HFTs, banks, Big Tech battle for engineering talent at IITs

The capital market regulator's action against Jane Street has not deterred other high-frequency and quantitative trading firms from returning to Indian Institutes of Technology to pick interns as they vie for talent with banks and consulting giants to Big Tech companies.

- Pratishtha Bagai

At the older Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) of Kharagpur, Bombay, Madras, Kanpur, and Delhi, the companies that have registered early include Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Deutsche Bank, D.E. Shaw, Nomura, Glean Technologies, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Google India, placement coordinators told Mint. They are offering salaries of ₹1.5-4.5 lakh per month, show the registration details shared with Mint.

During the placement season starting August at most IITs, these companies will recruit students for internships in the next summer break between May and July 2026. The institutes hope to get offers for as many students as possible in a tight job market and global uncertainty. Internships are a barometer of the students' capability to secure jobs through the placement evaluation process.

"At McKinsey, interns are compensated in alignment with their full-time counterparts of similar tenure," said McKinsey in response to queries emailed by Mint. "We ensure parity in treatment and compensation, reflecting our commitment to providing a meaningful and rewarding internship experience." The company is hiring for the position of business analyst.