Hardware Engineer

Optiver; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Global profit-sharing pool

Performance-based bonus structure

401(k) match up to 50%

Comprehensive health, dental, vision,

Disability and life coverage

25 paid vacation days + marketholidays

Office perks and social events

Job summary

Austin is home to Optiver's hardware research, development and manufacturing department. We build competitive trading hardware across PCBs, FPGA firmware, and software interfaces, delivering end-to-end design from concept to production.

Join a multidisciplinary team and contribute to latency, scale and thermals improvements while collaborating with traders, researchers and engineers. Enjoy strong compensation and a global, diverse environment.

Qualifications

• BS in electrical or computer engineering; advanced degrees preferred.
• 5+ years industry experience.
• ECAD in schematic and layout with Altium/Mentor/Cadence or equivalent.
• Experience with PCIe Gen3-6, USB3/4, 10/25G Ethernet.
• Experience with I2C, SPI, JTAG, USB and related protocols.

Responsibilities

• Design, realize, test, bring up and manufacture custom hardware (PCBs).
• Schematic capture, PCB layout, simulation (Spice, HFSS).
• Write initial bring up code for hardware (C/Python/VHDL).
• Interpret Eye Diagram/BERT results and correlate data to simulations.
• Create test plans and engineering requirements specifications.
• Debug issues as they arise and improve system performance.
• Work with a multidisciplinary team across traders, researchers, software, and mechanisms.
• Own designs from concept to production and manage vendor relationships.

Skills

Python

Signal & power integrity

End-to-end product development

High-speed interfaces

Education

BS in electrical or computer engineering

Master or Ph.D. preferred

Tools

Altium

Mentor Graphics

Cadence

Job description

Austin is home to Optiver's hardware research, development and manufacturing department. We build some of the world’s most competitive trading hardware using a wide variety of technologies, from fiber optics to custom silicon, from software to antennas - and everything in between.

What You'll Do

• Design, realize, test, bring up and manufacture custom hardware (mostly PCBs)
• Schematic capture, PCB layout, Simulation (Spice, Ansys SiWave HFSS etc.)
• Write the initial bring up code (C/Python/VHDL) for the hardware
• Interpret Eye Diagram/BERT results and correlate lab and production measurements to simulations
• Create test plans and engineering requirements specifications
• Debug issues as they come up
• Research new ways of improving our system's performance (latency, scale, thermals) and how our trading requirements can be realized
• Work in a multidisciplinary team of traders, researchers, software (FPGA, firmware, application), mechanical and infrastructure engineers
• Own your designs from concept to production
• Manage relationships with 3rd party vendors

Who You Are

Requirements:

• BS in electrical or computer engineering, Master or Ph.D. preferred
• 5+ years of industry experience
• Advanced ECAD skills for schematic and layout creation in one of the following: Altium, Mentor Graphics, Cadence or equivalent
• Proficiency in signal and power integrity SIPI best practices
• End-to-end product development experience, concept through release
• Expertise with one or more high speed interfaces, and the protocols running on top, such as: PCIe Gen3-6, USB3/4, 10/25G Ethernet
• Experience with low speed communications both in hardware and software, such as: I2C, SPI, JTAG, USB etc
• Experience validating high speed interfaces using: TDRs, sampling and real-time oscilloscopes
• Know how to read and write Python

The following experiences are nice to have:

• Familiarity with the Ethernet (IEEE 802.3)
• Data center, or consumer electronics design experience
• Software engineering skills such as C/C++/
• RTL skills: VHDL/Verilog
• Experience supporting post-silicon bring-up and debugging

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.

In addition, you'll receive:

• The opportunity to work alongside best-in-class professionals from over 40 different countries
• Highly competitive compensation package
• Global profit-sharing pool and performance-based bonus structure
• 401(k) match up to 50%
• Comprehensive health, mental, dental, vision, disability, and life coverage
• 25 paid vacation days alongside market holidaysExtensive office perks, including breakfast, lunch and snacks, regular social events, clubs, sporting leagues and more

Who We Are

At Optiver, our mission is to improve the market by injecting liquidity, providing accurate pricing, increasing transparency and stabilizing the market no matter the conditions. With a focus on continuous improvement, we prioritize 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.

Our differences are our edge. 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.