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Optiver

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4.5
  • 1,000 - 50,000 employees

What we do: Tech-driven trading firm and leading global market maker
No. of employees: 1,600+ globally
The good bits: Smart colleagues, flat structure, collaborative and inclusive environment
The challenge: The work is intense, yet the culture is inspiring
Hiring interns and grads with degrees in Mathematics, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Software Development, Actuarial Studies, Finance or even Philosophy. There are many degree pathways to Optiver and all backgrounds are considered. 

The Optiver Story

Optiver is a leading global trading firm, powered by technical innovation. Simply put, Optiver trade options and other financial instruments in 70+ exchanges to improve markets around the world. 

It's a unique business, with unique challenges. Optiver a quiet powerhouse of creative problem-solving and collaboration. And while we built our success for more than 35 years, we've deliberately forged a culture that gives our people the opportunity and support to help us make an impact every day.  

The Culture

At Optiver, they do things a bit differently than most businesses. Optiver operate without clients, taking risks and reaping the rewards ourselves. Optiver play by our own rules and maintain an informal culture to keep it fun. 

Optiver is a passionate about empowering individuals and creating diverse teams that thrive. Every person at they should feel included, valued and respected because we believe our best work is done together. 

Optiver continuously invest in our talent at Optiver. You’ll have access to courses, challenges and career paths that give you a strong start, wherever you want to go. You’ll learn from inspiring colleagues, get fast feedback from stakeholders and the market, and work in cross-discipline teams to deliver real business value. Between formal training and informal feedback, your passion for knowledge will never go unsatisfied. 

Optiver is committed to making the world better every day. This commitment extends to our people, making their lives better through a range of initiatives, benefits and opportunities. Optiver believes the best equipped go furthest. 

  • Gym memberships for staff to help stay fit and active
  • Small group training sessions
  • Weekly meditation and mindfulness sessions
  • Daily breakfast and lunch are provided by our in-house chefs
  • Fresh fruit, healthy snacks and vegan/vegetarian options for every meal
  • Onsite barista
  • Weekly in-chair massages for all staff
  • Onsite shower facilities
  • Plenty of teams and clubs to get involved in, from soccer, and basketball to cycling teams, and even rock climbing!
  • Health challenges for charities, such as City2Surf and more
  • An internal library - a quiet area, full of resources available to all staff

Giving back to the community

Optiver believe in giving back to the communities we come from and operate within. This drive for 'better every day takes a lot of different shapes, to give their people opportunities to support their preferred causes. Here are some examples:

  • We have volunteer days for all staff, allowing our people to dedicate their time to the things they care for.
  • We support Indigenous artists through the Artbank program.
  • Each day, leftover food is donated to OzHarvest, ensuring it goes to those in need.
  • We hold a Charity Vote every year, giving $20K donations to three charities voted for by our staff.
  • We support the Movember campaign, which means a lot of furry lips (and fitness folks) during November.
  • We promote blood donation drives, and fitness and wellness events.
  • We have regular in-house trading sessions to raise money for nominated charities and causes.
  • We donate books, toys and gifts to the Smith Family Christmas Appeal, and allow staff to give their Christmas gift to a charity of their choice.
  • We're continuously adopting new initiatives to improve our impact on the planet, including sustainable coffee cups, selecting vendors with impeccable environmental credentials, and reducing our single-use plastics.
  • We encourage staff to cycle to work, providing bike storage and free bike servicing services to reduce environmental impact and traffic on the roads.
  • Our offices are in a 6-star green-rated building, and we work with Ecosave to monitor and optimise our environmental impact.

Recruitment Process

Optiver aim to keep the process as smooth and simple as possible to help you be at your best during the process. Here are the steps you can expect as part of your application and interview process:

  1. Submit application
  2. Complete online assessments (Optiver Assessment and HackerRank)
  3. Behavioural Zoom interview
  4. Technical and behavioural interviews
  5. Congrats, you’ll receive an offer!

Remuneration & Career Growth

Optiver approaches their internship and graduate programs as a long-term investment. By doing the same training and work as our tech and trading teams, we’re seeing if you have what it takes to join us full-time. 

Every day presents an opportunity to solve the seemingly impossible. It’s a place where you’re empowered to build, code, develop and strategise ideas that push the boundaries of technological and analytical possibility. 

Internship program

It’s not just a summer gig. It’s a 10-12 week crash course designed to unlock the rest of your career. By the end of summer, Optiver goal is to have identified future Optiverians to rejoin our world-class teams in the Graduate program. 

Graduate Program

To remain at the forefront of market-making, Optiver need the best and brightest industry talent within their teams. Your career will begin with 3 months of comprehensive training on the fundamentals of trading: theory, markets, strategies and cutting-edge technology. Then, you'll be able to put your knowledge into practice and make a tangible impact right from day one!

Graduate Reviews

Overall Score
4.5
Overall score based on 15 reviews
They Score Best in…
8.9
Satisfaction
8.8
Recruitment
9.5
Salary
8.9
Training
8.9
Satisfaction
8.8
Recruitment
9.5
Salary
8.9
Training
What Graduates Say About Them
  • Collaborating with very smart and friendly people on tricky but interesting problems
  • Excellent pay and perks. Good culture, friendly colleagues and reasonable work life balance. Excellent opportunities to take ownership of products and responsibility, even for new grads.
  • Very tight knit grad cohort makes for a good work environment.
  • The people - everyone is really smart, really interesting, and really driven. Coming to work feels kind of like when I started going to university with the number of different ideas floating around. The responsibility - Optiver is kind of like a massive start up in that everyone gets the chance to take responsibility for large areas and can progress quickly.
  • The work is continually interesting, the perks are amazing, and there is a good culture around work hours and succeeding
  • Great perks: built in breakfast, lunch and coffee. Awesome games room with pool, Nintendo switch and table tennis. Free gym membership and massages on Wednesday. People are friendly and smart, and you learn a lot on the job. You never feel board with what you're doing, as the problems are challenging and interesting. Managers are great, they value one on one meetings, and helping employees improve. The annual company trip is awesome.
  • Can be more stressful / pressure than other places
  • Fast paced environment isn't for everyone. You need to stay on top of your projects' requirements and stakeholders at all times.
  • There will be a lot to learn, you will feel like a complete beginner in most areas of the business. You may question your knowledge/ability because everyone is talented.
  • Trading is a stressful job. This comes both from the markets and the high performance nature of everyone at Optiver but I wouldn't trade it in for another job.
  • The amount of work is constant, and you have to be fairly self directed from the get go
  • There is always challenging work, there's no time to slack off!

Jobs & Opportunities

Locations With Jobs & Opportunities
  • Sydney
Hiring candidates with qualifications in
B
Business & Management
C
Creative Arts
E
Engineering & Mathematics
H
Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences
I
IT & Computer Science
L
Law, Legal Studies & Justice
M
Medical & Health Sciences
S
Sciences
P
Property & Built Environment
T
Teaching & Education

Videos


Welcome to Optiver Asia-Pacific - Long

Optiver's culture is like no other. And who better to explain it than the people who helped build it. Meet some of our people to understand what we're about - and why it's so amazing to be here.

What makes Optiver a great place to work?

Our culture is as unique as our people. Find out why we're such a fun place to work, and why we've been awarded one of Australia's Best Places To Work eight times in ten years.

Welcome to Optiver Asia-Pacific - Long

Optiver's culture is like no other. And who better to explain it than the people who helped build it. Meet some of our people to understand what we're about - and why it's so amazing to be here.

What makes Optiver a great place to work?

Our culture is as unique as our people. Find out why we're such a fun place to work, and why we've been awarded one of Australia's Best Places To Work eight times in ten years.