure
Complexity analysis & performance optimization

Course modules

01
Core Data Structures
7 lessons
02
Sorting & Searching Algorithms
5 lessons
03
Dynamic Programming Patterns
8 lessons
04
Graph Theory & Applications
5 lessons
05
Finance-Specific Algorithms
6 lessons

Example problems

A taste of what you'll work through.

1

Design an order book supporting O(1) best bid/ask lookup and O(log n) add/cancel order.

2

Given a price time series, find the maximum profit from at most k non-overlapping buy-sell pairs.

3

Implement a rolling median over a stream of prices using two heaps. Analyze time and space complexity.

Expected outcome

You will confidently solve coding problems in quant interviews, explain algorithmic tradeoffs, and write production-quality numerical code that demonstrates both CS depth and finance awareness.

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