Software Engineer - Quantitative Development

Optiver • Chicago, IL

9h • Onsite

About The Position

You’ll build the infrastructure and workflows that power systematic and semi-systematic trading at scale. Sitting at the intersection of research and engineering, this role enables large-scale experimentation, high-fidelity backtesting, and data-driven strategy development. You’ll partner closely with traders and researchers to turn ideas into measurable experiments—designing robust backtests, iterating quickly, and uncovering signal in complex datasets. The systems you build will be critical to exploring new trading strategies, refining execution logic, and supporting advanced techniques including machine learning. This is a highly experimental environment where progress depends on speed, correctness, and the ability to ask—and answer—the right questions.

Requirements

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

Responsibilities

• Build and scale high-performance backtesting and simulation infrastructure
• Design workflows that enable rapid experimentation and hypothesis testing
• Translate trading ideas into testable models, signals, and research pipelines
• Ensure realism and correctness in simulations (e.g., market microstructure, latency, data quality)
• Develop tools to analyze performance, explain behavior, and guide iteration
• Improve the speed, reliability, and usability of the research platform
• Own the full lifecycle from idea → backtest → analysis → production

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: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees