Career Kickstarter: Women in Tech 2027
OptiverAbout the Role
Optiver's Career Kickstarter: Women in Tech is a five-day program designed to empower and transition aspiring female-identifying engineers into an impactful engineering career. Participants gain hands-on experience, collaborate with leading engineers, and develop the critical technical skills needed to thrive in a high-performance environment, alongside an introduction to trading concepts from an engineering perspective. No prior knowledge of trading or financial markets is required. Top performers will be considered for a direct offer to join Optiver as a Graduate Software Engineer.
- Technical skills workshops: enhance technical abilities and existing coding skills in hands-on sessions with expert guidance from Optiver's engineers.
- Women-led panels: gain insights and career advice from experienced engineers at Optiver.
- Networking events: engage with peers and professionals across Optiver.
- Technical lectures: in-depth sessions on the technologies driving the industry and the career trajectories available at Optiver.
- AI-amplified development: use the same AI tools, platforms and workflows as Optiver's engineering teams to navigate real codebases and datasets, test ideas and move faster.
The program runs April 12-16, 2027 at Optiver's Amsterdam headquarters, with applications closing 23:59 on 10 January, 2027. The application process consists of three stages: an online assessment, a behavioral interview, and a technical interview.
Responsibilities
- Enhance your technical abilities and existing coding skills in hands-on workshop sessions
- Gain insights from experienced engineers at Optiver on building a successful career
- Engage with peers and professionals across Optiver through networking opportunities
- Attend in-depth technical lectures on the technologies driving the industry
- Use the same AI tools, platforms and workflows as our engineering teams to navigate real codebases and datasets, test ideas and move faster
Requirements
- Female-identifying student
- Be a current student or graduate (BSc, MSc or PhD) in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or a related technical field, with a graduation date between April 2025 and February 2028
- Proficient in programming using common coding languages such as C++, Python, or Java
- Be studying, or have graduated from, a university in the EU/EEA, UK or CH
- You are able to demonstrate at the time of application that you have the requisite visa or other travel arrangements or authorizations in place in order to allow you to attend the program in person
- Be able to start full-time as a Software Engineer directly after the program, or at the latest by February 2028
- Curious, collaborative and excited to apply your problem-solving and engineering skills to real-world systems
- Passionate about creating simple and efficient solutions through clean code, well-architected systems and optimized workflows
- Demonstrates a proactive problem-solving nature
- Possesses an entrepreneurial attitude and an interest in the financial industry
- No finance or trading experience required
What You'll Get
- Industry insights to build the confidence needed to excel in a high-performance environment
- Pathway to a career: the possibility of securing a full-time role at Optiver
- Cultural immersion with Optiver's perks and benefits, including daily breakfast, lunch, coffee and more
- The chance to sample life in Amsterdam
- Fully covered accommodation and travel expenses