Citadel · Primly Community

Citadel remote and hybrid policy and what it actually means day to day

infra_ines · 5 replies

Short version: Citadel is not a remote-friendly company. If that's a dealbreaker for you, now you know.

Longer version, because the specifics matter.

As of 2026, the expectation for most tech roles (SWE, infra, data engineering) is five days a week in the office. This is not a soft expectation. It's tracked and managers are aware of attendance. I've heard of people getting feedback specifically about remote days even when they thought they were in a reasonable gray area.

There are effectively two main tech hubs: Chicago (the bigger one, Citadel's HQ) and New York. Some roles exist in other locations but Chicago is where the density is. If you're not in either of those metros and willing to relocate, most Citadel tech roles are not going to be a match.

Where this bites people: the recruiter screens often don't surface the in-office expectation prominently. You can make it through multiple rounds assuming standard 3-days-in-office hybrid before someone in the later rounds mentions that it's five. I've heard this story from several people who went through the loop in the past year.

The ask I'd make to anyone interviewing: just directly ask the recruiter in the first call. "What's the current in-office expectation for this role?" You don't have to frame it as reluctance. Just confirm it early.

For people who are genuinely fine being in a Chicago or New York office five days a week and want a high-comp, high-intensity environment: Citadel's office environment is actually quite good. The offices are well-equipped, the facilities are nice, the people are engaged. It's not a place where people show up to sit on video calls at their desks.

But don't go in expecting any kind of remote flexibility that wasn't explicitly agreed to upfront.

5 replies

tired_recruiter

I'll add: in my experience the five-day expectation varies somewhat by team and seniority. More senior engineers sometimes have a bit more flexibility. But as a baseline assumption for a new hire, treat it as five days until you hear otherwise.

brand_ben

The 'recruiter doesn't mention it until late in the loop' thing is a real pattern at HFT shops generally. They get so used to the culture being the culture that they forget to flag it for candidates who don't know the industry norms.

infra_ines

Yeah it's not malicious, it's more that everyone internally treats it as obvious. Worth surfacing early regardless.

visa_vik

Does the in-office expectation affect H1B candidates differently in terms of relocation timing or sponsorship? Asking because that aspect of the Chicago vs NY decision has extra complexity for me.

growth_gabe

Also worth asking: does the five-day expectation apply to PM roles too or is it mainly engineering? The product/tech boundary at Citadel is a bit different from normal SaaS companies.