Ex-Citadel Quant and AI Researcher On Breaking In, Tech vs Finance Careers
Ex-Citadel Quant and AI Researcher On Breaking In, Tech vs Finance Careers  
Podcast: The Peterman Pod
Published On: Mon Jan 26 2026
Description: In this episode, I talked to Nimit Sohoni, a Stanford PhD and AI Researcher at Cartesia who previously worked as a quant at Citadel. We discussed the differences between AI research and quant careers, including work-life balance and the value of a PhD in these fields. Nimit also shared what he's currently working on and offered advice for those looking to transition into AI research.𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀:• YouTube: https://youtu.be/_jECS37M3dQ• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod/id1777363835• Transcript: https://www.developing.dev/p/stanford-phd-ai-researcher-and-quant𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:45 - Do you need a PhD?00:06:25 - Research taste and finding problems00:09:04 - Why become a quant00:12:01 - What quants do00:14:53 - How quants and SWEs collaborate00:16:29 - Quant vs tech culture00:26:39 - Quant firm tier list00:27:56 - Quant insider trading and perf culture00:30:53 - Going back to AI research00:35:08 - Who the top competitors are in voice AI00:39:22 - AI startups vs big labs00:42:08 - State space models vs transformers00:49:33 - AI labs: research or product?00:52:38 - Advice for SWEs who want to try AI research00:56:48 - Advice for younger self00:57:49 - Outro𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁:• Twitter/X: https://x.com/nimit_sohoni• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nimit-sohoni-68998854/• Cartesia: https://cartesia.ai/sonic𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻:• Newsletter: https://www.developing.dev/• X/Twitter: https://x.com/ryanlpeterman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman/• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@ryanlpeterman• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanlpeterman• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman