Career Kickstarter: Trading 2026

Want to accelerate your path from student to full-time trader?

Career Kickstarter: Trading is an immersive five-day program at Optiver’s Amsterdam office, offering final-year students at European Universities a direct pathway to a career in trading.

Over the course of one week, you’ll build your understanding of trading through theory, realistic simulations and exposure to Optiver’s trading floor. Through a blend of interactive lectures, trading games, and expert mentorship, you’ll learn how to think and act like a trader.

If you prove to be a good match, you may receive a full-time job offer to join Optiver as a Graduate Trader once the program is complete.

• When: 30 November - 4 December 2026
• Where: Optiver Amsterdam Headquarters
• Application deadline: Applications close at 17:00 CEST on 20 September 2026, and the first step of the recruitment process (online assessments) must be completed by 23:59 CEST on the same day.

Can’t make these dates? We expect to run more Career Kickstarter programs in spring 2027. Register your interest to be notified when new dates and applications are announced.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

A week of learning, decision-making and trading in action. Throughout the program, our dedicated Trading Education Team will mentor you, providing guidance and feedback designed to sharpen your skills and accelerate your development.

Learning and skill development:

• Discover options theory: Develop an understanding of options theory and how it applies to trading.
• Build your market judgement: Gain insight into how traders use information, probability and risk-reward trade-offs to make decisions in changing conditions.
• Engage in trading games: Participate in fast-paced games that mimic real-world trading scenarios, helping sharpen your instincts and decision-making skills under pressure.
• Experience the trading floor first-hand: Where market conditions allow, experience Optiver’s trading floor first-hand and gain insight into the pace and teamwork behind live markets.
• Pathway to a career: Demonstrate your potential during the program, and you may receive a direct offer to join Optiver as a Graduate Trader.

Networking and culture:

• Get to know Optiver’s culture: Get a taste of Optiver’s incredible culture and enjoy our perks and benefits, including daily breakfast, lunch, coffee, and more.
• Build your network: Enjoy networking opportunities with traders, researchers and recruiters.
• Receive expert mentorship: Benefit from the guidance and support of our expert Trading Education Team.
• Hotel & travel: You’ll benefit from fully expensed travel and hotel accommodation in Amsterdam.

ELIGIBILITY

You don’t need previous experience in finance or trading to apply. We’re more interested in your numerical ability, problem-solving skills and potential to develop as a trader.

• BSc or MSc student graduating from a university in Europe between September 2024 – September 2027
• Currently situated in the Netherlands, UK or Europe
• All Econometrics and STEM degree backgrounds are considered
• You are able to demonstrate at the time of application that you have the requisite visa or other travel authorisations in place in order to allow you to attend the program in person.

WHO YOU ARE

• Excellent numerical and analytical skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, developed through STEM degrees such as Econometrics
• Fast decision-making skills under pressure
• Competitive attitude and an eagerness to constantly improve yourself
• Fluent communication skills in English
• Excellent attention to detail
• Programming skills are not required, but are a nice to have

APPLY NOW

Does this sound like the future you’re looking for? Take up the opportunity and apply today!

Please note that applications close on 20 September 2026.

The selection process consists of two stages, and the timeline will broadly be as follows:

• Online assessment: Sent on 22 July and must be completed by 20 September.
• Technical interview: Candidates who progress following the online assessment will be invited to an interview scheduled between September and October.

More interested in building the technology that powers our trading? Explore Career Kickstarter: Tech.

Diversity statement

Optiver is committed to diversity and inclusion.

We encourage applications from candidates from any and all backgrounds, and we welcome requests for reasonable adjustments during the process to ensure that you can best demonstrate your abilities. Please let us know if you would like to request any reasonable adjustments by contacting the Recruitment team via the contact form, selecting "Reasonable Adjustments" as the subject of your inquiry.

For answers to some of our most frequently asked questions, refer to our Recruitment FAQs.

For applicants based in India, our entry route is via the placement office internship hiring season (July/August).

*Optiver has a global application re-apply policy for our internship, graduate roles and programmes. If you have completed an online assessment or interviewed for a quantitative internship, graduate role or programme at any Optiver location in the past 8 months, please note that you are not yet eligible to reapply. We welcome you to re-apply to after the 8-month cool off period.