Software Engineer - Trading Strategies

Optiver; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 180,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation including profit-sharing

25 paid vacation days

Comprehensive health and life coverage

Office perks including meals and social events

Job summary

Optiver is looking for a Senior Engineer in Chicago to design and build high-performance trading systems. You will tackle complex technical challenges while working with various teams dedicated to trading strategies. Responsibilities include developing low-latency systems, optimizing execution, and collaborating with traders.

The position offers competitive compensation with a bonus structure, comprehensive health coverage, and generous vacation days. Join us in improving markets through innovative technology.

Qualifications

• Experience leading complex, large-scale engineering projects.
• Proficient in systems-level programming (e.g., C or C++).
• Strong computer science fundamentals and sound engineering judgment.

Responsibilities

• Build systems that power trading business.
• Develop ultra-low-latency systems for trade execution.
• Collaborate with traders and researchers to optimize solutions.

Skills

Complex problem solving

Systems-level programming (C/C++)

Linux and networking fundamentals

Leadership in engineering projects

Job description

Overview

Our engineers build the systems that power Optiver's trading business, solving complex technical problems at massive scale where performance, reliability and speed are critical. We're hiring senior engineers across five Trading Strategies teams in our Chicago office. You'll work directly with traders and researchers, owning systems and workflows end-to-end across the stack: from real-time trading infrastructure and execution through to tools, analytics and decision-support. The problems are fast-moving, the feedback loop is short and your impact is directly visible across system behavior, execution quality and trading performance.

What you'll do

Depending on the team and area of focus, engineers may work on everything from ultra‑low‑latency systems that execute trades in live markets to large‑scale research and simulation platforms that process vast amounts of data.

Teams

• Research & Simulation: Build the infrastructure and workflows that power systematic and semi‑systematic trading, enabling large‑scale experimentation, robust backtesting, and data‑driven strategy development.
• Low Latency Execution Strategy: Develop systems and run experiments that improve exchange execution by partnering with researchers to understand market microstructure and optimize execution behavior.
• Equity Options: Work directly alongside traders to solve high‑impact problems across trading systems, analytics, infrastructure, and tooling.
• Core Trading Strategies: Build systematic and semi‑systematic trading strategies that translate pricing and risk appetite into exchange execution. Develop algorithms, ultra‑low‑latency execution systems, and high‑fidelity research infrastructure across trading features, infrastructure design, and simulation platforms.
• Retail Execution: Build real‑time systems that price, route, and execute millions of retail orders. Partner closely with traders and researchers to own end‑to‑end solutions spanning exchange connectivity, routing logic, pricing, risk checks, and monitoring.

Who you are

• Experience leading complex, large‑scale engineering projects
• Strong computer science fundamentals and sound engineering judgment
• Ability to balance innovative thinking with practical execution
• Proficient in systems‑level programming (e.g., C or C++ with Linux and networking fundamentals)
• A mindset of continuous improvement in a fast‑paced environment
• Willingness to set technical direction, uphold engineering standards, and take ownership of outcomes

What you'll get

• Competitive compensation, including a global profit‑sharing pool and performance‑based bonus
• 401(k) match up to 50%
• Comprehensive health, mental health, dental, vision, disability and life coverage
• 25 paid vacation days alongside market holidays
• Office perks including breakfast, lunch and snacks, regular social events, clubs, sports leagues and more

What to expect

Our interview process is designed to assess your software engineering fundamentals, problem‑solving approach and ability to build high‑performance systems. You'll begin with a series of technical interviews focused on coding, systems design and engineering problem solving. As you progress through the process, you’ll have the opportunity to meet with engineers and leaders across our trading technology organization. Because we’re hiring across multiple teams, you don’t need to identify the perfect fit upfront. Throughout the interview process, we’ll work with you to determine which team, technology and problem space best align with your skills, interests and experience.

Who we are

At Optiver, our mission is to improve markets by injecting liquidity, providing accurate pricing, increasing transparency, and stabilizing markets in all conditions. As one of the largest market‑making firms, we're a trusted partner on 100+ exchanges globally.

Equal Employment Opportunity

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.

Base Salary Range

$200,000—$200,000 USD