DeskPrep
Desk screenintermediate~35 min· Python code run & grade

Operations Coding Round

The ops/data Python round reconciliation, settlement dates, blotter validation, FIFO PnL and FIX parsing, run and graded in the browser.

The scenario

The data/coding round for a middle-office or trade-support seat. You're asked to write the exact logic behind the desk's daily controls: reconcile two books, compute a settlement date, flag the bad rows, tie out realised PnL. Precision and edge-cases are the whole test.

Where this shows up

Reconciliation joins, data-quality validation, business-day settlement math and FIFO PnL are the objective, auto-checkable core of ops/data take-homes Jane Street's ops screen runs HackerRank-style stream/array tasks; Optiver's data loop rewards catching errors early.

middle officetrade supportinvestment operationsdata analysis

Firms such as Jane Street, Goldman Sachs, Optiver.

DeskPrep is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any named firm. Firm names are used for illustrative, educational purposes only and do not imply that these materials are official assessments of, or are connected with, those firms.

The drill

Complete each function and Run it against the fixed inputs (Python via Pyodide, in your browser). Submit to grade your outputs; lists must be returned in the SORTED order stated in each docstring. In production you'd reach for pandas here these stubs keep to the standard library so it runs instantly.

Sample question

Implement settlement_date(trade_date, n, holidays): return the ISO settlement date = trade_date advanced n BUSINESS days, skipping Saturdays, Sundays and any ISO date in `holidays`.

Included with the Trading Ops pack

The full graded drill is part of the Trading Operations & Middle Office pack a one-time purchase unlocks every concept, coding guide, interview playbook and take-home in this track.

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