The most interesting hedge fund jobs that don’t require industry experience

Want to enjoy the gravitas of working at a hedge fund but don’t have any experience trading or building complex algorithms? There are still a few options, some more off-the-wall than others. We did a deep dive through the career sites of some of the world’s biggest hedge funds to find out what they’re currently looking for, other than investing talent.

Bridgewater needs people to reconfigure their space

Driven by its mantra of “radical transparency,” Bridgewater Associates is well known for its unique workplace culture. Founder Ray Dalio’s love of the social sciences may have been the inspiration for a  'workplace strategist', which sounds like a facilities job that's a hybrid of an interior designer and a data analyst.

The workplace strategist will help reconfigure Bridgewater offices to improve employee productivity and enhance company culture through work pattern analysis. The right candidate will “provide data-rich, evidence-based measures of workplace performance” that inform new office designs and policies. The firm is also looking for a space planner to do more of the hands-on office reconfigurations. You can’t say Bridgewater doesn’t put a lot of thought into everything it does. This is not your typical open-office vs. closed office debate. Both jobs are permanent, full-time roles.

AQR is looking for a compensation specialist

Being an associate who helps decide how much your fellow employees make likely won’t win you any popularity contests. But this is an interesting role that mixes data analytics, budgeting and human capital management. AQR wants someone who can build compensation models and budgeting/forecasting reports as well as facilitate year-end salary and bonus plans and present them to senior management.

Man Group wants an operations liaison person

The client operations representative will manage the relationship with both service providers and investors for one of the firm’s bigger quant funds. Perhaps the most eye-catching aspect of the posting is the first responsibility listed: “Participate in the management of the team's email inbox on a daily basis, ensuring that all emails are responded to appropriately.” Of course, there’s more to the role than just that, but you can likely pass on applying if you still have an AOL account.

Two Sigma is eyeing a branding specialist

In most industries, a brand marketing director is far from an “odd” job. But in the traditionally secretive hedge fund world, it is – or at least it was. This senior-level person will be charged with building brand identity through content, marketing campaigns and events. The role shows how even very successful hedge funds need to openly compete for capital and talent in the current environment. Just a few years ago, most hedge funds had just a one-page website that didn’t even explain what they did.

Everyone under the sun needs an EA

The Internet contains more postings for executive assistants than almost every other hedge fund job combined. The salaries are larger than you might expect, ranging from $85k to $110k, with one anonymous posting offering as much as $150k plus bonus to be the “gatekeeper” for a partner at a Greenwich, Connecticut hedge fund. A New York recruiter told us there's a reason for all the openings, despite the hefty pay packages. “There’s a lot of turnover with EAs,” he said. “Hedge fund managers are often temperamental and hard to deal with,” he added, referencing one in particular who tends to go through one or two EAs a year. “They either end up fired or get fed up and quit.”

While several hard skills are required, the “gatekeeper” posting uses some interesting language to describe what the partner is looking for. “Need a very even keeled, accessible, trustworthy, pleasant and loyal individual.”

Several funds are considering entry-level hires

Typically speaking, most hedge funds don’t do all that much entry-level hiring, preferring instead to pick off analysts from the sell-side with a couple years of experience. However, several firms appear open to recent grads that weren’t brought up through their internship programs. Two Sigma, for example, runs a big graduate program and is looking for campus hires to join its Business Innovation & Growth (“BIG”) team, which seems to cover a variety of projects ranging from investment sourcing to crafting internal messaging.

Meanwhile, an anonymous hedge fund is looking for bachelor’s degree holders with 0-2 years of experience to perform fairly basic tasks including preparing daily accounting reports, income statements and reconciliations. The role pays $24.56 per hour. Not an eye-opening salary, but it’s one way to get in the door. It appears that some hedge funds are now more willing to do the training themselves and cut costs.

One fund is searching for a caffeine originator, 'latte art experience preferred'

Traders need that patented foamed milk swirl. (h/t @HFObserver)

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