Software Engineer – Hardware Research

Optiver’s hardware research, development, and manufacturing team in Austin designs some of the world’s most competitive trading systems. Within this group, our hardware research team explores how every device in our environment behaves under real-world conditions from low-level network cards to custom hardware.

As we continue to grow, we’re looking for a software engineer with a research mindset to join this team. In this role you will investigate the behavior and performance of all devices we use or interact with in our trading environment. We’re looking for someone who can apply strong software engineering principles to the systems we build to do this.

You’ll collaborate closely with teams across the organization, applying your knowledge to improve our systems and trading strategies.

What you’ll do:

As Software Engineer in Hardware Research, your key responsibilities include:

• Design and develop software to help investigate the performance and behavior of trading hardware and communication devices
• Conduct hands-on research with a wide range of hardware components and network protocols
• Collaborate with hardware, trading, and infrastructure teams to share findings and improve systems
• Interact directly with low-level devices, drivers, and embedded systems using C/C++

What you’ll get:

• The opportunity to work alongside best-in-class professionals from over 40 different countries
• A highly competitive compensation package
• Global profit-sharing pool and performance-based bonus structure
• 401(k) match up to 50%
• Comprehensive health, mental, dental, vision, disability, and life coverage
• 25 paid vacation days alongside market holidays
• Extensive office perks, including breakfast, lunch and snacks, regular social events, clubs, sporting leagues and more

Who you are:

• Strong foundation in computer science fundamentals and programming
• Proficiency in Python, including familiarity with libraries and APIs
• Comfortable conducting research and data analysis in Python using Jupyter Notebooks
• Experience writing software in C/C++
• Creative problem-solving skills at the system level
• Solid understanding of the OSI model and networking fundamentals

Nice to have:

• Experience with low-level hardware/software interactions
• Familiarity with devices and drivers in Linux
• Experience with low-level communication APIs and frameworks such as EFVI, RoCE, DPDK, and Onload
• Hands-on experience with high-precision timestamping of electrical signals and network packets
• Experience working with high-performance trading network hardware (both packet- and circuit-switched)
• Knowledge of communication protocols, especially Ethernet
• Exposure to network equipment operating systems like Cisco IOS, Arista EOS, MOS or similar

Who we are:

At Optiver, our mission is to improve the market by injecting liquidity, providing accurate pricing, increasing transparency and stabilising the market no matter the conditions. With a focus on continuous improvement, we prioritise safeguarding the health and efficiency of the markets for all participants. As one of the largest market making institutions, we are a respected partner on 100+ exchanges across the globe.

Our differences are our edge. Optiver does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, or other legally protected characteristics