This team provides quantitative modeling solutions for private markets across a wide variety of problems, including nowcasting private asset and fund values, forecasting alpha in private asset deals, and optimizing strategic asset allocation with illiquid assets. The team builds and connects innovative models and methodologies to support investment decision-making in illiquid asset classes.
Aladdin Financial Engineering (AFE) is a 400+ person group within BlackRock Solutions, the business responsible for the research and development of Aladdin’s financial models. The models developed and supported by AFE span a wide array of financial products covering equities, fixed income, commodities, derivatives, and private markets. AFE provides investment insights that range from an analysis of cash flows on a single bond, to the overall financial risk associated with an entire portfolio, balance sheet, or enterprise.
Role Description:
We are seeking an experienced quantitative researcher for a Vice President role on the Aladdin Private Markets SWAT Team, a small group dedicated to solving novel modeling challenges in private markets. This role will focus on expanding and adapting our suite of Nowcasting models to build new, next generation private market indices. The VP will guide the research, design, and implementation of valuation models, overseedaytoday index estimation, and ensure a rigorous, highquality production process. A core responsibility will be extending these models to new asset classes, data environments, and market structures, requiring both empirical rigor and innovative problemsolving.
• Lead the research, design, and development of new Nowcasting and valuation models across additional private asset classes.
• Conduct empirical research to calibrate models to private market data and evaluate performance using backtesting, benchmarking, and robustness analysis.
• Build, maintain, and productionize model codebases, ensuring reliability, transparency, and scalability.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to define use cases, communicate model behavior and limitations, and support integration into investment and analytics workflows.
• Contribute to research publications, conference presentations, and clientfacing discussions highlighting the team’s modeling innovations.
• Support broader Private Markets SWAT Team initiatives, including bespoke modeling projects for portfolio management or advisory teams.
Qualifications:
• Ph.D. in Finance, Economics, Statistics, or a related quantitative field.
• 3+ years of experience in empirical financial modeling or quantitative research in industry or academia. (Graduating Ph.D.swill be considered for a comparable junior role.)
• Strong foundation in empirical modeling, including timeseries analysis and Bayesian methods.
• Additional consideration for experience with private markets or empirical asset pricing.
• Proficiency in Python and willingness to adopt new tools, libraries, and technologies.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct rigorous empirical research, manage complex datasets, and design wellstructured analyses.
• Effective communicator capable of explaining quantitative concepts to diverse audiences and collaborating across technical and nontechnical teams.
For New York, NY Only the salary range for this position is USD$170,000.00 - USD$225,000.00 . Additionally, employees are eligible for an annual discretionary bonus, and benefits including healthcare, leave benefits, and retirement benefits. BlackRock operates a pay-for-performance compensation philosophy and your total compensation may vary based on role, location, and firm, department and individual performance.
To help you stay energized, engaged and inspired, we offer a wide range of benefits including a strong retirement plan, tuition reimbursement, comprehensive healthcare, support for working parents and Flexible Time Off (FTO) so you can relax, recharge and be there for the people you care about.
BlackRock’s hybrid work model is designed to enable a culture of collaboration and apprenticeship that enriches the experience of our employees, while supporting flexibility for all. Employees are currently required to work at least 4 days in the office per week, with the flexibility to work from home 1 day a week. Some business groups may require more time in the office due to their roles and responsibilities. We remain focused on increasing the impactful moments that arise when we work together in person – aligned with our commitment to performance and innovation. As a new joiner, you can count on this hybrid model to accelerate your learning and onboarding experience here at BlackRock.
At BlackRock, we are all connected by one mission: to help more and more people experience financial well-being. Our clients, and the people they serve, are saving for retirement, paying for their children’s educations, buying homes and starting businesses. Their investments also help to strengthen the global economy: support businesses small and large; finance infrastructure projects that connect and power cities; and facilitate innovations that drive progress.