Summer 2027 recruiting
Optiver internships: when they open and how to apply
Dutch-founded market maker Optiver runs its US internships out of Chicago and Austin, with a New York office as well. Students know it for numeric online assessments and a classroom-heavy trading internship. Its FutureFocus program gives first- and second-year students a direct path toward an internship offer.
OptiverEarly-career programs
- Quantitative Intern
- Software Engineer Intern
- FPGA Engineer Intern and Trading Automation and Operations Intern
- FutureFocus
Optiver jobs we're tracking
Straight from Optiver's own careers site, which we read around the clock. Each listing links to the employer.
25 open roles right now
- 17Internships
- 8Entry level
Latest postings
- Expressions of Interest - Quantitative Research Internship, PhD (Summer 2028 -Shanghai)Shanghai, China · Internships · Posted Oct 20 (opens Optiver’s site in a new tab)
- Expressions of Interest - Quantitative Research Internship, Bachelor or Master (Summer 2028 - Shanghai)Shanghai, China · Internships · Posted Oct 20 (opens Optiver’s site in a new tab)
- Institutional Trader Intern (2027 Start - Chicago)Chicago, Illinois, USA · Internships · Posted Oct 10 (opens Optiver’s site in a new tab)
- Market Risk Internship 2027 - SingaporeSingapore · Internships · Posted Sep 29 (opens Optiver’s site in a new tab)
- Graduate Quantitative Researcher, PhD (2027 Start)New York · Entry level · Posted Sep 23 (opens Optiver’s site in a new tab)
When we’ve seen Optiver post internships
Counted from the day our sweep first found each posting, not the date on the listing. Our record starts in July 2026, so this shows what we’ve seen so far, not a pattern Optiver follows every year.
From our database, updated November 6 at 10:58 AM UTC. Counts refresh a few times a day; alerts go out within minutes.
Internships and programs at Optiver
The early-career programs it runs for students and recent graduates, by the names it uses for them.
- Quantitative Intern
- A combined posting in Chicago and Austin for students interested in trading or research. During interviews Optiver decides whether you fit a quant trading or a quant research internship offer. The trading internship opens with an options theory course and uses the same simulated trading platform full-time traders use.
- Software Engineer Intern
- An internship in Chicago or Austin where interns build and deploy production code with engineers and traders. It is aimed at computer science and computer engineering students.
- FPGA Engineer Intern and Trading Automation and Operations Intern
- Optiver also posts FPGA internships for low-latency hardware work and a Chicago internship in trading automation and operations, for students who want to sit between technology and the trading desk.
- FutureFocus
- A five-day discovery program for first- and second-year students with a Technology track and a Quantitative Trading and Research track. It mixes technical lectures, workshops, and projects, and participants who excel may receive a fast-tracked summer internship offer.
When Optiver posts internships
Optiver's summer 2027 US Quantitative Intern and Chicago software internships went live on July 1, 2026, with the Austin quant posting following in early August. Review is rolling and positions close as they fill, so the first week or two gives you the most room.
Optiver enforces a global reapply policy: if you completed an assessment or interview for an internship at any Optiver office in the past eight months, you have to wait out that period before applying again. Choose your track and location carefully the first time.
These are patterns from recent cycles, not published dates, and they shift. The reliable signal is the posting itself: Trakker is an internship tracker that reads Optiver’s careers site directly and can email you within minutes of a new role appearing. For where this sits in the wider cycle, see the recruiting calendar, track by track.
Who can apply
The summer 2027 Quantitative Intern posting asks for a STEM bachelor's or master's with sophomore standing or higher and graduation between December 2027 and June 2029, so sophomores can apply. The software posting is stricter: junior standing or higher, graduating between December 2027 and June 2028, in computer science or computer engineering. No finance knowledge is required.
FutureFocus is for first- and second-year students. US internships are in Chicago and Austin, and quant interns can earn return internship or full-time offers in Chicago, Austin, New York, or Amsterdam.
The interview process
The process opens with a multi-part online assessment. For trading candidates that means a fast mental arithmetic test plus sequences and market-making style games; engineers get coding tests.
Candidates who pass report a phone or video interview on probability and market scenarios, then a final round with technical interviews and, for traders, a trading simulation. The whole thing can move quickly, sometimes within a few weeks.
Tips for applying to Optiver
- Practice timed mental arithmetic before you open the trading assessment. It is a hard gate and speed matters.
- Because of the eight-month cool-off, apply only to the location and track you actually want.
- Sophomores don't have to wait: the Quantitative Intern posting takes sophomore standing, and FutureFocus offers a fast track on top of that.
Optiver internship questions
- When does Optiver post internships?
- For summer 2027, Optiver posted its US quant and software internships on July 1, 2026 and closed roles as they filled. Apply in the first couple of weeks.
- What is Optiver FutureFocus?
- FutureFocus is a five-day discovery program for first- and second-year students, with Technology and Quantitative Trading and Research tracks. Strong performers may be fast-tracked to a summer internship offer.
- What is the Optiver internship assessment like?
- Trading candidates start with a multi-part online assessment that includes a fast mental math test and market-making games, while engineers take coding tests. Passing leads to a phone interview and then a final round with technical interviews and, for traders, a trading simulation.
- Can I reapply to Optiver if I am rejected?
- Yes, but Optiver has a global eight-month cool-off: if you took an assessment or interviewed for an internship at any Optiver office in that window, you must wait before reapplying.
Where else to look
Employers students often weigh against Optiver, and the role tracks its internships fall under.
Sources
What this page was checked against. Programs and timelines change from cycle to cycle, so Optiver’s own careers site has the final word.
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