Application Engineer

WHO WE ARE

Optiver is a global market maker founded in Amsterdam, with offices in London, Chicago, Austin, New York, Sydney, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei and Mumbai. Established in 1986, today we are a leading liquidity provider, with close to 2,000 employees in offices around the world, united in our commitment to improve the market through competitive pricing, execution and risk management. By providing liquidity on multiple exchanges across the world in various financial instruments we participate in the safeguarding of healthy and efficient markets. We provide liquidity to financial markets using our own capital, at our own risk, trading a wide range of products: listed derivatives, cash equities, ETFs, bonds and foreign currencies.

Optiver’s Sydney office is one of the primary players within Asian markets, trading a range of products. Established in 1996, we're an active participant on the Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Japan exchanges, and act as Optiver’s APAC head office. 

WHAT YOU'LL DO

The Trading Operations Production Support Engineering team is responsible for maintaining and scaling Optiver’s low-latency trading systems. The team ensures a safe, stable, and efficient production environment while supporting profitability and sustainable growth across various regions. Collaborating closely with traders, development, and operational teams, the engineer will deploy, monitor, troubleshoot, and optimise our trading infrastructure to enhance reliability, performance, and automation.

• Provide technical expertise and support to high-frequency trading floors, troubleshooting complex issues and resolving incidents in a fast-paced, dynamic setting.
• Deploy, maintain, and monitor proprietary trading applications, ensuring stability and performance in the trading environment.
• Review and analyse incidents to identify recurring themes, driving improvements to enhance automation and operational efficiency.
• Coordinate deployments of new trading products, systems, and exchanges, ensuring readiness for events such as corporate actions or special announcements.
• Architect and maintain services to maximise reliability, ensuring the trading systems operate within performance thresholds.
• Collaborate with development teams to establish best practices and ensure the long-term stability of production systems, even under extreme conditions.
• Set standards for system configuration and deployment to minimise risks and support smooth scaling.
• Manage colocation services (e.g., servers, racks, power management) to align with business growth and system needs.
• Automate system management processes, while maintaining control over critical operations.

WHO YOU ARE

Technical Skills:

• Solid experience managing complex distributed systems in Linux environments (L2/L3 support), with a strong understanding of networking fundamentals, build, deployment, and version control systems.
• Proficiency with CI/CD tooling and scripting in Python or similar languages to automate tasks.
• Experience with relational databases (e.g., PostgreSQL) or other database systems.
• Demonstrated ability to drive system improvements and work across global teams to deliver changes.

Non-Technical Skills:

• A collaborative team player with a positive attitude, capable of coordinating effectively across departments.
• A pragmatic and logical thinker who thrives under pressure in high-intensity environments, with strong troubleshooting skills and the ability to resolve incidents efficiently.
• Effective communicator, able to clearly explain technical concepts and ask insightful questions.
• Highly organised, able to manage multiple responsibilities while keeping stakeholders informed.
• Passionate about technology, curious about the interaction between hardware and software, and driven to learn and grow by embracing frequent change.
• Prior experience in high-frequency trading environments is a plus, but not required.

WHAT YOU'LL GET

• The chance to work alongside diverse and intelligent peers in a rewarding environment
• Competitive remuneration, including an attractive bonus structure and additional leave entitlements
• Training, mentorship and personal development opportunities
• Gym membership plus weekly in-house chair massages
• Daily breakfast, lunch and an in-house barista
• Regular social events including an annual company trip
• Guided relocation, a competitive relocation package and visa sponsorship where necessary.

 As an intentionally flat organisation, we believe that great ideas and impact can come from everyone. We are passionate about empowering individuals and creating diverse teams that thrive. Every person at Optiver should feel included, valued and respected, because we believe our best work is done together.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is hardwired through every stage of our hiring process. We encourage applications from candidates from any and all backgrounds, and we welcome requests for reasonable adjustments during the process to ensure that you can best demonstrate your abilities.

Ready to take your career to the next level? Apply today.

Optiver takes the protection of your personal information seriously and is committed to keeping your personal information safe and confidential. For full details about how Optiver uses your personal information in our recruitment process, please see our Privacy Policy.

I give permission to Optiver to contact me by email about Optiver roles, company updates, recruitment activities, and events relevant to my career. If you would prefer that we do not retain your personal information for this purpose please let us know by emailing us at [email protected].