Learning by building: Inside Optiver’s Software Engineering

Learning by building: Inside Optiver’s Software Engineering Internship

Many internships promise “real impact.” Few actually deliver it.

During their first weeks at Optiver, software engineering interns are introduced to the systems, teams, and problems they’ll be contributing to. They quickly begin building, with some shipping a lightweight release as early as week 2 or 3.

Across our global offices, interns spend their time doing what engineers actually do: designing systems, writing production code, learning from each other’s work, and shipping releases on applications that directly impact our trading and research stacks.

It’s not a shadowing experience, and it’s not a simulated exercise. Interns are embedded into teams, trusted with real responsibility, and supported by experienced engineers who treat learning as a shared process.

From Austin to Chicago, Amsterdam to Sydney and beyond, the internship experience is grounded in a strong education culture where learning happens fast.

A global program, one shared philosophy

While the technical challenges and markets differ by location, interns across regions are given the same opportunity to contribute to production systems and learn how quantitative development applies to real trading challenges.

Interns work closely with engineers, quantitative researchers, and traders, asking questions freely, receiving fast feedback, and iterating quickly. The expectation isn’t that interns arrive knowing everything, but that they’re curious, thoughtful, and willing to engage deeply with complex problems.

To understand how this plays out in practice, we spoke with interns across our global offices about what they built and how they grew.

What does it really mean to be a software engineer intern at Optiver?

What stands out most about the internship is the scope of the work. Intern projects are built around real engineering needs, often tied directly to trading performance, system reliability, or research infrastructure.

In Austin, Jerry worked with the D1 Execution Production Environment team to build an application that allows auto-traders to be tested within a framework that closely represents realistic conditions. His work made feature development and debugging significantly easier across teams, ultimately improving trading uptime.

“It was really gratifying to see my contributions make a tangible impact so quickly,” Jerry says. “The feedback loops were fast, and I could see how the work fit into the bigger picture.”

“Seeing my changes go live was a huge moment. It made the scale and responsibility of the role very real.”

In Chicago, Khloe joined the Automated Trading Systems team, where she built a system to prioritize financial instruments with the highest opportunity for trading on FPGA hardware. Her work went into production toward the end of her internship, contributing to improved trading success rates and laying the groundwork for future research.

“Seeing my changes go live was a huge moment,” she shares. “It made the scale and responsibility of the role very real.”

In Amsterdam, Ciprian developed a simulator tool that mirrors Optiver’s datacenter network, allowing teams to test tools before deploying them to physical hardware. The project helped prevent incidents before they could occur and attracted interest from multiple teams across the firm.

“It wasn’t just an exercise,” Ciprian explains. “People across different teams were invested in seeing the project take shape because it solved a real problem for the business while teaching real skills.”

In Sydney, Madison worked on the Korea market-facing team, developing an alerting framework that enables traders and researchers to create custom validations within pricing models. She owned the project end-to-end, from design through deployment, identifying past incidents the framework would have prevented.

“I had full ownership, but also constant support. Throughout the project, I had weekly check-ins with my mentor, who provided the guidance I needed so I could continue working autonomously,” Madison says. “Those sessions were instrumental in helping me improve rapidly over the course of the internship.”

In Shanghai, Victor contributed to Optiver’s globalization strategy by enabling support for a new raw market data format in a back-testing application. His work required collaboration across teams and offices, and ultimately became part of a system that directly supports trading decisions.

“What made this project particularly rewarding was the collaboration it required,” Victor says. “I worked closely with colleagues across different teams and offices, which gave me exposure to diverse perspectives and approaches. Seeing my work integrated into a system that directly supports trading gave me a strong sense of impact, even as an intern.”

“My mentor gave me the autonomy to generate ideas, work directly with traders, and make independent decisions about what to implement.”

In Mumbai, Harshit worked on improving firm-wide liquidity visibility. He built a system to calculate Optiver’s net liquidity exposure across asset classes (including currencies, stocks, options, ETFs and futures) consolidated into value terms. To deliver this, he collaborated with trading risk, analysts, and developers, maintaining a continuous feedback loop to ensure the data was accurate and practical for those using it.

“The final product was a server-based UI solution providing real-time liquidity data,” Harshit explains. “My mentor gave me the autonomy to generate ideas, work directly with traders, and make independent decisions about what to implement.”

Across regions, the common thread is clear: interns don’t just learn about systems, they build them.

Learning through responsibility, not hierarchy

For many interns, one of the most surprising aspects of the program is the level of accountability they’re given.

“I was surprised by how much responsibility comes with writing code,” Ciprian reflects. “Code reviews weren’t just about correctness, but about design decisions and long-term ownership.”

In addition to project work, interns also join technical lectures or onboarding sessions.Mentorship happens daily: through pair programming, design discussions, code reviews, and informal conversations at the desk. Interns are encouraged to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and contribute ideas regardless of experience or seniority.

Jerry notes that the environment pushes you to grow simply by being surrounded by people who care deeply about their craft. “If you’re eager to learn, there’s always space to make an impact.”

Defining success through shared curiosity

Interns come from different academic paths, regions, and levels of prior exposure to trading.

Khloe was struck by the sheer complexity of the trading ecosystem (from physical hardware constraints to real-time risk management and regulatory considerations). Others, like Ciprian, found themselves diving into unfamiliar territory, learning low-level Linux networking while debugging unexpected issues.

“Most of my time was spent tackling problems no one had solved before,” Ciprian says. “That was challenging, but also incredibly rewarding.”

Advice for future interns

When asked what advice they’d give to someone considering the internship, interns consistently point to curiosity and openness.

“Ask questions,” Khloe says. “There’s so much to learn, and people genuinely want to help.”

Jerry adds that it’s important to stay calm and focus on building. “You’re in a high-performance environment, but that’s what accelerates your growth.”

Madison also highlights the importance of using the support around you. “Throughout the project, I had weekly check-ins with my mentor, who provided the guidance I needed while still allowing me to work autonomously. Those conversations were instrumental in helping me improve quickly.”

An internship that shapes what comes next

For many interns, the experience reshapes how they think about their future as software engineers. They leave with a clearer understanding of how large-scale systems operate, how engineering decisions affect real-world outcomes, and how collaboration across disciplines drives success.

At Optiver, learning doesn’t stop at the internship; it’s built into the culture. For students curious about high-performance engineering, real ownership, and working on problems that matter, this software engineering internship offers an opportunity to experience it firsthand.