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Our people

Where talent
meets opportunity

Five critical domains

At Optiver, each domain offers a new opportunity

Whether you’re seeking an internship, graduate or experienced role, our career opportunities are abundant. We work across five critical domains: trading, technology, risk & control, data science and business operations.

Domain
Cutting-edge
Technology
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Domain

Our business is driven by technology

Technology isn’t just a component of Optiver’s business – it powers everything we do.

We leverage technology to solve a variety of complex problems: optimising for scarce bandwidth, responding to market events in nanoseconds, pricing complex sets of financial instruments with low error tolerance and analysing huge volumes of data. Our systems are built to add stability to the market; therefore they must operate at peak efficiency in extreme conditions.

domain
Market-making
Trading
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domain

Trading is at the core of what we do

Optiver trades thousands of financial instruments on exchanges worldwide, using our own capital and at our own risk. As a market maker, we aim to improve the markets in which we trade by continuously offering the most competitive prices possible.

To be not only active but also precise, across all of these markets and products is a hugely complex challenge. We continuously refine and optimise our proprietary trading strategies and algorithms to price the thousands of instruments we trade. After all, the only constant in markets is change, and keeping up requires nimble, decisive thinkers — a pretty accurate description of an Optiver trader.

domain
Compliance-led
Control and risk management
35
domain

Risk management is in our DNA

At Optiver, risk management and control are built into our financial and operational processes. Our dedicated team of Risk and Control professionals ensures we’re operating in accordance with local regulations, laws, market requirements and expectations. It’s one reason why we’re trusted to provide continuous prices for thousands of financial instruments on 70+ exchanges around the globe.

We focus on five core risk and control domains at Optiver – market risk, automated trading risk, operational risk management, compliance and control.

domain
Deep, quantitative
Data Science
35
domain

Data scientists improve our trading strategies

How does Optiver continuously price hundreds of thousands of financial products in real-time? One word: Data.

Data Science is at the very core of Optiver’s pricing strategies. Our teams tackle challenges at the intersection of technology and trading – where some of the most complex and valuable financial market data resides. With world-class skills that cut through the noise, Optiver’s data science teams directly contribute to the precision and scalability of our trading business.

domain
People-led
Business operations
35
domain

People shape the future of our firm

At Optiver, people are our greatest strength. That’s why we’re passionate about empowering them and championing inclusivity in everything that we do. From wide-ranging benefits to countless learning opportunities, we pride ourselves on enriching our people’s well-being and investing in their development.

OUR PEOPLE

Combining IQ and EQ

When solving some of the most complex financial challenges, we seek people with bright minds and humble mindsets.

Chinmay Tech Intern
Chinmay – AMSTERDAM

Tech intern

Joris – Amsterdam

Engineer

Winnie – Sydney

Market Risk Intern

Early careers - Internship
CHOOSE YOUR path

Launch your career

Whether you’re a student considering an internship, a graduate looking for a full-time role, or simply curious about life at a leading trading firm, Optiver offers a range of opportunities to navigate your future career in tech, trading, risk and research.

OUR VALUES

We look for

Collaborative thinkers

While most of our people are competitive at heart, we still believe that our best work is done together. Our unique internal culture fosters an environment that not only accepts working together on projects but encourages it.

Continuous learners

At Optiver, continuous innovation is the name of the game. Whether it’s Trading, Technology, Compliance, Risk or Business Operations, our flexible career paths provide opportunities for our people to continuously improve upon and fine tune their skills.

Challenge seekers

The strategies and technology we deploy to keep the markets stable are deeply complex. Our people thrive on finding ways to do all of these things faster, smarter and more efficiently — every single day.

Entrepreneurial spirits

While we take measures to mitigate risk as a business, we encourage our people to step out of their comfort zones as often as they can. The sharing of ideas can come from any and everyone, and we take pride in our people feeling comfortable to openly do so to explore new opportunities and unlock new potential.

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ONBOARDING

Discover our interview process

Our interview process varies by role, but there are a few things they all share in common.

01

Application

Submit your job application and information on our website.

02

Assessments

Our assessments vary based on role, skill level and experience, and may include quantitative, cognitive or technical assessments.

03

Initial interviews

Candidates are invited for a conversation to assess skills, cultural fit and working style.

04

Final interviews and discussions

Candidates typically undergo a series of behavioral and technical interviews to further dive into how they think.

CULTURE

Life at Optiver

  • Meet the team

    From Mathematical Olympiads to Optiver: Ana’s Journey

    Ana’s transition from participating in prestigious Mathematical Olympiads to the fast-paced trading floors of Optiver is a remarkable tale of passion meeting profession. With a strong foundation in Computer Science and an innate love for solving puzzles, Ana found herself in the world of finance, a field she hadn’t originally considered. Her involvement in various Mathematical Olympiads, including as a contestant and later as a team and organiser, not only demonstrates her commitment to the discipline but also highlights her role in mentoring young women in STEM. In this post we’ll explore Ana’s journey, offering a closer look at how her background in mathematics has shaped her career in trading, the challenges she’s navigated, and her advice for aspiring young women in these fields.

    Learn more
    EMEA
  • Experienced, Meet the team

    A finance role unlike others

    As a leading proprietary trading firm, Optiver works to make markets more efficient, transparent and stable across the globe. While our commitment to provide liquidity is continuous and our aim is to be a stabilising force, financial markets and our operations are dynamic. For the Finance Team, this requires continuous improvements in finance processes to stay aligned with evolving market conditions and business strategies.

    Learn more
    Europe, Global
  • Competition, Experienced

    Advent of Code 2023: Clean Code Challenge

    In December last year, Optiver proudly entered its third year as a sponsor of Advent of Code. This annual event, structured like an advent calendar, offers tech enthusiasts from around the world the chance to test and showcase their creative programming skills with a new festive-themed puzzle each day. Our sponsorship reinforces our commitment to fostering technical innovation and a culture of continuous learning.

    Learn more
    Europe, Global
  • Experienced, Life at Optiver

    Risk and reward within a dynamic trading firm: Insights from Optiver’s CRO Europe

    In business, risk management is often thought of as a of back-office support function—the department generally responsible for steering a company away from pitfalls and worse-case scenarios with cautionary, arms-length advice. Not at Optiver. In our high-stakes trading firm environment, it’s a core discipline that directly impacts the success of daily trading operations. As Optiver […]

    Learn more
    Global
  • Nicolas_Infrastructure_as_code
    Series
    Experienced, Life at Optiver

    Navigating Infrastructure as Code (IaC) in a non-cloud trading environment

    In the high-performance landscape of algorithmic trading, technological infrastructure isn’t just important—it’s critical. While Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is a well-established practice in cloud-based solutions, its application in non-cloud environments presents unique challenges, especially in latency-sensitive environments like ours at Optiver.

    Learn more
    Global
  • Series
    Life at Optiver

    From ideation to production: US tech intern summer projects

    Foreword by US CTO, Alex Itkin One of the most exciting parts of summer at Optiver is hosting the ever growing intern cohort. This summer in the US alone we had 35 interns working across our software, hardware and trading infrastructure teams. The goal of the internship is to give students an opportunity to spend […]

    Learn more
    Americas
  • Series
    Life at Optiver

    Tech intern projects at Optiver Amsterdam

    This summer, Optiver’s Amsterdam office hosted a group of tech interns eager to tackle the challenges of market making. Beyond just theory, they worked hands-on with our core trading technologies, directly engaging with some of the most interesting technical challenges in the financial industry.  In this blog post, four of our Software Engineering interns delve […]

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    EMEA