Fundamental Researcher - Compute Markets

The role

DRW Asset Management is seeking a Fundamental Researcher to develop investment views on compute markets and the infrastructure that supports them. You will research the economics of compute supply and demand, form views on the macro forces shaping the market, and translate them into investment recommendations for a compute derivatives strategy.

You will work alongside a quantitative researcher who owns the pricing models. Your contribution is an independent, fundamental perspective: understanding the models well enough to test their assumptions against what is happening in the market, and flagging when the market has moved ahead of them.

This is a founding seat on a small investment team. We are particularly interested in candidates with credit, commodities or semiconductor research experience who can apply rigorous analysis of cash flows, capacity, contracts and downside risk to a market that is still taking shape. We do not expect deep prior experience in compute. We expect strong analytical foundations and the curiosity to build sector expertise quickly.

What you'll do

• Develop macro and fundamental views on compute. Track and interpret the forces driving supply and demand: AI training and inference demand, hyperscaler and neocloud capital expenditure, chip supply and generational transitions, data center capacity, power availability, financing conditions and policy, including export controls.
• Translate pricing into investment views. Assess what compute pricing across contract terms and chip generations implies about demand, capacity and scarcity. Identify where prices diverge from fundamentals and recommend how to express those views.
• Validate pricing assumptions. Develop a working understanding of the pricing models and supply the fundamental evidence behind their key inputs, including supply pipeline, utilization, workload mix and the pace of price declines across hardware generations. Challenge those inputs when the evidence changes.
• Build research models. Develop supply-and-demand balances, unit economics and scenarios that connect fundamental drivers to compute pricing and investment outcomes, with assumptions documented and testable.
• Assess counterparties and assets with a credit investor's discipline. Evaluate revenue quality, utilization, cost structure, customer concentration, contractual commitments, leverage, liquidity and refinancing risk. Examine how generational turnover and the falling cost of compute affect asset values, counterparty resilience and recoveries.
• Make clear recommendations. Present to the Portfolio Manager and Investment Committee, setting out the investment thesis, valuation framework, catalysts, risks and the evidence that would change the view.
• Build differentiated information sources. Develop a network of industry contacts and data sources across hardware, cloud, data center and power markets to test assumptions and spot inflections early.