Optiver internships in Australia: how they work and how to get in
Optiver is a global market maker with one of the biggest trading floors in Sydney. Its internship is one of the most sought after in the country, and one of the hardest to get. Thousands of students apply for a small cohort, and most are knocked out by a maths test before a human ever reads their application.
This guide covers what the programs actually are, who is eligible, how the selection process runs, and what preparation genuinely moves the needle.
The programs Optiver runs for students in Australia
Optiver's Sydney office runs several student pathways, and they are open to candidates in Australia and New Zealand only. You need to be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, a permanent resident, or able to show full working rights.
- Summer internships in four streams: Trading, Technology, Research, and Market Risk. These run for around eight weeks over the summer break and are aimed at penultimate year students.
- Graduate programs in Trading, Research, Risk, and Technology for final year students and recent graduates.
- FutureFocus, a five day program for students even earlier in their degree, covered below.
- A PhD Quant Lab and a Career Kickstarter program for candidates outside the usual undergraduate timeline.
Interns from outside Sydney get flights and accommodation covered, so students from any Australian or New Zealand university are genuinely in the running, not just Sydney locals.
When to apply, and why early matters more here than anywhere
Applications for the following summer's internship typically open around August. So if you are in your penultimate year now, the window for next summer is likely already open.
The detail that catches people out is that Optiver recruits on a rolling basis and closes roles once they are filled. Their own Sydney recruiting FAQ says exactly this. A perfect application submitted in October can miss out to a good one submitted in August, because by October the seats may already be gone.
Strong interns are the main pipeline into the graduate program. Many graduate offers go to people who interned the summer before, which is another reason the internship is worth fighting for in penultimate year rather than waiting to apply directly for a graduate role.
The 80 in 8 test, and the rest of the process
For the trading stream, the first hurdle is a timed mental arithmetic test that interview reports consistently describe as 80 questions in 8 minutes. No calculator. Wrong answers cost you marks, so wild guessing is punished. The questions themselves are not advanced, mostly fractions, decimals, percentages and multi step arithmetic. The difficulty is entirely the clock.
Candidates who clear it typically face a numerical sequences test next, then a behavioural phone interview, then onsite rounds in Sydney. Reports from past applicants describe re sitting the maths test on paper at the office, supervised, so the online score has to be real.
Technology and research streams weight things differently, with coding assessments and problem solving interviews taking the place of some of the arithmetic, but every stream starts with online testing and ends with rounds against real Optiver staff.
The maths test knocks out most applicants before any interview. If you prepare for only one thing, prepare for this.
How to actually prepare
Speed arithmetic is trainable, and the gap between a prepared and unprepared candidate is enormous. Ten minutes of timed drills a day for a month beats a panicked weekend before the test. Practise without a calculator, under a timer, and track your accuracy as well as your speed, because the negative marking means a fast careless run scores worse than a slightly slower clean one.
Beyond the arithmetic, understand what a market maker actually does. Optiver makes money by quoting buy and sell prices and managing the risk of the positions it ends up holding. Interviewers like probability questions, expected value reasoning, and simple games where you have to price a bet. If you can explain why you would pay less for an uncertain payoff than a certain one, and roughly how much less, you are thinking the right way.
For the behavioural rounds, the standard advice applies but the bar is higher on evidence of competitiveness and comfort with being wrong. Trading floors run on fast feedback. Stories where you lost, adjusted and improved land better than stories where everything went smoothly.
If you are not in penultimate year yet
FutureFocus is Optiver's program for students one or two years before penultimate year. It is a five day immersive program in Sydney with separate streams for Technology and for Trading and Research, and Optiver covers travel and accommodation for students from outside Sydney. The 2026 edition ran in October for students graduating in 2028 or 2029, with applications closing months earlier in July.
It matters because it is a genuine shortcut. Optiver says students who excel in FutureFocus can receive a direct offer for the following summer's internship, skipping the scramble entirely. If you are early in your degree and Optiver is on your list, this is the door to aim at first.
Common questions
When do Optiver internship applications open?
Applications for the following summer typically open around August, and Optiver reviews them on a rolling basis and closes roles once they are filled. Applying early genuinely matters here.
Who is eligible for an Optiver internship in Australia?
Penultimate year students who are Australian or New Zealand citizens, permanent residents, or hold full working rights. Students earlier in their degree can apply for the FutureFocus program instead.
What is the Optiver 80 in 8 test?
A timed mental arithmetic test that past applicants consistently describe as 80 questions in 8 minutes, with no calculator and marks deducted for wrong answers. It is the first hurdle for the trading stream and knocks out most applicants, and it is very trainable with daily timed practice.
Do I have to live in Sydney to intern at Optiver?
No. Optiver covers flights and accommodation for interns from outside Sydney, so students at any Australian or New Zealand university can take part.
Prepped tracks Optiver's live openings and deadlines alongside every other firm on your list, with researched interview questions and a practice bank for the behavioural rounds.
Track Optiver freeGeneral information, not personal career advice. Program details and dates change, so always confirm specifics on the employer’s official page.