FPGA Engineer Intern (Summer 2024 - Austin)

Optiver FPGA Engineers create solutions with nanosecond response times, highly-parallelized algorithms, and customized low-level networking that help the firm deploy successful trading strategies across the world’s largest financial markets. Our engineers are tightly integrated with our business so that we can solve challenges effectively and efficiently; we deeply understand the business problem before developing the solution.

Who we are:

At Optiver, our mission is to constantly improve the market by injecting liquidity, providing accurate pricing, increasing transparency and acting as a stabilizing force no matter the market conditions. With a focus on continuous improvement, we participate in the safeguarding of healthy and efficient markets for everyone who participates. We tackle the toughest problems, challenge the status quo and always aim for excellence. As one of the largest market making institutions, we are a trusted partner of 70+ exchanges across the globe.

Optiver Chicago’s culture parallels the energetic city we’re immersed in. Home to the Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago Board Options Exchange, and Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Chicago has established itself as the trading capital of the US. Active on leading US exchanges, Optiver’s Chicago office trades a wide range of products from listed derivatives to cash equities, ETFs, bonds, and foreign exchange.

What you’ll do:

Get ready for ten weeks immersed in the fast-paced, dynamic world of market making.

As a Hardware Engineer Intern, you'll own projects that directly impact Optiver's world-class trading systems. You’ll get tight feedback loops and ship your code to production within weeks alongside our senior Engineers and Traders. You’ll work side-by-side with an assigned mentor to build latency-critical applications, parallel systems and networking interfaces. From day one, you’ll tackle real issues that will test your critical thinking and problem-solving acumen, and each day will bring new challenges that require fresh perspectives. It's an unrivalled opportunity to accelerate your knowledge and make your mark on Optiver's business. 

You will also have the chance to join industry lectures to learn about trading and our other departments to gain a complete understanding of Optiver and our business. Don't worry, previous knowledge of the financial industry is not required. You’ll take part in a training program where, through a combination of theoretical knowledge and hands-on practical experience, you’ll learn everything you need to know.

Examples of potential projects that you could be working on:

• Supporting new networking protocols – think 25G and 100G interfaces
• Developing applications in close collaboration with our Traders to improve our trading strategies and success rates – where did that nanosecond go?
• Improve the resource usage of our current systems – why use 8 bits when 3 will do?

Who you are:

• Student working toward a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or Electrical Engineering and graduating between December 2024 and June 2025
• Has completed an internship with experience in FPGA design and development
• Someone with strong engineering instincts and a deep understanding of FPGA fundamentals
• Experienced in writing hardware in VHDL or Verilog
• Possesses knowledge of digital simulators and self-checking test benches
• Passionate for clean code, simple well-architected systems and continuous improvement
• Able to collaborate with developers, traders and business operations

What you’ll get:

• Highly-competitive internship compensation package
• Optiver-covered flights, living accommodations, and commuting stipends (where applicable)
• Various office perks, including breakfast, lunch, and snacks 
• Social events, clubs and much more!

*We accept one application per role per year. Please DO NOT apply to both the Chicago and Austin locations - Only apply to the one location you are most interested in, as you may still be considered for both locations. If you have previously applied to this position this season and have been unsuccessful, you can reapply once the next recruitment season begins in 2024. Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required. 

At Optiver, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. Optiver recruits, employs, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, or other legally protected characteristics.