Ready to accelerate your engineering career in just five days? At Optiver, engineers build the systems powering millions of trades a day across the globe: from core low-latency platforms, machine learning research pipelines, to real-time execution workflows. The challenges are complex, the impact is immediate, and the learning never stops. Career Kickstarter: Tech is a five-day, all-expenses-paid program designed for students eager to explore the engineering challenges of building mission-critical trading systems that keep global markets moving. Hosted at our Amsterdam headquarters, you’ll work through hands-on coding sessions, system design workshops and a collaborative engineering project that mirrors the work of our engineers. Top performers will be considered for a direct offer to join Optiver as a&nbsp;Graduate Software Engineer. <ul><li>When: May 11-15, 2026</li><li>Where: Optiver’s Amsterdam Headquarters</li><li>Application&nbsp;deadline: February 23, 2026, at 17:00 CET</li></ul> <h2>What you’ll do</h2> A week of building, learning and engineering at scale. Throughout the program, our full-time Education Team will be there to mentor you, offering guidance and feedback designed to accelerate your development.Learning and skill development:<ul><li>Hands-on engineering:&nbsp;Work on a real engineering project that challenges you to design, build and iterate as part of a real engineering team.</li><li>Technical exploration:&nbsp;Join lectures and panel sessions with senior engineers to explore potential career paths and understand how real systems are designed, built and improved.</li><li>Systems thinking:&nbsp;Take part in system design workshops to learn how high-performance systems are architected, optimised and scaled.</li><li>Pathway to a career:&nbsp;Demonstrate your potential during the program, and you may be considered for a direct offer to join Optiver as a Graduate Software Engineer.</li></ul>Culture and perks:<ul><li>Industry insights:&nbsp;Gain a deeper understanding of the industry and build the confidence needed to excel in a high-performance environment.</li><li>Cultural immersion:&nbsp;Get a taste of Optiver’s incredible company culture and take advantage of our perks and benefits firsthand, including daily breakfast, lunch, coffee and more.</li><li>Amsterdam up close:&nbsp;Picture your future career based in our vibrant city, sampling a taste of life in the historic Dutch capital.</li><li>Hotel &amp; travel:&nbsp;Enjoy a comfortable stay with fully covered accommodation and travel expenses, allowing you to focus on making the most of the program.</li></ul>

Germany

Finance & Banking

Technology & IT

Engineering

Netherlands

Switzerland

Career Kickstarter: Tech

Gender Pronouns

They/Them

He/Him

She/her

Prefer not to say

Graduation year

After February 2026

May 2024- February 2026

Before May 2024

English

Are you studying Econometrics or a STEM Degree and planning to graduate between May 2025 and February 2027? Ready to fast-track your trading career before you graduate? Join Optiver's online webinar to learn about our Career Kickstarter Trading programme that could lead to a full time trading graduate role. 

In this webinar you will:
• Gain exclusive insights into our Career Kickstarter application process.
• Meet Optiver’s traders and past programme participants

About the Career Kickstarter programme:

Discover if a career in trading is right for you in this immersive 5-day program in Optiver's Amsterdam office for students graduating between 2025-2027.

Get ready for:

•	Hands-on experience at a leading trading firm
•	Personalised mentorship from industry experts
•	Build, test, and refine your own trading strategies
•	All-expenses-covered stay in Amsterdam

Choose your preferred programme date when you apply: 2–6 March or 9–13 March, 2026.

Application deadline: 1 December 2025

Prove to be a good match and you may receive a full-time trading job offer.

Register for this webinar to gain exclusive access to more programme insights!

Computer science

Finance

Mathematics

Physics

Master

Bachelor

Optiver Career Kickstarter- from Student to Trader in 5 Days

Are you studying Econometrics or a STEM Degree and planning to graduate by February 2026? Ready to fast-track your trading career before you graduate? Join Optiver's online webinar to learn about our Career Kickstarter Trading programme that could lead to a full time trading graduate role. 

In this webinar you will:
• Gain exclusive insights into our Career Kickstarter application process.
• Meet Optiver’s traders and past programme participants

About the Career Kickstarter programme:

Discover if a career in trading is right for you in this immersive 5-day program in Optiver's Amsterdam office for students graduating between 2024-2026.

Get ready for:

•	Hands-on experience at a leading trading firm
•	Personalised mentorship from industry experts
•	Build, test, and refine your own trading strategies
•	All-expenses-covered stay in Amsterdam

Choose your preferred programme date when you apply: 3–7 March or 7–11 April, 2025

Application deadline: January 2025

Prove to be a good match and you may receive a full-time trading job offer.

Register for this webinar to gain exclusive access to more programme insights!

EPFL - EPF Lausanne

ETHZ - ETH Zurich

Fachhochschule Aachen

Fern-Fachhochschule Hamburg

Fachhochschule Karlsruhe, Hochschule für Technik

Fachhochschule Mannheim, Hochschule für Technik und Gestaltung

Fachhochschule München

Hochschule München

Fachhochschule Potsdam

Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)

Fachhochschule Frankfurt am Main

Pädagogische Hochschule Karlsruhe

Technische Fachhochschule Berlin

Technische Universität Berlin

Technische Universität München

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität Bonn

Technische Universität Dortmund

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main

Universität Hannover

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Universität Polsdam

Universität Ulm

Erasmus University Rotterdam

Hogeschool Rotterdam

Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht (HKU)

Rotterdam School of Management

Delft University of Technology

University of Twente

University of Amsterdam

Ready to accelerate your engineering career in just five days?

Join Optiver's online webinar to learn about our Career Kickstarter - Tech programme that could lead to a full time software engineering graduate role. 

In this webinar you will:
• Gain exclusive insights into our Career Kickstarter application process.
• Meet Optiver’s software engineering, education, and recruitment team
 
About the Career Kickstarter programme:
Discover if a career in software engineering is right for you in this immersive 5-day program in Optiver's Amsterdam office for students or working professionals graduating between 2024-2027.
 
Get ready for:
• Hands-on experience at a leading trading firm
• Personalised mentorship from industry experts
• Work on a real engineering project that challenges you to design, build and iterate as part of a real engineering team
• All-expenses-covered stay in Amsterdam
 
The programme takes place on May 11-15, 2026.
Application deadline: 23 February 2026
 
Prove to be a good match and you may receive a full-time software engineering job offer. Register for this webinar to gain exclusive access to more programme insights!

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Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Eindhoven University of Technology

University of Warsaw

University of Wroclaw

Karlsruher Institut für Technologie

Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca

University of Bucharest

Universität Potsdam

Rheinisch Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen

Imperial College London

University of Cambridge

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 Optiver Career Kickstarter — From Curious Coder to Software Engineer in 5 Days

Career Kickstarter: Tech

Internship
Information technology
Germany

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Career Kickstarter: Tech

InternshipInformation technologyGermany

Create an account to receive personalised invitations to career live streams and job openings

Internship
Information technology
Germany