We are looking for motivated and talented students who want to help us solve some of the most complex challenges in financial technology. Technology teams at CME Group write and maintain ultra low-latency electronic trading platforms, risk management systems, and front-end trading interfaces, all of which are central to CME Group’s business. We are focused on designing, building, and deploying customer-focused solutions with passion and precision.
CME Group’s Technology Internship Program offers students opportunities to learn more about our enterprise, our role in the financial industry, and the types of technology that keep our markets running. Students will develop their technical skills and expand their network with access to industry experts, while working alongside other talented and ambitious students with a passion for FinTech.
Year-long interns will join in one of two areas:
- Platform Engineer (Infrastructure focused)
- Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)
Minimum qualifications:
- Currently pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in computer science or a related field
- Experience writing code in Java and/or Python
- Experience with cloud technologies
- Passionate about problem solving and continuous learning
- Detail-oriented
Preferred qualifications:
- Previous technical experience
- Experience with UNIX/Linux
- Experience with powershell (windows)
- Local Chicago candidates available to work in-office year-round
This focused year-round internship will begin in Summer 2027 at 40 hours a week in a hybrid role based in our Chicago office. Interns will then shift to part-time (about 15-20 hours a week) in Fall 2027 and Spring 2028. Local Chicago candidates who are available to work in-office year-round are preferred.
The summer program includes numerous opportunities to network with peers from across the country during a summer full of experiences such as excursions to enjoy Chicago traditions, trading and coding challenges with prizes, speaker series, and other opportunities for professional development.
The Platform Engineer Role
As a platform intern, you will be working alongside CME's platform engineers to help create reliable processes and systems. This will be an infrastructure focused role with opportunities to learn about a variety of technologies, spanning fields such as automation, CI/CD, DevOps, and monitoring.
Focus:
- System Design
- Research and Proof of Concept
- Automation
- DevOps
- Google Cloud, Kubernetes, Infrastructure
Bonus qualifications:
- Proficiency in Python or bash shell (linux)
- Experience with Google Cloud, Kubernetes, Cloud Infrastructure
The SRE (Site Reliability Engineer) Role
As an SRE intern, you’ll be working alongside CME’s site reliability engineers helping to create reliable processes and systems. This will be a development focused role with opportunities to learn about a variety of technologies, spanning fields such as big data, web development, automation and CI/CD, devops, and monitoring.
Focus:
- Application Development
- System Design
- Research and Proof of Concept
- DevOps and Cloud Migration
- Automation
Bonus qualifications:
- Proficiency in Java
- Experience with JavaScript, SQL, or R
Qualified candidates will be invited to complete a coding pre-assessment. If selected to advance, candidates may be invited to virtual coding, design, and behavioral interviews.
Sponsorship Qualifications:
Please note that our company is unable to provide employment sponsorship for this position and can only consider candidates who are legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship assistance (CPT, H1B, F1, L etc.).
#EarlyCareers
CME Group is committed to offering a competitive pay package for our employee interns. The pay range typically applicable to our intern roles is $21.68--$36.10. Actual pay offered will be dependent on a wide array of factors including but not limited to: relevant experience, skills, education, location of the internship, and the internship area of focus. Through our benefits program, we offer our employee interns the opportunity to participate in select offerings. This includes our comprehensive health coverage and a mental health benefit.CME Group: Where Futures are Made
CME Group is the world’s leading derivatives marketplace. But who we are goes deeper than that. Here, you can impact markets worldwide. Transform industries. And build a career by shaping tomorrow. We invest in your success and you own it – all while working alongside a team of leading experts who inspire you in ways big and small. Problem solvers, difference makers, trailblazers. Those are our people. And we’re looking for more.
At CME Group, we embrace our employees' unique experiences and skills to ensure that everyone’s perspectives are acknowledged and valued. As an equal-opportunity employer, we consider all potential employees without regard to any protected characteristic.
Important Notice: Recruitment fraud is on the rise, with scammers using misleading promises of job offers and interviews to solicit money and personal information from job seekers. CME Group adheres to established procedures designed to maintain trust, confidence and security throughout our recruitment process. Learn more here.
Skills Required
- Currently pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in computer science or a related field
- Experience writing code in Java and/or Python
- Experience with cloud technologies
- Passion for problem solving and continuous learning
- Detail-oriented
- Previous technical experience
- Experience with UNIX/Linux
- Experience with PowerShell on Windows
- Availability to work in-office year-round as a local Chicago candidate
- Proficiency in Python or Linux Bash shell for the Platform Engineer role
- Experience with Google Cloud, Kubernetes, or cloud infrastructure for the Platform Engineer role
- Proficiency in Java for the SRE role
- Experience with JavaScript, SQL, or R for the SRE role
CME Group Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about CME Group and has not been reviewed or approved by CME Group.
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Retirement Support — U.S. offerings include both a 401(k) and a company-funded cash-balance pension, strengthening long-term financial security. This dual-track structure is highlighted as a notable differentiator among private employers.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — PTO and holiday schedules are described as generous, with ample time off and carryover commonly highlighted. This breadth of leave meaningfully enhances perceived total rewards.
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Flexible Benefits — A flexible, hybrid work model applies to many roles, increasing day-to-day usability of the package. Flexibility is framed as a standard feature rather than an exception.
CME Group Insights
What We Do
As the world's leading derivatives marketplace, CME Group (www.cmegroup.com) is where the world comes to manage risk. CME Group exchanges offer the widest range of global benchmark products across all major asset classes, including futures and options based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities, metals, weather and real estate. CME Group brings buyers and sellers together through its CME Globex® electronic trading platform and its trading facilities in New York and Chicago. CME Group also operates CME Clearing, one of the world’s leading central counterparty clearing provider in the world, which offers clearing and settlement services for exchange-traded contracts, as well as for over-the-counter derivatives transactions through CME ClearPort®. These products and services ensure that businesses everywhere can substantially mitigate counterparty credit risk in both listed and over-the-counter derivatives markets.
