Quantitative Trading Internship (Dec 2027)

Collaw; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 68,000 - 96,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flights and accommodation covered

Daily meals and barista

Mentorship program

Job summary

Optiver in Sydney invites a penultimate-year university student to join our Quantitative Trading Internship for 8 weeks, tackling complex problems under expert mentorship and gaining first-hand exposure to market making in a world-leading tech-driven trading firm.

You will complete a structured program with lectures on options pricing and trading fundamentals, apply knowledge in simulated trading with live data, develop and backtest an algorithmic strategy, and receive ongoing guidance from

Qualifications

• Penultimate-year university student.
• Australian citizen or permanent resident or able to provide working rights in Australia.
• Strong quantitative and logical reasoning skills.
• Experience in Python is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Attend lectures and coursework on trading fundamentals.
• Apply knowledge in a simulated trading environment with live market data.
• Analyze real historical data to develop and backtest an algorithmic trading strategy.
• Learn from in-house educators and current traders across desks.
• Test potential and accelerate growth in a high-performing environment.

Skills

Python

Quantitative thinking

Team collaboration

Education

Penultimate year student

Tools

Python (Pandas/Numpy)

Job description

As our Quantitative Trading Intern, you’ll spend your summer tackling complex, quantitative problems at one of the world’s leading tech-driven trading firms. Under the guidance and mentorship of industry experts, you’ll apply your strong reasoning skills todesign, develop and enhance our innovative trading strategies, fully immersing in the world of market making.

From derivative theory training to hands‑on trading experience, you’ll have deepened your understanding of the quantitative trading industry by the end of the 8-week internship. Plus, if you’ve excelled over the summer, you’ll receive an offer to return as a Graduate Quantitative Trader.

What you’ll do

Requiring a pragmatic mindset, logical problem‑solving skills and mathematical precision, our internship is as close as you can get to a real trading experience. Led by our dedicated in‑house education team that consists of ex‑traders and engineers, our Quantitative Trading Internship offers you the opportunity to:

• Complete our curated series of lectures and coursework on trading fundamentals, covering topics such as options pricing, financial markets, trading strategies and cutting‑edge technology.
• Apply your recently acquired knowledge in a simulated trading environment, trading options using live market data for a realistic hands‑on experience.
• Analyse real historical data to develop your own algorithmic trading strategy and backtest to see how it performed.
• Learn directly from our team of full‑time educators and current traders, gaining exposure to our various trading desks and experience the financial markets first‑hand.
• Test your potential and accelerate your growth in a fascinating and high‑performing environment.

Find your niche in trading

During the internship, you will gain exposure to the various trading desks at Optiver. Discover some of our teams below.

• Read Will’s storyto discover how he leverages the data available to make informed trading decisions in the Index Options team.
• Read Jason’s storyto discover how he uses cutting‑edge statistical models and machine learning algorithms to optimise our autotraders in the Delta 1 team.
• Read Matt’s story to discover how he works closely with external counterparties to provide pricing, liquidity and negotiate large trades in the Institutional Trading team.

What you’ll get

You’ll join a culture of collaboration and excellence, where you’ll besurrounded by curious thinkers and creative problem solvers. Driven by a passion for continuous improvement, you’ll thrive in a supportive, high‑performing environment alongside talented colleagues, working collectively to tackle the most complex problems in the financial markets.

In addition, you’ll receive:

• A highly competitive remuneration package.
• Optiver-covered flights and accommodation for the duration of the internship.
• The opportunity to work alongside best‑in‑class professionals.
• Daily breakfast, lunch and in‑house barista.
• Regular social events.
• Training, mentorship and personal development opportunities.
• Gym membership, plus weekly in‑house chair massages.

Who you are

• A penultimate university student. If you are a pre-penultimate university student, discover our 2027 FutureFocus Trading & Research program.
• An Australian or New Zealand Citizen, Australian Permanent Resident or able to provide evidence of full working rights.
• Lateral thinker, with a passion for quantitative problems and working in collaborative, dynamic environments.
• Holds superior quantitative and logical reasoning skills.
• Experienced in programming or scripting in Python a plus.

Who we are

At Optiver, our mission is to improve the market by injecting liquidity, providing accurate pricing, increasing transparency, and stabilising the market no matter the conditions. With a focus on continuous improvement, we prioritise safeguarding the health and efficiency of the markets for all participants. As one of the largest market making institutions, we are a respected partner on 100+ exchanges across the globe.

Diversity statement

Optiver is committed to diversity and inclusion. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, and welcome requests for reasonable adjustments during the process.

Questions?

Check out our Campus FAQs or get in touch with the team.

We accept one application per role per year. If you have previously applied to this position during this season and were unsuccessful, you may reapply when the next recruitment season begins in 2028.

We also ask that you apply to one role at a time, selecting your preferred opportunity. We will only consider candidates for one role at any given time.