Graduate FPGA Engineer (2027 Start)

Optiver Holding BV; Amsterdam; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus pool

Global team

Paid vacation

Training programs

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Optiver Holding BV is seeking an FPGA Engineer to build real-world applications powering a global trading firm. You will craft solutions with nanosecond response times and highly parallelized algorithms, collaborating with traders, software engineers and infrastructure teams.

The role involves hands-on FPGA work, verification and research to accelerate trading systems using AI-enabled techniques while maintaining full ownership of designs and decisions.

Qualifications

• University degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering or similar, with outstanding academic achievements.
• Graduating between August 2024 and August 2027, with a maximum of 3 years of work experience.
• Academic design experience with FPGAs or ASICs
• Academic experience in VHDL, Verilog, or SystemVerilog
• An open, collaborative, self-critical attitude and willingness to learn from your mistakes
• A desire to understand how the systems you build fit into our trading activities
• Able to work closely with other engineers, traders, and business operations

Responsibilities

• Accelerate network infrastructure and trading system components with high-speed hardware designs.
• Research new low-latency techniques and platforms and identify opportunities for integration with our trading system.
• Collaborate in a multidisciplinary team of traders, software developers, and infrastructure engineers.
• Leverage the best hardware available or build in-house versions to ensure our FPGAs can interface with cutting-edge server hardware.

Skills

FPGA design

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering or Computer Engineering

Tools

VHDL

Verilog

SystemVerilog

Job description

As an FPGA Engineer, you’ll work side-by-side with teammates to build real-world applications that power a global trading firm. You’ll create solutions with nanosecond response times, highly parallelized algorithms, and customized low-level networking that solve business challenges effectively and efficiently. Collaborating closely with our business, you’ll have in-depth insight into a problem before developing the solution.

Optiver is building with cutting edge AI technology in the most competitive, data rich landscapes in the world: financial markets. Our FPGA engineers use AI to speed up verification, debugging, and technical research, while retaining full ownership of the designs and decisions it supports.

As an FPGA Engineer, you’ll work side-by-side with teammates to build real-world applications that power a global trading firm. You’ll create solutions with nanosecond response times, highly parallelized algorithms, and customized low-level networking that solve business challenges effectively and efficiently. Collaborating closely with our business, you’ll have in-depth insight into a problem before developing the solution.

Optiver is building with cutting edge AI technology in the most competitive, data rich landscapes in the world: financial markets. Our FPGA engineers use AI to speed up verification, debugging, and technical research, while retaining full ownership of the designs and decisions it supports.

What you’ll do

Your onboarding

You will participate in Optiver’s comprehensive Global Academy and be equipped with the knowledge needed to make an impact the moment you join your team. The comprehensive training covers trading theory and Optiver’s tech stack to hone your skills for your role. In addition, you will be paired with a dedicated mentor who will empower you to take ownership of your work and make a difference.

Your responsibilities

• Accelerate network infrastructure and trading system components with high-speed hardware designs.
• Research new low-latency techniques and platforms and identify opportunities for integration with our trading system.
• Collaborate in a multidisciplinary team of traders, software developers, and infrastructure engineers.
• Leverage the best hardware available or build in-house versions to ensure our FPGAs can interface with cutting-edge server hardware.

What you’ll get

You’ll join a culture of collaboration and excellence, where you’ll be 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, working collectively to tackle the toughest problems in the financial markets.

In addition, you’ll receive:

• A performance-based bonus structure, enabling all of our employees to benefit from our global profit pool
• The opportunity to work alongside best-in-class professionals from over 50 different countries
• 25 paid vacation days in your first year, increasing to 30 from your second year onwards
• Training opportunities, discounts on health benefits, and fully paid first-class commuting expenses
• Extensive office perks, including breakfast, lunch and dinner, world-class barista coffee, sport and leisure activities, bi-weekly massages and Friday afternoon drinks
• Training and continuous learning opportunities
• International transfer opportunities for global career growth
• Competitive relocation packages and visa sponsorship where necessary for expats

Who you are

• University degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering or similar, with outstanding academic achievements
• Graduating between August 2024 and August 2027, with a maximum of 3 years of work experience
• Academic design experience with FPGAs or ASICs
• Academic experience in VHDL , Verilog, or SystemVerilog
• An open, collaborative, self-critical attitude and willingness to learn from your mistakes
• A desire to understand how the systems you build fit into our trading activities
• Able to work closely with other engineers, traders, and business operations

Diversity statement

Optiver is committed to diversity and inclusion. We encourage applications from candidates from any and all backgrounds, and we welcome requests for reasonable adjustments 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 the contact form.

For answers to some of our most frequently asked questions, refer to our FAQs.

For applicants based in India, our entry route is via the placement office internship hiring season (July/August).

Optiver has a global application re-apply policy for our intern and graduate roles. If you have completed an online assessment or interviewed for a technology graduate or internship role at any Optiver location in the past 8 months, please note that you are not yet eligible to reapply. We welcome you to re-apply after the 8-month cool off period.