FPGA Engineer Intern (Summer 2027 - Chicago)

Optiver; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 72,000 - 88,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flights covered by Optiver

Living accommodations provided

Commuting stipends

Job summary

Optiver is offering an FPGA Engineer Intern role in a fast-paced trading environment. You will work alongside a mentor to build real-world, high-performance hardware solutions powering a global trading firm.

Projects focus on nanosecond response times, highly parallelized algorithms, and low-level networking. Opportunities available in Chicago and Austin, with competitive compensation and extensive office perks.

Qualifications

• Pursuing a bachelor’s, master’s, or PhD in Computer/Electrical Engineering or related field.
• Strong hands-on experience in digital design with FPGAs or ASICs.
• Familiar with hardware description languages (VHDL/Verilog/SystemVerilog).

Responsibilities

• Accelerate network infrastructure and trading system components with high-speed hardware designs.
• Research low-latency techniques and identify integration opportunities with the trading system.
• Collaborate with traders, software developers, and infra engineers.
• Leverage hardware to interface with cutting-edge server hardware.

Skills

FPGA design

ASIC design

HDL languages

Education

CE/EE degree candidate

Tools

Verilog

VHDL

SystemVerilog

Job description

As an FPGA Engineer Intern, you’ll work side‑by‑side with your mentor and teammates to build real‑world applications that power a global trading firm. Your projects will be scoped based on your team’s real needs - not hypothetical tasks - and your mentor will be fully invested in helping you build high-quality solutions designed to last. You’ll contribute to meaningful projects focusing on nanosecond response times, highly parallelized algorithms, and customized low-level networking.

Optiver is building with cutting edge AI technology in the most competitive, data rich landscapes in the world: financial markets. That means no two days are the same, and every day brings new, exciting technical challenges to solve.

This opportunity is also available in our Austin office -

What you’ll do:

• 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, 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.

• The opportunity to work alongside best-in-class professionals from over 40 different countries
• 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 Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or another related field
• On track to graduate between December 2027 to June 2028, with junior standing or higher
• A student with strong engineering instincts and hands-on experience in digital design with FPGAs or ASICs
• Experienced in writing hardware in VHDL, Verilog, or System Verilog
• Passionate for writing clean code, well-architected systems, and continuous improvement
• A collaborative teammate comfortable working with developers, traders and business teams

Who we are:

Optiver is a leading technology- and research-driven trading firm. Our teams of scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and traders work side by side to develop, test, and scale ideas that shape how we understand and trade global markets. Powered by a global platform built for rapid experimentation and iteration, we combine the scientific rigor of a research institution with the pace of a technology company.

Optiver does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, or other legally protected characteristics.

Optiver is supportive of US immigration sponsorship for this role.

Below is the expected compensation for this position. This is a good-faith estimate of the base pay scale and sign-on bonus for this position and offers will ultimately be determined based on experience, education, skill set, and performance in the interview process. This position will also be eligible for the benefits listed above.

Base Salary Range

$80,000-$80,000 USD