Can you solve this puzzle?

There are 100 girls and 100 guys. The girls each have their individual preference list for which guy they’d like to marry. Each list contains all 100 guys in the order of the girl’s preference. We’d like to match them up as well as we can according to their preferences. To measure how well we’re doing, we assign each match a number: the number of the guy on the girl’s preference list. So if a girl gets to marry her 2nd choice, for example, we assign the number two. We’d like to keep the sum of numbers for all the matches as small as possible. What is the number we’ll get in the WORST case?

Did you like this puzzle? Are you looking for bigger challenges? Do you want to use your analytical skills to solve real world problems and see the results right away? Do you enjoy writing computer programs? Then the Data Analyst / Junior Researcher position might be a great opportunity for you!

Who we are

Optiver is an international and innovative proprietary trading firm. We deal with highly-automated electronic market making activities. With offices in Amsterdam, Chicago and Sydney, employing around 600 talented individuals from over 30 nationalities, we trade in more than 20 countries, across 5 continents, 24 hours a day.

What you’ll do

As a Data Analyst / Junior Researcher you will work in a team with traders and researchers, right on the trading floor. You will spend your first weeks at Optiver in a structured training program to learn about options, market making and arbitrage. You will then immediately start your first project, with the support of a senior trader. Within a few months, you will play a key role in developing automated analysis programs and trading algorithms.

What you'll need

• Academic degree (e.g. engineering, physics, math, econometrics, computer science);
• Programming experience in any language (C, C++, Phyton, Basic, JAVA, etc.);
• Ability to analyse and back test models and be part of the implementation process;
• Ability to carry a project on your own in a structured way within a short timeframe;
• Experience with Excel, VBA or Matlab are a plus;
• Competitive attitude and eagerness to constantly improve yourself;
• Self-starting, ‘can do’ attitude;
• Ability to learn quickly;
• Excellent verbal and written English skills.

Our Culture

No suits, no ties and no red tape. Our culture is one of our most valuable assets; result-driven, open and informal, team-based, ambitious and exceedingly flexible, whilst striving for professionalism within all our departments.

Our offices are modern and offer many stress-relieving extras, such as pool tables, table football and more. We give our employees the flexibility to be innovative, research their ideas and act upon them. Our working environment is ideal for ambitious and talented people who enjoy a challenge. Despite the independent nature of our profession, we are a very team-oriented company.

What you'll get

Besides great salary, also excellent secondary benefits like: fully paid first-class commuting expenses, a premium-free pension, attractive profit sharing structure, great responsibility, a steep learning curve, training opportunities, discounts on health insurance, breakfast and lunch facilities, Friday afternoon drinks and even weekly in-house chair massage.

We consider Data Analyst / Junior Researcher position to be a starting point for a motivated talent who wants to develop within Optiver.

Interested?

Apply directly via the APPLY NOW button. Please provide us with a CV, a letter of motivation, and the answer to the puzzle (please write down the number we asked for and also a brief explanation of your reasoning), all in English. Applications without a letter of motivation or solution to the puzzle will not be reviewed. For more information, contact Kim Ruijer on +31 (0)20 708 7000.

N.B. If you are selected to proceed to the next round for the position of Data analyst/Junior Researcher, you will be required to take an online assessment.