Software Engineer – Hardware Research

Optiver • Austin, TX

64d

About The Position

Optiver’s hardware research, development, and manufacturing team in Austin designs some of the world’s most competitive trading systems. Within this group, our hardware research team explores how every device in our environment behaves under real-world conditions from low-level network cards to custom hardware.
As we continue to grow, we’re looking for a software engineer with a research mindset to join this team. In this role you will investigate the behavior and performance of all devices we use or interact with in our trading environment. We’re looking for someone who can apply strong software engineering principles to the systems we build to do this.
You’ll collaborate closely with teams across the organization, applying your knowledge to improve our systems and trading strategies.

Requirements

• Strong foundation in computer science fundamentals and programming
• Proficiency in Python, including familiarity with libraries and APIs
• Comfortable conducting research and data analysis in Python using Jupyter Notebooks
• Experience writing software in C/C++
• Creative problem-solving skills at the system level
• Solid understanding of the OSI model and networking fundamentals

Nice To Haves

• Experience with low-level hardware/software interactions
• Familiarity with devices and drivers in Linux
• Experience with low-level communication APIs and frameworks such as EFVI, RoCE, DPDK, and Onload
• Hands-on experience with high-precision timestamping of electrical signals and network packets
• Experience working with high-performance trading network hardware (both packet- and circuit-switched)
• Knowledge of communication protocols, especially Ethernet
• Exposure to network equipment operating systems like Cisco IOS, Arista EOS, MOS or similar

Responsibilities

• Design and develop software to help investigate the performance and behavior of trading hardware and communication devices
• Conduct hands-on research with a wide range of hardware components and network protocols
• Collaborate with hardware, trading, and infrastructure teams to share findings and improve systems
• Interact directly with low-level devices, drivers, and embedded systems using C/C++

Benefits

• 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

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed