Quantitative Research Internship

As Optiver’s Quantitative Research Intern, you’ll put your brilliant quantitative skills to the test by developing and improving our trading strategies. You’ll not only deep-dive the fundamentals of Optiver’s complex trading systems, but see firsthand how this theory translates in practice on our dynamic trading floor. Over the course of eight weeks, you’ll be tasked with exploring a real-world research problem that directly impacts how Optiver trades. With mentors from research and trading, you’ll get the support and guidance needed to maximise your impact and drive our bottom line.

WHO WE ARE:

At Optiver, our mission is to improve the market by injecting liquidity, providing accurate pricing, increasing transparency and acting as a stabilising force no matter the market conditions. With a focus on continuous improvement, we play an active role in the safeguarding of healthy and efficient markets for all participants. 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 on 70+ exchanges across the globe.

Our Amsterdam office is where it all began. Since our founding in 1986, Optiver’s Amsterdam office has developed into one of the most dynamic and exciting trading floors in Europe. Our culture reflects the Dutch capital city’s progressive, innovative and inclusive nature. With its unique spirit, Amsterdam is the ideal hub for our teams to trade a wide range of products, from listed derivatives to cash equities, ETFs, bonds and foreign exchange.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

Quantitative Researchers are responsible for the accuracy of our core pricing models, and work closely with Traders to analyse and improve all facets of our trading strategies. During this internship, you will perform extensive analysis in order to implement new algorithms that support and improve our existing models. You'll be exposed to the statistical arbitrage strategies we develop; work with petabytes of low latency, high-frequency market data sets; experience our high-powered, computing back-testing framework and much more. Optiver Researchers believe in academic discourse, and therefore invite their teammates and Traders to challenge each hypothesis. Can it be mathematically improved? Does it pose potential risk? Does it exploit a market behavioural pattern? Can it sustain its output goals? Constant testing, analysis, refinement and innovation ensure our quantitative models remain at the cutting-edge of constantly evolving capital markets – and as our Quantitative Research Intern, you'll play a key role in keeping us there. 

WHO YOU ARE:

• Penultimate year student in Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, Engineering, Finance or equivalent, with the ability to work full-time upon graduation in 2025
• Programming experience in any language (C, C++, Python, Java, etc.), ideally with a preference towards Python
• Ability to apply basic concepts of probability, calculus and linear algebra
• Motivation to succeed and eagerness to constantly improve yourself
• Self-starting, ‘can do’ attitude
• Ability to learn quickly
• Fluent verbal and written English skills

WHAT YOU’LL GET:

• An 8 week internship (Spring: May-June / Summer: July-August) working alongside best-in-class professionals from over 40 different countries
• Highly competitive compensation package 
• Optiver-covered travel to Amsterdam and a fully furnished apartment in the city center 
• Awesome social events and outings
• A range of benefits including free breakfast, lunch and dinner, bi-weekly massages, a bicycle to explore Amsterdam and much more 
• Most importantly, the possibility to receive a full-time offer upon completion of internship

HOW TO APPLY: 

Are you interested in furthering your career on one of the most dynamic and exciting trading floors in Europe?

Apply directly via the form below for the position of Quantitative Research Intern. Please provide us with a CV and letter of motivation in English.  Unfortunately we cannot accept applications via email for data protection reasons. 

If your application is selected to proceed to the next round, you will be required to complete online assessments. By submitting your application you are confirming that you will be able to take the assessment within 14 days.

Kindly note that we do not require any assistance from third-parties including agencies in the recruitment of this role. If you have any questions feel free to contact our Recruitment team via recruitment@optiver.com.

*We accept one application per role, per year, across all office locations. If you have applied to this role across any of our offices in the last year and have been unsuccessful, you can reapply once your 12 month cooling period has concluded. Please note: If you reapply before the end of your cooling period, this will be considered your most recent unsuccessful application. For applicants based in India, our entry route is via the placement office internship hiring season (July/August).

As an intentionally flat organisation, we believe that great ideas and impact can come from everyone. We are passionate about empowering individuals and creating diverse teams that thrive. Every person at Optiver should feel included, valued and respected, because we believe our best work is done together.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is hardwired through every stage of our hiring process. We encourage applications from candidates from any and all backgrounds, and we welcome requests for reasonable accommodations during the process to ensure that you can best demonstrate your abilities. Please let us know if you would like to request any reasonable adjustments by contacting the Recruitment team via recruitment@optiver.com.

Interested? Apply now!

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