Senior Software Engineer C++

Optiver; Town of Texas (WI); On-site; USD 170,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) match 50%

Profit-sharing pool

Performance bonus

Health coverage

Dental coverage

Vision coverage

Life insurance

Paid vacation 25 days

Job summary

Optiver in Austin is seeking Senior Software Engineers for our High-Frequency Trading team. You will lead complex projects, shape trading infrastructure, and collaborate with researchers to translate ideas into production systems.

You’ll work on low-latency, ML-driven trading platforms and contribute to end-to-end delivery from research to execution. The role is on-site in Austin with a strong emphasis on engineering excellence and performance.

Qualifications

• 2+ years preferred of C++ experience in low-latency systems like market data ingestion, order routing, execution performance, or simulation frameworks
• Solid engineering fundamentals and problem-solving abilities
• Experience collaborating with researchers to solve complex problems
• Desire to continuously improve in a rapidly evolving environment

Responsibilities

• Establish vision and technical direction for machine learning-driven trading systems that help maintain our position as a leading team in futures and equities trading
• Partner deeply with researchers to solve complex, high-value business problems
• Build and maintain end-to-end trading infrastructure, from research to production execution
• Push frequent, impactful code changes to the production environment
• Contribute to the Optiver stack and our pricing, research and trading models from ideation through to implementation
• Ensure new and existing programs adhere to our coding, architectural, and operational standards
• Develop new and existing programs adhere to our coding, architectural, and operational standards

Skills

C++

Low-latency

Linux

Python

Team leadership

Tools

Git

Perf tooling

CI/CD

Job description

Optiver is looking for Senior Software Engineers to join our High-Frequency Trading (HFT) team in Austin, TX. Our HFT team is comprised of software engineers and researchers who design, improve and execute fully automated trading strategies using machine learning. As a senior engineer, you’ll lead complex technical projects, help shape the direction of our trading infrastructure, and work closely with teams to share knowledge and drive technical progress.

Our software engineers work on some of the most challenging algorithmic problems in the world. The team owns the problem end to end, from data to simulation to the execution of orders in production. The system is built to be robust, enabling research at scale while running complex machine learning models with low latency across thousands of financial instruments.

What you’ll do

• Establish vision and technical direction for machine learning-driven trading systems that help maintain our position as a leading team in futures and equities trading

• Partner deeply with researchers to solve complex, high-value business problems

• Build and maintain end-to-end trading infrastructure, from research to production execution

• Push frequent, impactful code changes to the production environment

• Contribute to the Optiver stack and our pricing, research and trading models from ideation through to implementation

• Ensure new and existing programs adhere to our coding, architectural, and operational standards

• Develop new and existing programs adhere to our coding, architectural, and operational standards

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

• A 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 holidays

• Extensive office perks, including breakfast, lunch and snacks, regular social events, clubs, sporting leagues and more

Who you are

• Experience leading large scale projects

• Solid engineering instincts and a deep understanding of computer science fundamentals

• Strong expertise in C++ is strongly preferred; experience with C, Python, or Linux is a plus

• 2+ years preferred of C++ experience in low-latency systems like market data ingestion, order routing, execution performance, or simulation frameworks

• Innovative, out-of-the-box thinking grounded in real-world pragmatism

• Desire to continuously improve in a rapidly evolving environment

• Readiness to set technical direction, promote engineering principles, and do the right thing

Who we are

Optiver is a global market maker driven by technology. 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 Austin office serves as the firm’s innovation nucleus, with a strong focus on quantitative research, software development and hardware engineering. The team here plays a central role in advancing our heavy investment in machine learning, research infrastructure and big data computing. Located in The Domain neighborhood, the office is surrounded by world-class music, great food and easy access to outdoor spaces, providing a vibrant setting for the team.

We value in-person collaboration across disciplines, and this role is based on-site in our Austin office.

Applicants may submit up to three application per calendar year across all open roles.

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.