XAUUSD Fast Trading Strategy Research & MT5 Prototype

I am looking for a quantitative strategy researcher and MQL5 developer to help research, validate and prototype a fast automated XAUUSD trading system for MT5.

The target is tick-level trading with positions typically held for seconds, closely spaced entries, and configurable bursts of multiple positions during a qualifying opportunity.

IMPORTANT: We do not yet have a validated profitable strategy. I need someone who can research and test entry/exit logic, not only implement rules supplied by a client.

EXISTING WORK

We already have:

• A modular MQL5 execution and risk-management engine.
• Historical bid/ask tick data.
• Documented strategy experiments, including negative and inconclusive results.
• An execution-measurement tool prepared for demo testing.

The first step is to review the relevant findings and propose a distinct approach, avoiding unnecessary duplication.

TARGET BEHAVIOR

• MT5/MQL5, initially XAUUSD.
• Fast signals based on measurable market behavior.
• Short holding periods and configurable multiple entries, potentially 5–10 or more per opportunity when justified by the signal and total risk.
• Explicit rules for entry, additional positions, profit-taking, stop-loss, signal invalidation and maximum holding time.
• Individual or basket management with controlled aggregate exposure.
• Spread, execution-quality and news filters.
• No forced daily trade quota.
• No dependence on latency arbitrage, broker errors, feed manipulation or platform exploits.

Multiple entries should be compared with a single entry at equivalent total risk where relevant. Opening more tickets alone is not a trading advantage.

INITIAL MILESTONE — BUDGET USD 30–500

This budget is for a limited first research milestone, NOT a complete production robot.

Please propose a realistic scope within this budget. Clearly state what you can deliver and what would require a separate milestone. Do not promise the entire project for this amount.

The preferred initial scope is:

1. Review our research summary.
2. Define one distinct, testable strategy hypothesis.
3. Specify its entry/exit rules, required data and evaluation method before testing.
4. Implement a minimal reproducible test.
5. Report results after realistic costs and explain whether further development is justified.

If this scope exceeds the budget, propose a smaller useful milestone and identify what remains untested.

TESTING EXPECTATIONS

• Use bid/ask data and account for spread, commissions, execution delays and slippage.
• Clearly separate development data from out-of-sample evaluation.
• Respect our reserved datasets; agree on the data split before testing.
• Distinguish historical backtests, forward demo tests and real-money results.
• Report negative and inconclusive findings honestly.
• Document all tested variants and avoid selecting only favorable results.

Expected research deliverables, as agreed for the milestone:

• Exact strategy rules and assumptions.
• Source code for the research or prototype.
• Trade-level results.
• A concise report covering net expectancy, drawdown, frequency, holding periods, exposure and sensitivity to trading costs.
• Instructions to reproduce the results.

Payment is for completing the agreed work and delivering reproducible results, not for guaranteeing profitability.

LONGER-TERM DEVELOPMENT

If the research supports proceeding, we can agree on separate milestones for the production MT5 robot.

The final product should support reliable order handling, duplicate-order protection, restart recovery, configurable risk limits, emergency shutdown and efficient VPS operation.

It is intended for personal use across multiple accounts and eventual commercial sale or subscription licensing. Broker compatibility, suitable starting capital and compatibility with specific prop-firm rules will need to be evaluated. MT4 support may be considered later.

Strategy-specific code and research produced for this project must include source delivery and commercial use, modification and resale rights. Identify any pre-existing tools or third-party restrictions before agreement.

PLEASE INCLUDE IN YOUR APPLICATION

1. Your experience researching short-duration strategies, especially XAUUSD or comparable markets.
2. Whether you develop original strategy logic or mainly implement client-supplied rules.
3. One relevant, verifiable work example. An anonymized report or reproducible public example is acceptable.
4. A brief description of the approach you would investigate.
5. Your exact first-milestone scope, deliverables, fixed price and timeline.
6. Any additional data, software or subscription costs.

Please review the project summary before quoting full production development. All communication and payments will remain within this MQL5 application. No paid work begins until the scope and price are agreed.