Can you solve this puzzle?

An ant leaves its anthill in order to forage for food. It moves with the speed of 10cm per second, but it doesn’t know where to go, therefore every second it moves randomly 10cm directly north, south, east or west with equal probability.

1. If the food is located on east-west lines 20cm to the north and 20cm to the south, as well as on north-south lines 20cm to the east and 20cm to the west from the anthill, how long will it take the ant to reach it on average?
2. What is the average time the ant will reach food if it is located only on a diagonal line passing through (10cm, 0cm) and (0cm, 10cm) points?
3. Can you write a program that comes up with an estimate of average time to find food for any closed boundary around the anthill? What would be the answer if food is located outside an area defined by ( (x – 2.5cm) / 30cm )2 + ( (y – 2.5cm) / 40cm )2 < 1 in coordinate system where the anthill is located at (x = 0cm, y = 0cm)?

Was that easy to solve? If you enjoy mathematical challenges and writing computer programs, you could be instrumental in the success of Optiver's dynamic trading floor as our next Graduate Data Scientist. With your statistics knowledge and top-tier analytical abilities, you’ll create the insights, reports and proposals that drive impactful new trading strategies. Get ready to collaborate with world-class Traders and Software Engineers from more than 50 countries to improve financial markets across the globe. This is your chance to demonstrate how valuable research and data are to the future of electronic trading.

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:

How does Optiver accurately price hundreds of thousands of interconnected financial products in real-time? In one word: data. Data science is at the very core of Optiver’s pricing strategies. Our Data Science teams tackle fascinating challenges that exist at the intersection of technology and trading – a space with some of the most complex and exciting volumes of financial market data. With world-class skills that can cut through the noise, Optiver's Data Science teams directly impact the precision and scalability of our 35+ year trading business.

Optiver's Data Scientists sit on our dynamic trading floor and collaborate with Data Engineers, Quantitative Researchers and Traders to perform in-depth data analysis and share market insights. As a Graduate Data Scientist, your observations and recommendations will be highly valued, and trusted to inform crucial trading decisions, including identifying new trading opportunities. This makes you a key player in our market activities, whose impact can be felt in real time. 

WHO YOU ARE:

The feedback loop for this team is immediate, therefore we look for dynamic and highly ambitious people who seek to constantly innovate, challenge the status quo and want to work alongside some of the most talented and intelligent people in the business. 

In terms of skills and qualifications, we're looking for:

• Excellent data analysis, scientific and critical thinking skills, as well as an eye for detail
• A decent level of Python development ability, experience with scientific Python stack (e.g. Pandas, Numpy and SciPy) is highly desirable
• Outstanding communication skills to collaborate with multiple stakeholder groups, challenge thinking and obtain buy-in
• The ability to present complex ideas with data to expedite decision making
• A focus on pragmatic outcomes, and the ability to prioritise effectively
• A strong interest in the world of trading, however no experience in the financial industry required 

WHAT YOU’LL GET:

The chance to start your career working alongside best-in-class professionals from over 40 countries.

Alongside this you will get great secondary benefits such as 25 days paid vacation days, full paid first-class commuting expenses, training opportunities, discounts on health insurance, breakfast and lunch facilities, sport and leisure activities, Friday afternoon drinks and even weekly in-house chair massages.

Being highly international, we are accustomed to guiding expats through their relocation, offering competitive relocation packages and providing visa sponsorship where necessary.

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 Graduate Data Scientist. 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 [email protected].

*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 8 month waiting 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 [email protected]. 

*We accept one application per role per year. If you have previously applied to this position during this season and have been unsuccessful, you can reapply once the next recruitment season begins in 2024.

More information on how Optiver Europe processes your personal data can be found in our Privacy Policy.