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OptiverChicago, ILInsight ProgramClosed
PhD Quant Focus 2026
Optiver PhD Quant Focus is a three-day program in Chicago for STEM PhD students to apply quantitative research and machine learning to financial markets. It offers hands-on workshops and a fast-track to a summer internship.
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Program Details
- For PhD students in STEM with machine learning experience.
- Held April 15-17, 2026 in Optiver's Chicago office.
- Flights and accommodation fully covered.
- Focus on applying academic research to quantitative trading challenges.
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What You'll Do
- Participate in hands-on trading workshops to build market making intuition.
- Work on applied quantitative research challenges using data analysis and machine learning.
- Engage with experienced quantitative researchers about career paths and industry transition.
- Receive feedback on problem framing, assumptions, and communication skills.
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Who You Are
- Current PhD student in STEM or quantitative discipline with machine learning interest.
- Available for Summer 2026 or 2027 internship; PhD graduation between 2026-2029.
- Motivated by complex, data-intensive problems and comfortable with uncertainty.
- Clear communicator thriving in collaborative, multidisciplinary environments.
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What You'll Get
- Direct pathway to Optiver's PhD Quantitative Research internships.
- Insight into how academic research translates to trading impact.
- Exposure to Optiver's collaborative research culture with researchers, traders, engineers.
- Network with like-minded PhD candidates and experienced researchers.