How to Get an Optiver Employee Referral
Optiver is a global market maker that hires for sharp, fast quantitative thinking - and screens for it with famously tough mental-math and probability tests. A referral helps you reach the assessment that decides everything.
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A plain LinkedIn search buries the people who would actually help you.
It ranks by prominence, so the most-followed, most-messaged names sit on top. FindWarmIntros surfaces the coworkers who share your school or a past employer - the people most likely to reply - and hands you a ready-to-send intro.
✍️ Ready-to-send intro“Hi - we both studied at [your school]. I’d love to hear about your path to Optiver before I apply…”
… plus everyone else in your network who can put in a good word.
See who can refer you in - pick your target company:
Quick answer
Yes, Optiver takes employee referrals: an employee puts your name in internally, usually before you apply, and about 50% of hires come through referrals. You do not need to already know someone there. You need an employee you share a school or a past employer with, and a short conversation.
- Find Optiver employees who share your school or a past employer (the free search above).
- Ask for a 15 minute chat about their team, not for a job.
- If it goes well, ask them to submit your referral before you apply.
Referral bonuses at large companies typically run $1,000 to $10,000, paid to the employee who refers you, never to the candidate. See reported referral bonus amounts by company.
By the Numbers
Optiver is a proprietary trading firm and market maker founded in Amsterdam in 1986, with major offices in Chicago, Sydney, and Shanghai. It provides liquidity in options and other derivatives across global exchanges and competes on the speed and quality of its pricing - which means it hires traders, quantitative researchers, and engineers who can reason about probability and risk under pressure.
Optiver is well known for a rigorous, quantitative screening process, including timed mental-math and probability assessments, especially for trading and internship roles. Because so much rides on those assessments, a referral mainly helps you get into the pipeline and understand what to expect - the firm's bar on raw numerical ability is non-negotiable.
Don't already know someone at Optiver? You don't have to.
The steps below all start the same way - finding an insider willing to refer you. FindWarmIntros does that part for you: it surfaces the Optiver employees who already share your school or a past employer (the people most likely to say yes) and drafts the intro. Free, no sign-up, ~10 seconds.
Show me who can refer me at Optiver →Or read the manual version first - it's right below.
How to Get a Referral: Step by Step
- Know the assessment is coming: Optiver's trading and intern pipelines famously include timed mental-math and probability tests. Practice these directly - a referral gets you the seat, not a shortcut past the test.
- Pick trading, research, or engineering: Optiver hires traders, quantitative researchers, and software engineers on distinct tracks. Have your referrer route you to the one that fits your strengths.
- Find an Optiver contact: Use FindWarmIntros to surface people in your network at Optiver - a trader or engineer who knows your quantitative ability is the ideal referrer.
- Show numerical sharpness early: Competition results, quantitative coursework, or trading and markets projects signal exactly what Optiver screens for; lead with them.
- Target the internship if you are a student: Optiver's trading and tech internships are a primary pipeline to full-time roles and a strong, reachable entry point.
Tips That Make the Difference
Mental math is the gate
Optiver's reputation for timed arithmetic and probability tests is well earned. The best preparation is direct, repeated practice against the clock - and it is the same skill the job rewards.
Internships convert
Optiver invests heavily in its trading and engineering internships and converts strong interns to full-time. For students, an intern referrer is often the most accessible.
Engineers are first-class here
Low-latency systems and quantitative engineering are central to Optiver's edge, not a support function - strong software candidates are highly valued.