Ready to kickstart your career in one of the world's leading tech-driven trading firms?
Join FutureFocus, our immersive five-day program designed to ignite your potential as a future trader, researcher or engineer at Optiver.
Dive into the fundamentals of trading, gain unique insights into Optiver’s cutting-edge trading systems and build the key skills that our teams use every day.
Plus, if you've excelled in the program, you could receive a direct offer for our 2027 Summer Internship Program.
- Eligible for pre-penultimate university students (graduating in 2028 or later)
- Program dates: 3 – 7 August 2026
- Where: Singapore
*Note: If you reside outside of Singapore, Optiver will cover your travel and accommodation costs.
What you'll do
Led by former traders and engineers, our world-class education team will guide you through the intricacies of market making. You will immerse in a mix of hands-on and classroom learning, empowering you to thrive in the world of trading and technology.
As part of FutureFocus , you’ll have the opportunity to:
- Kickstart your journey in trading or research, as you learn the fundamentals of trading theory. You’ll also learn how to build trading strategies and deploy them in a virtual market.
- Immerse in our dynamic trading floor and see our cutting-edge systems in action. You'll discover unique insights into our in-house trading systems and understand how we remain at the forefront of the global markets.
- Connect with recent graduates and hear their personal experiences.
- Receive mentorship from in-house trainers and senior traders, who are committed to ensuring you have the guidance and support needed to succeed.
- Experience Optiver's culture and enjoy our incredible benefits, including daily breakfast, lunch and coffee, weekly massages and more.
Who you are
- A pre-penultimate university student, graduating in 2028 or later. All degree backgrounds are considered.
- An inquisitive thinker, with a passion for quantitative problems and working in collaborative, dynamic environments.
- Holds superior quantitative and logical reasoning skills, and enjoys working on an array of problems, with a strong focus on results.
- Excited to test yourself in one of the most dynamic areas of the financial market.
Applying for the program
The FutureFocus program offers two streams: Trading and Research or Technology. To help you choose the stream that aligns with your interests, please find more information below. Please note that you can only apply for one stream.
Trading and Research
Our Traders make trading decisions based on market conditions and other factors. They’re driven and have a flair for analytical problem solving. Check out Brent’s ‘Day in the life’ story to learn more.
Our Researchers build models leveraging big data and machine learning to identify profitable signals that underpin our algorithmic trading strategies. Check out Noah’s ‘Day in the life’ story to learn more.
Technology
Our Software Engineers play a critical role in executing successful trades. Driven by the desire to find the simplest solutions to the most complex problems, they design and build high performance systems that solve real business problems. Check out Bharath’s ‘Day in the life’ story to learn more.
Interested in the Technology stream? Apply here.
Ready to kickstart your career with Optiver? Apply for FutureFocus to ignite your potential today.
Diversity statement
Optiver is committed to diversity and inclusion. We encourage applications from candidates from all backgrounds, and welcome requests for reasonable adjustments during the process to ensure that you can best demonstrate your abilities.
Questions? Get in touch at [email protected].
We accept one application per role per year. If you have previously applied to this position during this season at Optiver regardless of location and have been unsuccessful, you can re-apply when the next recruitment season begins in 2027.
Skills Required
- Pre-penultimate university student, graduating in 2028 or later
- Superior quantitative and logical reasoning skills
- Passion for quantitative problems and collaborative environments
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 that materially elevate total compensation. High performers receive differentiated rewards tied to impact.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Generous paid vacation alongside market holidays is a consistent component of the U.S. package. This breadth of leave is a notable element of the offering.
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Healthcare Strength — Comprehensive health coverage—including medical, dental, and vision—is prominently offered in U.S. roles, with indications that employee premiums are fully covered in some cases. Disability and life coverage further strengthen the core health benefits.
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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