FPGA Internship (2027 Start)

About the role

Ten-week FPGA engineering internship in Amsterdam, building latency-critical hardware, networking interfaces and parallel systems for live trading. Interns own production-connected projects, collaborate with engineers and traders, receive technical and trading education, and may receive a full-time offer after graduation based on performance.

Responsibilities

• Build FPGA applications, networking interfaces and parallel systems connected to live trading systems.
• Support 25G and 100G networking protocols and improve current system resource usage.
• Collaborate with traders to improve strategy performance in live markets.
• Develop high-precision timestamping and proprietary inter-system communication protocols.
• Ship code to production alongside engineers and traders.

Training and Benefits

• Receive mentorship while working on a live trading systems project.
• Attend industry lectures covering trading and other Optiver departments.
• Receive education and upskilling from Optiver trainers; financial industry knowledge is not required.
• Receive competitive internship compensation, covered flights and central Amsterdam accommodation.
• Access office meals, coffee, massages, social events, sports activities and a bicycle.

Requirements

• Currently pursuing a Master's degree in Electrical or Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering or a similar subject.
• Able to work full-time after graduation in 2028.
• Have academic experience in digital design using FPGAs or ASICs.
• Experience writing hardware in VHDL, Verilog or SystemVerilog.
• Demonstrate strong engineering instincts, clean coding and well-architected systems thinking.
• Able to collaborate with developers, traders and business operations.

Application Process

• Apply directly through the application form for the FPGA Intern position.
• Submit a CV in English; applications by email are not accepted.
• If selected, complete the online assessment within seven days.
• Applicants in India enter through the placement-office internship hiring season in July or August.
• Candidates who completed an Optiver technology assessment or interview within eight months cannot yet reapply.