Applications for Optiver Sydney’s 2026-27 internship and 2026 FutureFocus and Career Kickstarter programs open in early 2026. As we recruit on a rolling basis, applications will close as soon as the positions are filled. We recommend applying early!

• If you are in your pre-penultimate year (finishing studies in 2028 or 2029), you are eligible to apply for our FutureFocus program.
• If you are in your penultimate year (finishing studies in 2027), you are eligible to apply for our Internship program.
• If you are in your final year of studies or graduated no more than 3 years ago, you are eligible to apply for our Career Kickstarter program.
• If you are a PhD student, you are eligible to apply for the role most suited to your graduation year or our PhD Quant Lab.

At Optiver, we’re looking for individuals who thrive in a collaborative environment and embody a passion for continuous improvement. Our ideal candidates are team players who are eager to understand diverse perspectives, actively engage in discussions, and contribute meaningfully to shared goals.

Trading, Research and Risk:
8 weeks over summer kicking off in December 2026. We’ll confirm the start date closer to the program.
Technology:
10 weeks over summer, kicking off in December 2026. We’ll confirm the start date closer to the program..

We have two graduate intakes – one in September 2026 for mid-year finishers and another in February 2027.

If you are an Australian or New Zealand citizen, Australian Permanent Resident or an international student studying at an Australian university, you are eligible for our roles.

We hire candidates from diverse academic backgrounds, particularly those in STEM and quantitative/technical degrees for our campus roles. If you are able to demonstrate the skills and attributes we are looking for, then we strongly encourage you to apply!

We only accept one application at a time so please apply to the role that is your top preference. We’ll progress you based on your preferred role and discuss other interests during your interview if successful.

If you made an error on your application or applied for the wrong role, please do not re-apply online. Instead, send an email to [email protected] and we will be able to assist.

Our emails can sometimes end up in your junk folder. Please check those folders and add [email protected] to your safe list to receive all future communications from us. If you have followed these actions and still do not see a confirmation email from us, please contact us at [email protected].

Application > Online assessment > Behavioural interview > Final interview day

Application > Online assessment > Behavioural interview > Technical interview > Final interview day (2x Technical interviews and 1x Behavioural interview)

Application > Online assessment > Behavioural interview > Technical interview > Final interview day (1x Technical interview and 1x Behavioural interview)

Application > Online assessment > Behavioural interview > Technical assignment > Final interview

Application > Online assessment > Behavioural interview > Technical assignment > Final interview

Application > Online assessment > Behavioural interview

Application > Online assessment > Behavioural interview

We ask that candidates complete their assessment as soon as they are able, and within the specified deadline. However, if you are unable to complete the assessment within the given deadline, please email us at [email protected] and we will be able to assist.

Please refer to the Interview tips and tricks document that was sent to you in your confirmation email for guidance on how to best prepare for the application process.

Please try the following solutions:

Step 1) Sync Device Time with the Internet (Windows Settings)

1. Click on the clock located on the bottom-right corner of your screen.
2. Select “Date and time settings.”
3. Toggle on the “Set time automatically” option.
4. Ensure that the “Set time zone automatically” option is also enabled.
5. Restart your device and try logging in again.

Step 2) Disable any VPN. If you are using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), it might interfere with our system’s authentication process. Please disable the VPN temporarily while attempting to log in

Step 3) Try a Different Device. Sometimes, login issues can be device-specific. If possible, please attempt to log in using a different device, such as a smartphone, tablet, or another computer. This will help us determine whether the problem is related to your specific device.

If you’re still experiencing issues after trying these solutions, please email [email protected] and we will be able to assist.

We only allow candidates to attempt an assessment at Optiver every 8 months, across all offices and roles. If you have applied to this or a similar role that has the same assessment components within that time frame, the scores from those assessments will carry over until after 8 months from the date of your attempt on that assessment.

It can take 24-48 hours for the assessment to appear in your inbox. If it has been over 48 hours, please make sure you’ve checked your spam, junk, promotions, updates, and other folders for your invitation to the portal. If you still don’t have the invite, please email [email protected].

To effectively evaluate your skills, the use of calculators is not permitted during our assessment.

You can complete the Software HackerRank assessment in C++, Java and Python.

If you have a competing offer or are in late stages of interviews with other companies, please let us know by emailing [email protected].

Interview slots are available on Calendly on a first-come, first-served basis. Additional days open up on a rolling cadence, so we recommend checking back daily for new available timeslots. If no slots are available within the next two weeks, please email us at [email protected], and we’ll work to provide more options.

For our Software technical interviews, you are welcome to code in whichever language(s) you feel most comfortable with. For our FPGA technical interviews, you will need to code in either Verilog or VHDL.

At the beginning of the 8 weeks, our dedicated in-house Education team will deliver a curated series of lectures and coursework on trading fundamentals. You’ll the use this knowledge to develop your own algorithmic trading strategy and deploy in a simulated trading environment, using live market data, for an exciting hands-on experience.

To set you up for success, our tech internship begins with a bootcamp, which brings you up to speed on trading concepts and our development process. From there you’ll work on live business problems, knowledge share with your peers and partake in some healthy competition. Along the way, you’ll be supported by your teammates, business mentor and our dedicated education team.

We don’t create “special intern projects”. Instead, interns work on live problems that have a direct business impact. The most recent Interns worked on everything from predicting and trading intra-day auctions in the Japan market, to visualisation of signals and combining them using machine learning.

Researchers will go through the same initial training as traders. You’ll then be immersed into your specific research department with a mentor, to learn the systems and dive straight into projects. Interns work on live problems that have a direct business impact.

Risk interns will undertake the same initial training as our traders and researchers. You’ll then join the team, with a dedicated mentor, and go on rotations to gain exposure to the different areas of risk.

FutureFocus is a five-day program for pre-penultimate university students who are ready to kickstart their career in the world of trading and technology.

Beyond the average insights program, this is your chance to elevate your skills, collaborate on real-world challenges, and demonstrate your potential in a tech-driven quantitative trading firm. It’s the perfect opportunity to expand your analytical thinking, explore potential career paths and see how your skills could drive real impact. 

Plus, if you excel in the program, you could secure a direct offer for our 2027/28 Summer Internship Program.

The program runs three times a year — twice in May 2026 and once in September 2026.

Applications open in January for our May programs, and in June for our September program.

The FutureFocus program offers two streams: Trading and Research or Technology.

Trading and Research

Our Traders make trading decisions based on market conditions and other factors. They’re driven and have a flair for analytical problem solving. Check out Will’s ‘Day in the life’ story to learn more.

Our Researchers collaborate closely with traders and developers to build and improve our trading strategies. They’ll often work with huge amounts of data and use statistical and machine learning algorithms. Check out Dom’s ‘Day in the life’ story to learn more.

Technology

Our Software Developers play a critical role in executing successful trades. Driven by the desire to find the simplest solutions to the most complex problems, they design and build high performance systems that solve real business problems. Check out Brenda’s ‘Day in the Life’ story to learn more.

For our FutureFocus program, you must be in your pre-penultimate year of study or finishing your studies in 2028 or 2029. This includes students in their first-year of university.

Career Kickstarter is our graduate pathway program, designed for final year university students or recent graduates who are looking to fast-track their path towards a career in the global markets. We won’t be opening for separate Graduate roles in Sydney this year, so don’t miss your chance to apply!

Across five days, you’ll build industry-ready skills and deepen your technical knowledge through lectures, coding workshops, trading simulations, mentorship, and more. This isn’t just a glimpse into the industry – it’s your chance to experience our culture first-hand, sharpen your skills further and discover what it takes to thrive in our high-performing teams.

Plus, if you excel in the program, you could secure a full-time graduate offer.

Applications open in December 2025 and the program will run in March 2026.

The Career Kickstarter program offers three streams: Technology, Trading or Research.

Technology

Our Software Developers play a critical role in executing successful trades. Driven by the desire to find the simplest solutions to the most complex problems, they design and build high performance systems that solve real business problems. Check out Brenda’s ‘Day in the Life’ story to learn more.

Trading

Our Traders make trading decisions based on market conditions and other factors. They’re driven and have a flair for analytical problem solving. Check out Will’s ‘Day in the life’ story to learn more.

Research

Our Researchers collaborate closely with traders and developers to build and improve our trading strategies. They’ll often work with huge amounts of data and use statistical and machine learning algorithms. Check out Dom’s ‘Day in the life’ story to learn more.

You must be in your final year of study or graduated no more than 3 years ago.

Graduates will undertake their initial training in Amsterdam, alongside global peers. You’ll initially learn trading fundamentals through theory and technical classes, then work on various projects. You’ll then return to Sydney where you’ll learn in-depth financial theory, collaborate on technical projects and trade on Optiver’s simulated market.

Your learning journey at Optiver doesn’t stop after the training program. Between formal mentorships, external professional development and informal peer-to-peer feedback, you’ll be supported to grow and thrive in your career at Optiver.

Graduates will undertake their initial training in Amsterdam, where you’ll join your peers from across the world. Through a series of interactive lectures and workshops, you’ll master the principles, systems and technologies used to build Optiver’s industry-leading trading systems, as well as discover how we work as a collective to build our world-class solutions. You’ll then return to Sydney where you’ll transition into specialised training tailored to your role.

Once you join your team, you’ll be supported every step of the way by your mentors and peers. You’ll work on projects side-by-side with experienced engineers who are there to share their knowledge and answer any questions to help you grow.

Optiver’s PhD Quant Lab is an insights program for PhD students to learn how they can apply their technical skills to the quantitative problems we’re looking to solve in the global financial markets. Across two days, you’ll will gain a comprehensive understanding of the quantitative finance industry and, more importantly, where your unique skills and knowledge fit in. You’ll hear directly from traders, researchers, and developers at the forefront of the field, become familiar with the state-of-the-art tools, engines, and theories driving our trading strategies.

Applications open in April, and the program will run in July 2026.

Our Sydney office is one of the primary players within the Asian markets, trading a range of products on all relevant markets. Sydney is the APAC head office with other regional offices in Singapore, Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong and Mumbai.

Our traders work when the markets in Asia are open. This may mean a slightly later start in the morning (10-11am) with a slightly later finish (6-7pm). The work days can be intense but they wind down at a humane hour, leaving time for your interests outside of work.

The below may give you an indication of the different types of trading desks at Optiver, but through our training programs, we’ll ensure we find the perfect role for you.

Options Market Maker
You love puzzles, predictions and problem-solving. You’re always hungry to learn. You’re driven to understand the why, and you’re also comfortable making decisions under uncertainty. You have a real passion for quantitative problems and a flair for numbers.

Delta 1 Trader
You love statistical analysis and deriving insights from big data sets. You enjoy microanalysis and applying those insights to the bigger picture. You possess a competitive spirit that drives you to never settle for ‘good enough’.

Institutional Trader
Building rapport comes naturally to you. You enjoy developing strong relationships and you don’t take yourself too seriously. You have amazing communication skills and remain focused under pressure. You’re passionate about quantitative problems, have a flair for numbers, and an inherent drive to work in a fast-paced, sometimes uncertain, environment.

In short – yes. We want to help you find your perfect role at Optiver. We have had Traders move into the Risk and Research space before . We also embrace global collaboration and knowledge sharing, often offering opportunities for employees to transfer or complete a secondment in one of our global Optiver offices.

The success of our core business depends on the systems we build in-house. By being internally collaborative, we can be externally competitive. Our developers work side-by-side with traders, from gathering requirements to seeing their code deployed. 

Yes – we use machine learning and are focussed on exploring how we can best apply existing and emerging machine learning techniques to our trading and research. We’re also actively looking for ways to use AI to improve our market predictions and our day-to-day work.

Given our role in the financial markets, we offer great opportunities for you to apply your machine learning expertise. We have:

• Great access to data
• Excellent domain knowledge – we are not blindly throwing data at a black box; we have great internal expertise on trading
• A fast feedback loop that drives rapid improvement, we see very quickly whether we are improving or not. 

It’ll depend on the team you join. Our internships begin with a structured training program, led by our dedicated team of educators. Each year, we look at the proposed list of intern projects and pick those that encompass your learnings – some may contain machine learning, others won’t. Where possible, we strive to place you in a team that matches your primary interests. If you have a strong interest in AI and machine learning, make sure you flag this in your interview process.

Given the heavily quantitative nature of trading, there are several areas well suited to machine learning, including our research teams. It acts as a core part of some of our trading, not just a secondary tool.

Research teams work closely with traders, utilising our large historical and live datasets to improve our trading strategies and performance.

• Options Pricing Researchers are responsible for our core pricing models.
• Performance Researchers process and discover hidden patterns and optimise trading success.
• Quantitative Researchers use statistical analysis techniques and derive insights, applying those to the bigger picture.

Yes, researchers typically work end-to-end on projects with traders and developers. You’ll develop hypotheses about how to improve our competitive success and test them experimentally under real-world conditions and constraints.

If you love data-driven problem solving, chances are research could be for you. Our job descriptions will provide more detail into the different research roles available. Our recruiters will also discuss your interests through the interview process. Finally, our training programs will give you exposure to the different areas of research.

Our Market Risk team develops and delivers the risk management activities of the entire firm, in a fast-paced and dynamic trading environment. They help improve our current risk framework to keep us at the forefront of an ever-changing trading environment. Our Risk analysts create and improve risk monitoring tools, as well as analyse risk and market data to solve practical problems.

Our risk team sits on the trading floor and works very closely with our traders on a daily basis.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we are unable to provide individualised feedback during the early stages of our application process.

Please apply directly through our Careers page, as we do not accept any applications via email. You can find current openings and apply here: Make an Impact with Optiver Careers

You will always be able to find details of our live roles on our Careers page. If you do not see a specific role listed there, it means we’re not currently actively recruiting for it—please continue to check our website.

There will be many virtual and in-person opportunities to connect with us throughout the year.

Sign up to our Talent Community, follow us on social media (@OptiverGlobal) or visit our Events page to stay in the loop.

We look forward to meeting you!

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