Most interviews test what you know. At Optiver, we’re interested in how you think.

As a technology-driven trading firm, we take a distinctive approach to our technical interviews. The Optiver interview process is designed to reflect the kind of work you’ll do as part of our team: collaborative, creative and rooted in solving real-world challenges. 

Instead of relying on standard Leetcode puzzles or brainteasers, you’ll have engaging technical discussions that feel more like solving a problem with a colleague than a one-sided examination. It’s not about having all the answers; it’s about how you break down complexity, adapt to new information and communicate your reasoning.

There’s no single way to prepare for a technical interview, but understanding what to expect can help you approach it with the right mindset. This guide will help you prepare, understand what to expect and showcase your skills effectively.

Preparing for your technical assessment

Refresh your programming know-how

Confident knowledge of a major object-oriented language (C++, Java, or Python) is key to success in our interviews. Be comfortable with standard libraries, collection types and algorithms in your chosen language, and ready to apply them to unfamiliar problems.

Because Optiver’s systems must meet specific performance requirements, selecting the right data structures is a priority. You’ll need a good understanding of standard data structures, including their space complexity and the time complexity of key operations. You may also be asked about implementation details, such as how data is represented in memory and how operations work under the hood.

A sound grasp of core algorithms, including their time complexities, will help you develop efficient solutions for performance-essential applications.

Revisit fundamentals

Brush up your understanding of computer architecture, networking, concurrency and memory management. For each topic, consider how physical realities of computing fundamentals create constraints or shape system design, and how these influence high-level architectural choices.

Practice explaining your design choices

We assess more than your coding skills. We’re looking to see if you can think critically, adapt quickly and communicate your ideas clearly.

Don’t be afraid to ask clarifying questions at the start. Understanding real-world constraints—such as expected load, latency requirements or edge cases—demonstrates a practical problem-solving approach.

Interviewers will often ask questions such as, “Why did you make this design decision?”—so be prepared to share your thought process and logical reasoning used to arrive at your conclusion. If the interviewer hints at a potential issue, engage with it and explain how you’d address or reconsider your design.

Clear communication also extends to how you present your ideas. Whiteboarding or quick, well-labelled diagrams can be more effective than purely verbal explanations, especially when discussing system architecture. If a concept is complex, take a moment to pause and think of the best way to present your idea.

Acing the behavioural assessments

At Optiver, we’ve built a strong culture that values collaboration, transparency and intellectual curiosity, which is why we place a lot of emphasis on getting to know you. We want to understand what drives you, how you work in a team and how you approach challenges. We also encourage you to ask questions about life and at Optiver—this process is about more than you fitting in, it’s about seeing if we’re the right fit for you.

Reflect on your motivations for being a software engineer and how working at Optiver aligns with those motivations. Taking the time to research Optiver will make the interview more engaging and valuable for both you and your interviewers.

While exhaustive preparation is not needed or advised, we understand wanting to feel comfortable walking into an assessment. Here are some of our tips to help with that:

• Reflect on past experiences: Think about your academic projects, internships, personal side projects, or team activities (sports, clubs, volunteer work). Consider what went well, what challenges you faced, and what you learned from them.
• Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, and Result) to help you structure your answers in a clear and concise manner.
• Practice out loud: Try mock interviews with a friend or record yourself. Delivering your answers out loud helps refine your storytelling and ensures clarity.
• Be authentic: We’re interested to know the real you, not a rehearsed script.

The next step towards your future

Are you interested in collaborating with fellow software engineers, researchers, and traders to solve complex challenges? Explore our early-career software engineering opportunities to get the application process started.