Who We Are
Optiver is a global market maker founded in Amsterdam, with offices in London, Chicago, Austin, New York, Sydney, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei and Mumbai. Established in 1986, today we are a leading liquidity provider, with close to 2,000 employees in offices around the world, united in our commitment to improve the market through competitive pricing, execution and risk management. By providing liquidity on multiple exchanges across the world in various financial instruments we participate in the safeguarding of healthy and efficient markets. We provide liquidity to financial markets using our own capital, at our own risk, trading a wide range of products: listed derivatives, cash equities, ETFs, bonds and foreign currencies.
Optiver’s Sydney office is one of the primary players within Asian markets, trading a range of products. Established in 1996, we're an active participant on the Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Japan exchanges, and act as Optiver’s APAC head office.
What You’ll Do
Optiver is looking for experienced software engineers who are interested in working on our options positional trading team. This role is tightly integrated with trading and quant research teams, offering new hires a fast path to understanding the business and having an immediate impact. You will be responsible for working with derivatives traders and researchers to understand exactly how we want to trade derivatives, partnering to refine datasets, tools, and trading strategies, then owning your software through implementation and deployment into worldwide markets. From Sydney, you’ll work with live trading systems trading Asian markets with unique market microstructures.
You will:
Work day-to-day with traders and quant researchers to understand how we want to price and execute in derivatives markets, and apply your skills to design software systems and trading logic to bring those ideas to life in live markets.
Collaborate with other software engineers and contribute to the architecture of our distributed derivatives trading platform.
Experience the excitement of our fast-paced development cycle – owning a tight feedback loop, testing and shipping your code to production sometimes on the same day.
Flex your engineering fundamentals by implementing performance-sensitive data processing logic and strategies.
Who You Are
We’re looking for candidates:
With at least 2 years' experience as a software engineer working with distributed systems, low-latency systems, backend systems or client/server architectures.
Who are skilled at object-oriented programming in C++/Java/C# and willing to work in C++ and Python.
Who have an excellent understanding of computer science fundamentals like operating systems, data structures and algorithms.
Who embrace AI tools for parts of their role.
Who are excited by technically challenging problems.
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 some of the most complex problems in the financial markets.
In return for your expertise, you will have access to a range of Optiver perks, including:
A performance-based bonus structure unmatched anywhere in the industry. We combine our profits across desks, teams and offices into a global profit pool, fostering a truly collaborative environment.
The chance to work alongside diverse and intelligent peers in a rewarding environment.
Training, mentorship and personal development opportunities.
Daily breakfast, lunch and an in-house barista.
Gym membership plus weekly in-house chair massages.
Regular social events, including a company trip every two years.
Guided relocation, a competitive relocation package and visa sponsorship where necessary.
Optiver is committed to diversity and inclusion. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, and welcome requests for reasonable adjustments during the process.
Questions? Get in touch with the recruitment team at [email protected]
Skills Required
- At least 2 years of experience as a software engineer working with distributed systems, low-latency systems, backend systems, or client/server architectures.
- Object-oriented programming skills in C++, Java, or C#.
- Willingness to work in C++ and Python.
- Excellent understanding of operating systems, data structures, and algorithms.
- Interest in technically challenging problems.
- Willingness to embrace AI tools for parts of the role.
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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