Quant jobs / Optiver

Graduate Quantitative Researcher, PhD (2027 Start)

An applied research role for PhD graduates at a market maker, working with researchers, engineers and traders on predictive models. Ideas are tested in live markets, and the firm's AI research tooling is part of the job.

What you’d work on

Our reading of the posting: what a new hire in this role would most likely spend their first months on.

Develop predictive and machine-learning models for market behaviour
Mine large market and order-flow datasets for signals
Build statistical and stochastic models for pricing, forecasting and risk
Apply deep learning and automated research workflows to speed up discovery
Go through the firm's graduate academy before joining a team

What they ask for

Required

PhD in statistics, computer science, machine learning, maths or a related field
Graduating by mid-2027
Solid maths, probability and statistics
Applied machine learning on real problems
Programming in any language
Fluent English

Education: PhD in statistics, computer science, machine learning, maths or a related STEM field.
Experience: New PhD graduates

How to prepare

Apply a machine learning method to a noisy time-series problem and evaluate it out of sample
Review stochastic models used for pricing and forecasting
Practise explaining your thesis methods to a non-specialist
Study evaluation pitfalls such as leakage, nonstationarity and multiple testing

What to study

The NLP and ML Quant Researcher roadmap sets out the stages for this kind of role, with free resources for each.

Open the roadmap

Apply

Read the full posting on Optiver’s site before applying: requirements, location and pay can change after we check them.

View the posting on Optiver’s site ↗

SelfMadeQuant wrote this summary from the employer’s public posting, last checked 6 November 2026. SelfMadeQuant isn’t affiliated with Optiver and doesn’t handle applications.