Quantitative Trader Intern (Summer 2026 – Chicago)

As a Quantitative Trader Intern at Optiver, you'll spend your summer embedded in the fast-paced environment of our trading floor, learning from industry experts. Through a blend of in-depth education sessions, simulated trading that replicates real market conditions, and an impactful research project, you'll gain deep insight into how markets move and how traders think. You'll test your ideas, sharpen your decision-making, and collaborate with peers and mentors to solve real market challenges. By the end of the 10-week internship, you'll be equipped with the foundational skills and knowledge required to succeed as a Quantitative Trader at a top global trading firm. What you'll do: Our internship, which demands quick thinking, a critical mindset, and decisive action, offers one of the closest experiences to real trading you can get. Led by a team of former Optiver traders, our in-house education program gives you the opportunity to: Deep dive into trading fundamentals, from theoretical concepts to financial markets, trading strategies, and cutting-edge technology. Develop your trading skills and strategies in a realistic, simulated trading environment that closely replicates live markets. Learn directly from experienced traders, gaining exposure to various trading desks and experiencing the financial markets first-hand. Push your limits and accelerate your growth in a fascinating and high-performing environment. What you'll get: You'll join a culture of collaboration and excellence, surrounded by curious thinkers and creative problem-solvers. Motivated by a passion for continuous improvement, you'll thrive in a supportive, high-performing environment alongside talented colleagues, collectively tackling some of the toughest challenges in the financial markets. In addition, you'll receive: The opportunity to work alongside best-in-class professionals from over 40 different countries. The opportunity to earn a return internship or full-time offer in Chicago, Austin, New York City, or Amsterdam based on performance. A highly-competitive internship compensation package. Optiver-covered flights, living accommodations, and commuting stipends. Extensive office perks, including breakfast, lunch and snacks, regular social events, clubs, sporting leagues and more. Who you are: A student pursuing a bachelor's, master's, or PhD in a STEM field. On track to graduate between December 2026 to June 2028, with sophomore standing or higher. Strong quantitative and logical reasoning skills. Interested in strategic games or other competitive activities. Experienced in programming or scripting in Python is a plus. Affinity for research is a plus.

Optiver is a global company with offices in Amsterdam, Sydney, Chicago, Austin, Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai, London and Singapore. As a leading global electronic market maker, we are dedicated to our mission of continuously improving the market. Even in times of extreme volatility, we stay the course. Resolute in our belief that the market should always be liquid for economies to thrive. As one of the oldest market-making institutions, we're a trusted partner of exchanges. Our contribution to them ensures they remain stable, transparent and competitive. We provide liquidity to financial markets using our own capital, at our own risk, trading a wide range of products: listed derivatives, cash equities, ETFs, bonds, and foreign currencies. We strongly believe in the positive power of the world's markets. That's why we're committed to leading the way in market making for environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) products.