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Optiver

Prop / Market Maker · Options market maker · Amsterdam

Home of the notorious '80-in-8' mental-math test, raw arithmetic speed is the gate before anyone reads your resume.

Difficulty: ●●●●●Recruits in India

Optiver is an options and derivatives market maker with an HFT bent. Its early screen is one of the most famous filters in the industry: 80 arithmetic questions in 8 minutes, no calculator.

Because wrong answers are penalized, accuracy matters as much as speed, and the later rounds move into probability, risk, and live trading games.

Roles they hire

Quant Trader · Quant Researcher · Software Engineer

Interview processas publicly reported

  1. 1

    Online assessment battery

    Reportedly ~5 tests within a week: the 80-in-8 mental-math test (penalty scoring), a sequences/pattern test, a probability test, and cognitive games.

  2. 2

    Recruiter screen

    Motivation, background, and fit.

  3. 3

    Technical interview

    With traders: probability, brainteasers, risk management, and live market-making simulations.

  4. 4

    Assessment center / superday

    Trader conversations, a final technical interview, and an in-house group trading game.

What they test

Mental Math →Probability →Market Making →Brainteasers →

Prep tips

  • ▸Train specifically for the 80-in-8 format (2-digit multiplication, percentages, fractions on a stopwatch); because wrong answers are penalized, skip rather than guess.
  • ▸Practice quoting two-sided prices quickly and updating fair value.

India recruiting

Opened a Mumbai office in 2024 and actively recruits at the IITs, with large reported IIT-Bombay offers.

Sources

Interview processes change and vary by role, office, and year. This guide reflects publicly reported experiences and is not affiliated with Optiver.

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