Optiver is seeking a Quantitative Engineer specializing in the US corporate bond and credit derivative markets to join the greenfield buildout of our systematic credit trading business. Our Quantitative Engineers lead large technical projects, help set the direction for our trading infrastructure, and leverage technology to enable business success.
The credit engineering team works closely with researchers and traders to design a system for trading bonds, fixed income ETFs, and other credit derivative products.
What you’ll do
In this role you will be building out functionality across simulation, research, and production systems. As a Quantitative Engineer, your key responsibilities include:
Helping establish the vision and technical direction for major credit trading initiatives
Designing, developing, supporting, and maintaining large portions of our credit trading infrastructure, including request for quote (RFQ) trading platforms, create/redeem platforms, portfolio trading systems, order management systems (OMS), and execution management systems (EMS)
Contributing to our pricing, researching and trading models that power our market-making and proprietary trading strategies
Collaborating deeply with traders and researchers to directly solve the trading problem and build the business
Being a part of 0 to 1
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. Motivated by a passion for continuous improvement, you’ll thrive in a supportive, high-performing environment alongside talented colleagues, working collectively to tackle the toughest problems 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
Ownership over initiatives that directly solve business problems
401(k) match up to 50% and fully paid health insurance
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
Strong engineering instincts and a deep understanding of computer science fundamentals
Programming experience across C++ or C with other object-oriented languages also considered
Experience optimizing high-throughput systems that must process and react in real-time to streams of pricing and trade data
Familiarity with the market microstructure and trading domain for US corporate credit markets, fixed income ETFs, and/or credit derivatives (CDS, CDX indices)
Experience with connectivity to electronic trading venues and FIX protocol for credit markets
Readiness to set technical direction, promote strong engineering principles and continuously seek ways to refine and optimize systems in a fast-moving, ever evolving environment
You can spot opportunities to enhance performance, efficiency, and maintainability
Excellent communication skills and the ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, collaborative environment with traders, researchers, and other technologists
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.
We pride ourselves on being real engineers, not just coders. Our engineers work closely with traders to identify the business problems we face and determine how they should be solved. We apply a disciplined and scientific approach. We engineer simple, well-architected solutions that meet the dynamic needs of our traders. Our passion is to solve problems which really matter to the business, and we take pride in the quality of our solutions.
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.
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.
Skills Required
- Strong engineering instincts and deep understanding of computer science fundamentals
- Programming experience in C++ or C (other object-oriented languages considered)
- Experience optimizing high-throughput, low-latency systems processing real-time pricing and trade data
- Familiarity with market microstructure and trading domain for US corporate credit markets, fixed income ETFs, and/or credit derivatives (CDS, CDX indices)
- Experience with connectivity to electronic trading venues and FIX protocol
- Ability and readiness to set technical direction and promote strong engineering principles
- Experience leading large technical projects and delivering production trading systems
- Excellent communication skills; able to work effectively with traders, researchers, and technologists
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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