C++ Software Engineer - Critical Engineering at Optiver.

About the role Optiver is seeking highly skilled C++ Software Engineers to join our Critical Engineering team located in Sydney, Australia. This team is tasked with developing, maintaining, and enhancing the infrastructure that underpins our trading systems. As part of this team, you will be instrumental in improving the performance, stability, and reliability of our trading platform, which processes vast amounts of data and executes a high volume of trades each day. Your work will directly impact the efficiency and robustness of our trading operations, ensuring we stay ahead in a competitive market. You will collaborate closely with other engineering teams, trading desks, and infrastructure specialists to deliver scalable, low-latency solutions that meet the demanding needs of financial markets. This role offers an exciting opportunity to work on mission-critical systems in a fast-paced environment, where your contributions will be vital to our continued success.

Key facts

- Location: Sydney, Australia
- Engagement: Full-time
- Team: Critical Engineering APAC

What you'll do

- Design, develop, and implement core components of the Critical Engineering platform, taking ownership of significant projects that span multiple teams and technical domains.
- Write high-performance, production-quality C++ code for real-time, low-latency services that support large-scale trading operations and data processing.
- Make architectural decisions and set technical standards to ensure systems are scalable, reliable, and maintainable under production loads.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including trading, infrastructure, and software development, to translate complex business requirements into effective technical solutions.
- Oversee deployment processes, including build, testing, and release, to minimize risk and ensure smooth rollouts of new features and updates.
- Provide ongoing production support, troubleshooting issues quickly and efficiently to maintain system uptime and performance.
- Implement monitoring, alerting,



and logging solutions to ensure system health and facilitate proactive maintenance.
- Conduct code reviews and enforce best practices to uphold high-quality standards across the team’s codebase.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives by identifying bottlenecks, automating manual processes, and optimizing system performance.
- Mentor junior engineers, sharing expertise and fostering a culture of technical excellence within the team.
- Stay current with industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices related to low-latency systems, distributed architectures, and financial trading infrastructure.

Requirements

- Proven proficiency in C++, with the ability to contribute effectively from day one.
- Strong foundation in computer science principles, including operating systems, data structures, algorithms, and networking.
- Hands‑on experience working within Linux/Unix environments, with a good understanding of system internals.
- Familiarity with scripting languages such as Python, used for automation, testing, or data analysis tasks.
- Minimum of 3 years of experience developing, deploying, and maintaining production‑grade software systems, ideally in a financial or trading environment.
- Demonstrated experience across the entire software development lifecycle, including requirements gathering, system design, implementation, testing, deployment, and ongoing maintenance.
- Ability to analyze complex technical problems, develop effective solutions, and deliver results in a high‑pressure environment.
- Solid communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary teams and explain technical concepts clearly.
- A proactive approach to problem‑solving, with a focus on reliability, performance, and scalability.
- Experience working on low‑latency,



high‑throughput systems is highly desirable.
- Knowledge of distributed systems architecture and related tools is advantageous.
- Familiarity with version control systems, CI/CD pipelines, and automated testing frameworks.

Nice to have

- Experience with observability tools such as monitoring, logging, and tracing solutions to ensure system health and performance.
- Knowledge of real‑time, low‑latency, or high‑throughput trading systems and infrastructure.
- Understanding of relational databases or modern data storage and retrieval architectures.
- Familiarity with the trade lifecycle of various financial instruments, including equities, derivatives, or FX.
- Experience influencing technical direction, making architectural decisions, and owning system design.
- Background in DevOps practices, including incident management, service level objectives, and capacity planning.
- Exposure to cloud computing platforms or container orchestration tools is a plus.

Skills & tools

- C++
- Linux/Unix
- Python (or similar scripting languages)
- Distributed systems architecture
- CI/CD pipelines and automation tools
- Observability and monitoring tools
- Version control systems such as Git

Practical notes

- Optiver offers a competitive benefits package, including a performance‑based bonus structure that pools profits across teams globally.
- The company emphasizes professional growth, providing opportunities for training, mentorship, and skill development.
- Employees enjoy daily meals, gym memberships, and regular social activities designed to foster a collaborative and inclusive culture.
- Relocation assistance and visa sponsorship are available for suitable candidates, ensuring a smooth transition to working in Sydney.

The company values diversity and actively encourages applications from candidates of all backgrounds, believing that varied perspectives lead to better solutions.

All applicants will be given equal opportunity to showcase their skills and potential, and the hiring process is designed to be fair, transparent, and supportive.

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📌 C++ Software Engineer – Critical Engineering (City of Sydney)
🏢 Optiver
📍 City of Sydney