Optiver

Dougal

My name is Dougal and I studied Philosophy / Computer Science at Cambridge University, UK.

I’ve been a Performance Lab Engineer for two and a half years now. I received no formal training because there are no courses available for the level we work at. However, I learn interesting things from and with my colleagues every day. I have had 2 excellent courses in the Dutch language, courtesy of Optiver.

Our work is quite varied: our remit is to improve the performance of Optiver’s trading systems. Currently, I work mainly on our measurement software, which is widely used to understand how our systems perform. It’s hard to talk openly about what I do without giving away trade secrets. Having the fastest IT systems is a key component of Optiver’s strategy, and our speed enables us to be the leading Market Maker on many exchanges. We need to keep finding techniques to reduce our round trip latency so the traders can execute their strategies. It doesn’t matter how clever the strategies are if the Traders’ computers are too slow to do the trades they want. I also create white papers and measurement reports.

The variety and freedom I experience at Optiver extends to the point at which we are encouraged to participate outside of our primary roles: this includes contributing to in-house day presentations, the text of our recruitment adverts and the direction of our team.

My biggest challenge so far was when I started here. There was no IT-focused database of who traded what, where. I searched the company for the information I needed and combined it into a form that I could use to prioritise the Traders.

I chose Optiver because I felt it was time for a new challenge, and Optiver has certainly been the place for that. You are given a lot of freedom here, because one of Optiver’s key philosophies is that people tend to gravitate to where they can excel. For me, this means a lot of variety. We’re often breaking new ground researching stuff that you can’t Google for.

I love the fact I can cycle here in half an hour through a lot of greenery. I look after my kids on Mondays, so I only work a 4-day week, Optiver didn’t bat an eyelid when I asked for this in the interview. Another great thing about the company is the diversity. I was in the bar after the monthly meeting and at our table there was someone from Germany, Romania, Columbia, Ireland, England and even a Dutchman ;-) The money, perks and social events are excellent, too.

Optiver is growing fast, so you really get the feeling that you are helping to create the processes rather than being constrained by them. Judging by the annual results, we are doing well (always nice to be on the winning side) :-) so there is no shortage of money for projects you can justify.

To be honest, I’m very happy in my position. Every time we reduce round-trip times by an order of magnitude, we are presented with a new set of challenges that keep it fresh for me. So, I guess in two years’ time, I’ll be happy if I’m still in the same position I’m in now, enjoying all of the developments that happen along the way.