Graduate Quantitative Researcher (2026 Start)

Study Association VSAE; Amsterdam; Hybrid; EUR 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance-based bonus

Global team collaboration

25 vacation days in first year

Training opportunities

Relocation/visa sponsorship for expats

Job summary

Optiver is looking for a Graduate Quantitative Researcher to join their Amsterdam team, starting in 2026. You’ll apply statistics and programming to price options, predict volatility, and develop strategies on a world‑class trading floor alongside traders and engineers from 50+ countries.

You’ll work with state-of-the-art models, Monte Carlo methods, and a back-testing framework to push research into production, driving financial market insights daily.

Qualifications

• Academic degree with outstanding achievements in a STEM field.
• Proficiency in Python, C/C++ or similar languages for modeling.
• Strong probability, calculus and linear algebra foundations.

Responsibilities

• Model and price options using stochastic methods and Monte Carlo techniques.
• Develop and test quantitative trading algorithms in production systems.
• Collaborate with Traders and Software Engineers in a global team.
• Continuously challenge hypotheses and validate results with data.

Skills

Python

C/C++

English proficiency

Probability & statistics

Quant research mindset

Education

Engineering/Math/CS degree

Job description

Graduate Quantitative Researcher (2026 Start)

If you enjoy mathematical challenges and writing computer programs,you could be instrumental in the success of Optiver's dynamic trading floor as our next Graduate Quantitative Researcher. With your statistics knowledge and top-tier analytical abilities, you’ll create the insights that drive our trading strategies. Get ready to collaborate with world-class Traders and Software Engineers from more than 50 countries to improvefinancial markets across the globe. This is your chance to get involved and see how valuable research and data are to the future of electronic trading.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

Quantitative Research acts as the foundation upon which Optiver’s trading activities are built. Our research teams – experts in a variety of STEM subjects – utilise a scientific approach to research and design our world-class trading algorithms. This means applying and developing state-of-the-art stochastic models to price options and predict market volatility, as well as utilising Monte Carlo methods. It also means developing statistical arbitrage strategies by working with petabytes of low latency, high-frequency market data sets, an extensive high-powered computing back-testing framework and much more.

Optiver Researchers believe in academic discourse, and therefore invite their teammates and Traders to challenge each hypothesis. Constant testing, analysis, refinement and innovation ensures our quantitative models remain at the cutting-edge of constantly evolving capital markets – you will play a key role in keeping us there.

WHO YOU ARE:

We're looking for aspiring Quantitative Researchers who are versatile and creative in innovating and suggesting new solutions. In return, we'll give you the freedom to pursue your ideas and implement them right into our production systems.

In terms of skills and qualifications, we're looking for:

• An academic degree in Engineering, Physics, Maths, Econometrics, Computer science or equivalent, with outstanding academic achievements
• Programming experience in any language (preferably Python, but C, C++, Basic, JAVA, etc. are also a plus)
• Ability to apply concepts of probability, calculus and linear algebra
• Competitive attitude and eagerness to constantly improve
• Ability to learn quickly
• Excellent verbal and written English language skills

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 talent colleagues, working collaboratively 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 countries
• 25 paid vacation days in your first year, increasing to 30 from your second year onwards
• Training opportunities, discounts on health insurance, and fully paid first-class commuting expenses
• Extensive office perks, including breakfast, lunch and dinner, world-class barista, in-house physio and chair massages, organised sports and leisure activities, and Friday afternoon drinks
• Training and continuous learning opportunities, including access to conferences and tech events
• Competitive relocation packages and visa sponsorship where necessary for expats

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 thecontact form , selecting “Reasonable Adjustments” as the subject of your inquiry

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

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