Optiver Software Engineers build proprietary trading systems which the firm uses to navigate financial markets. Working collaboratively across business units, our engineering teams continually solve the most complex challenges and design, develop, and maintain our proprietary trading systems.

The trading strategies we implement must respond to market events in microseconds or less, and we automatically price large, diverse sets of financial instruments with extremely low error tolerance. We continually refine, store, and analyze terabytes of data produced by market activity and our trading systems.

Who we are:

At Optiver, our mission is to constantly improve the market by injecting liquidity, providing accurate pricing, increasing transparency and acting as a stabilizing force no matter the market conditions. With a focus on continuous improvement, we participate in the safeguarding of healthy and efficient markets for everyone who participates. We tackle the toughest problems, challenge the status quo and always aim for excellence. As one of the largest market making institutions, we are a trusted partner of 70+ exchanges across the globe.

Optiver Chicago’s culture parallels the energetic city we’re immersed in. Home to the Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago Board Options Exchange, and Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Chicago has established itself as the trading capital of the US. Active on leading US exchanges, Optiver’s Chicago office trades a wide range of products from listed derivatives to cash equities, ETFs, bonds, and foreign exchange.

What you’ll do:

Get ready for ten weeks of immersion in the fast-paced, dynamic world of market making.

As a Software Engineer Intern, you'll own projects that directly impact Optiver's world-class trading systems. You’ll get tight feedback loops and ship your code to production within weeks alongside our senior Engineers and Traders. You’ll work side-by-side with an assigned mentor to build latency-critical applications, distributed systems, and trading tools. From day one you’ll tackle real issues that will test your critical thinking and problem solving acumen. Each day will bring new challenges requiring your fresh perspective. It's an unrivalled opportunity to accelerate your knowledge and make your mark on Optiver's business. 

You will also have the chance to join industry lectures to learn about trading and our other departments to gain a complete understanding of Optiver and our business. Don't worry, you won't be expected to have previous knowledge of the financial industry! You’ll take part in a training program where, through a combination of theoretical knowledge and hands-on practical experience, you’ll learn everything you need to know.

Examples of potential projects that you could be working on:

• The performance of our systems – profiling and optimizing our software and hardware
• Developing applications in close collaboration with our traders to improve our trading strategies
• Building tools to find errors in our systems by turning huge amounts of data into useful information

Who you are:

• Student working toward a degree in Computer Science or Computer Engineering and graduating between December 2024 and June 2025
• Someone with strong engineering instincts and a deep understanding of computer science fundamentals
• Experienced in writing software in C++, C#, C, and/or Java
• passionate for clean code, simple well-architected systems, and continuous improvement
• Able to collaborate with developers, traders, and business operations

What you’ll get:

• Highly-competitive internship compensation package
• Optiver-covered flights, living accommodations, and commuting stipends (where applicable)
• Various office perks, including breakfast, lunch, and snacks 
• Social events, clubs and much more!

*We accept one application per role per year. If you have previously applied to this position this season and have been unsuccessful, you can reapply once the next recruitment season begins in 2024. 

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.