As our Performance Researcher Intern, you’ll spend your summer delving into complex, data-driven problems at one of the world’s leading tech-driven trading firms. Under the guidance and mentorship of industry experts, you’ll apply your critical mindset and strong technical skills to drive measurable improvements to trading execution.
Through a mix of trading lectures, coursework and hands-on project experience, you’ll have deepened your understanding of the quantitative trading industry and mastered the practical skills needed to drive our trading success by the end of the 8-week internship. Plus, if you’ve excelled over the summer, you’ll receive an offer to return as a Graduate Performance Researcher.
What you’ll do:
You will investigate real execution-performance problems across market data, our low-latency trading systems, networks, broker infrastructure, and exchanges. You will use data, experiments, and systems thinking to explain observed behavior and identify opportunities to improve trading execution.
Analyze market, order, system, and network data to reconstruct event flows and uncover performance patterns.
Develop hypotheses and run statistical experiments or black-box analysis to understand complex system behavior.
Build analyses, prototypes, metrics, and visualizations to test ideas and quantify results.
Work with traders, researchers, and engineers to evaluate and implement improvements.
What you’ll get:
You’ll join a culture of collaboration and excellence, where you’ll be surrounded by curious thinkers and creative problem solvers. Driven by a passion for continuous improvement, you’ll thrive in a supportive, high-performing environment alongside talented colleagues, working collectively to tackle the most complex problems in the financial markets.
In addition, you’ll receive:
A highly competitive remuneration package.
Optiver-covered flights and accommodation for the duration of the internship.
The opportunity to work alongside diverse and intelligent peers in a rewarding environment.
Training, mentorship and personal development opportunities.
Gym membership, plus weekly in-house chair massages.
Daily breakfast, lunch and in-house barista.
Regular social events.
Who you are:
University student graduating in 2028 or after 2027 September.
Pursuing or recently completed a technical degree such as Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electronic or Communication Engineering, or a related field.
Strong foundations in computer systems and quantitative reasoning, with depth in areas such as operating systems, networking, computer architecture, software/hardware systems.
Proficient in Python and data-analysis skills; experience with Linux, C++, large-scale data tools is a plus.
Curious, analytical, and detail-oriented, with strong problem-solving and learning ability.
Evidence of technical depth through research, systems or networking projects, internships, or substantial personal projects.
How to apply:
Don’t miss your chance to accelerate your career and thrive on one of the most dynamic trading floors in mainland China. Apply now via the form below.
In your application, please submit the following materials in English:
Resume
Cover letter (optional)
Questions? Please email [email protected].
We accept one application per role per year. If you have previously applied to this position during this season and have been unsuccessful, you can re-apply when the next recruitment season begins in 2027.
Diversity statement
Optiver is committed to diversity and inclusion. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, and welcome requests for reasonable adjustments during the process.
Privacy disclaimer
Optiver 重视个人信息的保护。请您在提供个人信息给我们之前，认真阅读Optiver China Privacy Notice, 了解我们如何收集及处理您的个人信息。
Personal information protection is of utmost importance to Optiver. Before you provide any personal information to us, we strongly urge you to read our Privacy Policy to acknowledge how we collect and process your personal information.
Skills Required
- University student graduating in 2028 or after September 2027
- Pursuing or recently completed a technical degree such as Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Communication Engineering, or a related field
- Strong foundations in computer systems and quantitative reasoning
- Depth in operating systems, networking, computer architecture, or software and hardware systems
- Proficiency in Python and data analysis
- Evidence of technical depth through research, systems or networking projects, internships, or substantial personal projects
- Experience with Linux, C++, or large-scale data tools
- Strong problem-solving, analytical, curious, detail-oriented, and learning abilities
Optiver Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Optiver and has not been reviewed or approved by Optiver.
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Career-Linked Recognition & Rewards — Pay is considered highly competitive in trading, quantitative, and engineering paths, with performance-linked bonuses materially elevating total earnings for strong contributors. High performers are described as seeing outsized upside when firm and team results are strong.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is depicted as comprehensive, including medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurance, alongside HSA/FSA options and mental-health support. Some locations note unlimited therapy access through a partner platform.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — U.S. roles are often described as offering 25 days of paid vacation plus market holidays, alongside generous parental leave. This breadth of time off is highlighted as helping to offset a high-intensity environment.
Optiver Insights
What We Do
Optiver’s story began over 30 years ago, when we started business as a single trader on the floor of Amsterdam’s options exchange. Today, we are at the forefront of trading and technology as a leading global electronic market maker, focused on pricing, execution and risk management.
Why Work With Us
People at Optiver love challenges, welcome collaboration, and strive to be better tomorrow than they are today. Improving the market is an extraordinary challenge that requires a carefully crafted approach. Optiver provides a collaborative working environment to tackle these challenges. In fact, it is this way of working that sets us apart.
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