16-year-old prodigy Kairan Quazi is leaving SpaceX to join Citadel Securities as a quantitative developer

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16-year-old prodigy Kairan Quazi is leaving SpaceX to join Citadel Securities as a quantitative developer

Kairan Quazi: 16-Year-Old Prodigy Joins Citadel Securities

Kairan Quazi, 16, who joined SpaceX’s Starlink team at 14, is moving to Citadel Securities.Kairan Quazi, 16, who joined SpaceX’s Starlink team at 14, is moving to Citadel Securities.Kairan Quazi, 16, who joined SpaceX’s Starlink team at 14, is moving to Citadel Securities.

Here found on X / Twitter about Kairan Quazi

  • Name / age: Kairan Quazi, born 2009 — reported as 16 in recent articles. Wikipedia

  • Education: Graduated from Santa Clara University (School of Engineering) at age 14, becoming the university’s youngest graduate. 

  • Notable employers: Joined SpaceX’s Starlink team after graduation; now reported to be joining Citadel Securities as a quantitative developer.

  • Official X account / profile: @kairanquazi1 — his profile and many of his past posts are visible there. X (formerly Twitter)

  • Hashtag activity: People are tweeting under #KairanQuazi (reacting to the Citadel move, his SpaceX past, and the Elon-Musk exchange).

  • Notable tweet / reaction on X: Elon Musk reposted a Fortune story and commented, “First time I’ve ever heard of him,” which sparked a lot of replies and debate on the platform. Types of posts you’ll see on X:

    • Links to news stories about Quazi’s move from SpaceX to Citadel.

    • Threads debating whether Musk’s comment was sincere, trolling, or a PR blip. 

    • Old posts from Quazi’s timeline showing his early public activity and commentary.

Timeline (short): Kairan Quazi SpaceX

  • ~2019–2022: Early accelerated schooling and college courses (media coverage documents accelerated path). 

  • 2023 (age 14): Graduated SCU and was hired by SpaceX to work on Starlink software. 

  • 2023–2025: Worked at SpaceX on Starlink systems (reports say he contributed to core software). 

  • Aug 2025: Announced leaving SpaceX to join Citadel Securities as a quant developer.

What he did at SpaceX & what he’ll do at Citadel: Kairan Quazi Citadel

  • At SpaceX / Starlink, media reports describe him working on software for satellites and related infrastructure—an entry-level engineering role but notable because of his age.

  • At Citadel Securities, reports say his role will sit at the intersection of engineering and quantitative problem-solving (global trading infrastructure / developer work supporting trading systems). He reportedly chose Citadel over offers from AI labs and big tech.

Why the Kiran Quazi story matters: Teen Prodigy SpaceX

  • Age × impact: His career path (college graduate at 14, working at high-profile employers before adulthood) challenges normal expectations about education and recruitment. Santa Clara University

  • Signal about talent flows: Journalists framed the move as an example of top young technical talent being courted by finance (where measurable, fast impact can be seen) as well as tech/AI.

Public reaction & controversy

  • The move generated wide coverage and also some pushback / online debate. Notably, Elon Musk was reported to have said he had “never heard of” Quazi after news of the resignation — that comment caused a social-media reaction and skepticism among some.

What we don’t (yet) know publicly / cautions

  • Media pieces rely mainly on press reporting and company/agent statements; details about exact project responsibilities, compensation, and internal reasons beyond Kairan’s quoted preferences are not publicly documented in technical depth. Treat quotes in articles as reported statements rather than formal public filings.