Expressions of Interest - Quantitative Research Internship, PhD (Summer 2026 -Shanghai)

Ready to accelerate your growth in one of the most fascinating and dynamic industries? Our Research Summer Internship program will give you real insights into how data and research is used to improve global financial markets. Expand your knowledge of the financial markets and solve challenging problems that could impact the way we trade. Plus, if you’ve excelled over the summer and shown us your potential, you could receive an offer to join us as a graduate quantitative researcher.

With Optiver’s internship program, your work improving the market starts today.

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.

Since its establishment in 2012, our Shanghai office is a rapidly growing participant in the Chinese markets, trading exchange-listed futures, options and equities in China mainland. Our vision is to become the trusted partner in the development of Chinese financial markets. With the culture of a start-up but the backing of a 35+ year-old trading firm, the Optiver Shanghai office is truly unique. Everyone who joins us will help shape the future of our company and its global impact. Get ready: we are only just beginning. 

What you’ll do:

As a Quantitative Research Intern, you’ll work with our researchers and traders on real-life research projects, that directly impact the way we trade. Our quantitative researchers are responsible for the accuracy of our core pricing models. They work closely with our traders to analyse and improve all facets of our trading strategies.

As part of the internship, you’ll get to:

• Perform extensive analysis in order to implement new algorithms that support and improve our existing models.
• Develop risk management and portfolio optimisation tools to improve our execution algorithm.
• Work with petabytes of low latency, high-frequency market data sets.
• Collaborate with our developers to test and drive changes to our trading system, that will improve our ability to make successful trades.
• Keep up to date on the latest development of new models and technologies
• No previous experience in trading or financial markets? You bring the passion and we'll have the training to support you along the way 

Who you are:

• PhD student, who will graduate during 2027.
• Major in a highly quantitative field.
• Strong knowledge of probability and statistics, experience in machine learning and time-series analysis is a big plus.
• Programming experience in any language (C, C++, Python, JAVA, etc.), ideally with a preference towards Python.
• Ability to carry a project on your own in a structured way within a short timeframe.
• Experience in working with large datasets.
• Both a self-motivated contributor and a team player, with an entrepreneurial attitude and hunger for success.
• Interest in the trading/quantitative finance industry.

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.
• Daily breakfast, lunch and snacks.
• Gym membership, sports and leisure activities, plus weekly in-house chair massages.
• Regular social events, clubs and Friday afternoon drinks.

Diversity statement:

Optiver is committed to diversity and inclusion, and it 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. 

Questions? Check out our internship and graduate FAQs or get in touch with the team at chinacareers@optiver.com.au.

How to apply:

If you’re interested in taking your career to the next level and work on one of the most exciting trading floors in China mainland, apply now via the form below. 

While we love how bilingual our teams are, be sure to submit the below application materials in English:

• Resume
• Academic transcripts, including Bachelors and Masters and PhD if any

For any other inquiries, please email chinacareers@optiver.com.au.

Privacy disclaimer:

Optiver 重视个人信息的保护。请您在提供个人信息给我们之前，认真阅读Optiver China Privacy Notice, 了解我们如何收集及处理您的个人信息。

Personal information protection is of utmost importance to Optiver. Before you provide any personal information to us, we strongly urge you to read our Privacy Policy to acknowledge how we collect and process your personal information.