From intern to new grad: Joining the team full-time
Over the last few years, Jason has shared what he was looking for in an internship, what he found, and what he learned. Now, as a full-time trader, he reflects on how it all comes together—and what’s next.
What experiences from your internships influence your day-to-day work?
So much of what I do today is rooted in the foundation I built as an intern. Through the education program, you learn options theory needed for the desk, you shadow experienced traders to see how theory applies in practice, and then you do it yourself by actually sitting on a desk and learning how to make decisions in real time.
I think what I gained most was learning how to approach problems effectively. Whether it was solving a system error, altering settings, or building tools to better visualize data and track performance, I got a lot of hands-on opportunities to explore the challenges traders face. That experience really helped set me up for a smooth transition into the full-time role.
Do you have any exciting projects you can share?
Of course! I’m currently on the Treasuries team, and we’ve begun rolling out a few new products to trade. When I joined the team, I told my manager that I was interested in helping expand the desk. Even though I was still new (less than a year in), he encouraged me to explore how we could profitably trade these new products.
Since then, I’ve been working with a few other team members to develop tooling, analyze historical data and build visualization. It’s still early, and we’re iterating constantly. The trust and responsibility I’ve been given has been really motivating. I’m excited to see what’s to come!
As you continue to grow your career at Optiver, what kind of challenges are you most excited to take on?
Right now, I’m most excited by the opportunity to scale–whether that’s adding new products, setting up good systems for trading them, or developing profitable strategies in a new market. I like taking on new initiatives where I can identify the problem, figure out what’s needed to solve it and build a solution that others can benefit from as well.
The advice I’ve always gotten is to spend the early years learning as much as possible, and then figure out your specialty. Right now, I’m focused on getting exposure to a variety of challenges, building range, and eventually stepping into larger leadership roles as I continue to deepen my expertise.
“The trust and responsibility I’ve been given has been really motivating.”
From exploring trading for the first time to driving product expansion, this four-year journey highlights how much can be achieved with the right environment. It shows that you don’t need years of experience to make an impact—just a strong thought process, the ability to reflect, and the confidence to ask for help.
