Austin is home to Optiver's hardware research, development and manufacturing department. We build some of the world’s most competitive trading hardware using a wide variety of technologies, from fiber optics to custom silicon, from software to antennas - and everything in between.
We’re growing fast and are looking to expand our team with an experienced hardware engineer who deeply understands the complexities of designing and realizing high speed, high density systems and boards. Our systems push the limits of what’s possible, so we’re looking for creative thinkers who can oversee the big picture and who are not afraid to step out of their comfort zone and explore novel approaches.
What you'll do
- Design, realize, test, bring up and manufacture custom hardware (mostly PCBs)
- Schematic capture, PCB layout, Simulation (Spice, Ansys SiWave HFSS etc.)
- Write the initial bring up code (C/Python/VHDL) for the hardware
- Interpret Eye Diagram/BERT results and correlate lab and production measurements to simulations
- Create test plans and engineering requirements specifications
- Debug issues as they come up
- Research new ways of improving our system’s performance (latency, scale, thermals) and how our trading requirements can be realized
- Work in a multidisciplinary team of traders, researchers, software (FPGA, firmware, application), mechanical and infrastructure engineers
- Own your designs from concept to production
- Manage relationships with 3rd party vendors
Who you are
Requirements:
- BS in electrical or computer engineering, Master or Ph.D. preferred
- 5+ years of industry experience
- Advanced ECAD skills for schematic and layout creation in one of the following: Altium, Mentor Graphics, Cadence or equivalent
- Proficiency in signal and power integrity SIPI best practices
- End-to-end product development experience, concept through release
- Expertise with one or more high speed interfaces, and the protocols running on top, such as: PCIe Gen3-6, USB3/4, 10/25G Ethernet
- Experience with low speed communications both in hardware and software, such as: I2C, SPI, JTAG, USB etc
- Experience validating high speed interfaces using: TDRs, sampling and real-time oscilloscopes
- Know how to read and write Python
The following experiences are nice to have:
- Familiarity with the Ethernet (IEEE 802.3)
- Data center, or consumer electronics design experience
- Software engineering skills such as C/C++/
- RTL skills: VHDL/Verilog
- Experience supporting post-silicon bring-up and debugging
What you’ll get
You’ll join a culture of collaboration and excellence, surrounded by curious thinkers and creative problem-solvers. Motivated by a passion for continuous improvement, you’ll thrive in a supportive, high-performing environment alongside talented colleagues, collectively tackling some of the toughest challenges in the financial markets.
In addition, you’ll receive:
- The opportunity to work alongside best-in-class professionals from over 40 different countries
- Highly competitive compensation package
- Global profit-sharing pool and performance-based bonus structure
- 401(k) match up to 50%
- Comprehensive health, mental, dental, vision, disability, and life coverage
- 25 paid vacation days alongside market holidays
- Extensive office perks, including breakfast, lunch and snacks, regular social events, clubs, sporting leagues and more
Who we are
At Optiver, our mission is to improve the market by injecting liquidity, providing accurate pricing, increasing transparency and stabilizing the market no matter the conditions. With a focus on continuous improvement, we prioritize safeguarding the health and efficiency of the markets for all participants. As one of the largest market making institutions, we are a respected partner on 100+ exchanges across the globe.
Our differences are our edge. Optiver does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, or other legally protected characteristics.
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or computer engineering
- Master’s degree or Ph.D. in a relevant field
- At least 5 years of industry experience
- Advanced ECAD skills for schematic and PCB layout using Altium, Mentor Graphics, Cadence, or equivalent
- Proficiency in signal integrity and power integrity best practices
- End-to-end product development experience from concept through release
- Expertise with one or more high-speed interfaces and related protocols, such as PCIe Gen3-6, USB 3/4, or 10/25G Ethernet
- Experience with low-speed hardware and software communications including I2C, SPI, JTAG, or USB
- Experience validating high-speed interfaces using TDRs, sampling oscilloscopes, and real-time oscilloscopes
- Ability to read and write Python
- Familiarity with Ethernet IEEE 802.3
- Data center or consumer electronics design experience
- Software engineering skills in C or C++
- RTL skills in VHDL or Verilog
- Experience supporting post-silicon bring-up and debugging
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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