Quantitative Research Intern

1. 1Application

   Resume and transcript. Math, CS, physics, and competition results (olympiads, Putnam, ICPC, Kaggle) carry more weight than finance experience.

2. 2Online assessment

   Timed tests: 80 arithmetic problems in 8 minutes at some shops, probability and sequence puzzles, a coding test on HackerRank or CodeSignal for research and dev tracks, and sometimes a short market making game.

3. 3Phone screen

   A trader or researcher on a shared screen. Probability and expected value questions asked one after another, with follow ups that change one assumption to see if you can adapt the answer.

4. 4Technical rounds

   Two or three 45 minute interviews. Harder probability, statistics, a coding problem for research roles, and a betting or market making game where they trade against you.

5. 5Final round

   A full day on site, often in Chicago or New York. Back to back technical interviews, a trading simulation or team game, and a fit conversation about why trading and how you handle losing.

6. 6Offer

   Often within a week. Return offers from the internship are decided on how you think and learn on the desk, not on profit.

Optiver does not state its process on its own site, so these are the usual stages.