We are seeking a highly accomplished and strategically minded Investment Principal to join our investment team. You will bring extensive experience in private equity, mergers & acquisitions, or venture capital, with a particular focus on financial market infrastructure and digital assets. This role requires a deep understanding of the dynamics of trading ecosystems, a robust network of industry contacts, and a proven track record of executing complex transactions. You will be responsible for sourcing, leading, and managing investments across the full transaction lifecycle, primarily within the United States.
What you’ll do:
- Independently identify, originate, and evaluate investment opportunities aligned with strategic sector priorities, including exchanges, post-trade services, trading platforms, market data providers, and digital asset infrastructure.
- Lead all phases of the investment process, including commercial due diligence, financial modeling, transaction structuring, negotiation, and legal execution.
- Develop and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders across the industry, including company founders, institutional investors, regulatory bodies, and other market participants.
- Collaborate with internal stakeholders to refine investment theses, assess strategic fit, and provide insights on evolving market trends and regulatory developments.
- Represent the firm externally with professionalism and credibility in interactions with counterparties, advisors, and industry partners.
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 you are:
- A minimum of 8–10 years of relevant experience in private equity, M&A advisory, or venture capital, ideally with exposure to the financial technology and market infrastructure sectors.
- Demonstrated success in sourcing, structuring, and executing high-impact and complex investment transactions.
- Strong commercial acumen with the ability to assess strategic value and competitive positioning in dynamic markets.
- In-depth knowledge of financial market structure, trading technology, post-trade systems, and the regulatory environment.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to convey complex ideas clearly and persuasively to senior stakeholders.
- A proactive, self-directed approach with a high level of professional integrity and a commitment to excellence.
Who we are:
At Optiver, our mission is to improve the market by injecting liquidity, providing accurate pricing, increasing transparency and stabilising the market no matter the conditions. With a focus on continuous improvement, we prioritise 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.
At Optiver, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. Optiver recruits, employs, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, or other legally protected characteristics.
Below is the expected base salary for this position. This is a good-faith estimate of the base pay scale for this position and offers will ultimately be determined based on experience, education, skill set, and performance in the interview process. This position will also be eligible for a discretionary bonus (if determined by Optiver) and Optiver’s benefits package with the benefits listed above.
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.
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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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