Optiver builds long-range HF communication systems whose design and optimization directly influence end-to-end trading performance. We are looking for an RF Systems Engineer to design, integrate, characterize and improve the analog subsystems behind these systems.
Your focus will span two key areas:
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Low-power RF receive systems: filtering, amplification, signal conditioning, and integration with antennas and antenna arrays.
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High-power RF transmit systems: power amplification, impedance matching, transmission lines, protection systems, and integration with antennas and antenna arrays.
Your primary responsibility is the end-to-end analog RF subsystem: you own its design and performance, and dive into individual components whenever required to improve the whole. You will have the freedom and responsibility to investigate problems deeply and turn engineering insight into measurable improvements in real systems.
RF problems rarely exist in isolation: antenna impedance affects the power amplifier, amplifier nonlinearities affect signal quality, and receiver characteristics interact with algorithms. You will develop design choices iteratively, moving from physical understanding and equations to models or simulations, then experiments, measurements and validation. Real system data will help you uncover effects that models miss and turn the results into system improvements.
You will work closely with system, algorithm, digital hardware, software and test engineers, translating system objectives into RF requirements and measurement results into engineering decisions. The team brings deep experience across these disciplines, with support from specialist teams across Optiver. We move quickly, debate ideas openly regardless of who proposed them, and treat every result as a team result.
What you'll do
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Own the design, integration, characterization and performance of the analog RF receive and transmit chains.
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Work with high-power transmit hardware, including power amplifiers, combiners, couplers, transmission lines and protection systems. Characterize gain, efficiency, linearity, harmonics, thermal behavior and load-mismatch tolerance.
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Design and optimize impedance-matching and tuning solutions for changing antenna loads, balancing bandwidth, power handling, efficiency and reflected power.
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Develop and integrate low-power receive chains, including LNAs, filters, switches and matching networks.
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Work with antennas and antenna arrays: impedance, bandwidth, radiation performance, feed systems, phasing and mutual coupling. Simulate antennas and antenna arrays with electromagnetic simulation tools such as NEC, FEKO, CST or HFSS, and validate simulations against measurements.
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Combine simulation, analytical modeling and measurement in Python to identify dominant system limitations, and work with system, algorithm and modeling engineers to investigate trade-offs and validate improvements across link budgets, cascaded gain and noise, nonlinear effects and array behavior.
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Specify requirements toward suppliers: translate system objectives into clear specifications, find and evaluate antenna manufacturers and RF equipment vendors, and manage supplier engagements from first contact through quotation, delivery and acceptance testing.
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Define and execute test strategies at component, subsystem and integration level, covering test setups, acceptance criteria, calibration and measurement uncertainty
Who you are
- BS or higher in Electrical Engineering, RF/Microwave Engineering, Applied Physics or a related discipline, with minimum 3 years of hands-on experience with RF hardware or RF systems.
- Strong foundation in analog RF: you think naturally in terms of S-parameters, matching and cascaded gain and noise, and you understand how antenna impedance and load mismatch affect the performance of the whole system.
- Good understanding of low-noise receiver design (noise figure, sensitivity, dynamic range) and of antennas and antenna arrays (radiation patterns, phasing, mutual coupling).
- Strong measurement skills with VNAs, spectrum/signal analyzers, oscilloscopes, signal generators and RF power meters, and the ability to design meaningful, repeatable measurement setups.
- Analytical mindset: you are able to describe physical RF behavior with equations, simplified models and numerical simulations, and correlate those models with measurements.
- Solid foundation in Python for analysis, modeling and measurement automation, and fundamentals of digital signal processing (sampling, filtering, spectral analysis).
- Good communication and project management skills or a clear willingness to develop them: you can write unambiguous requirements and specifications, coordinate with external suppliers, and drive engagements to completion.
- Comfortable owning open-ended engineering problems from first investigation through design, experimentation and validation, and communicating trade-offs across disciplines
Nice to have
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Hands-on experience with high-power RF hardware, including power amplifiers.
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Experience designing, modeling antennas and antenna arrays.
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Experience with RF measurement automation.
No prior trading or financial experience is needed – our onboarding program will kick-start your career at Optiver and support you in gaining all the relevant knowledge about our business.
Who we are
At Optiver, our mission is to constantly improve the market by injecting liquidity, providing accurate pricing, increasing transparency and acting as a stabilizing force no matter the market conditions. With a focus on continuous improvement, we participate in the safeguarding of healthy and efficient markets for everyone who participates. As one of the largest market making institutions, we are a trusted partner of 70+ exchanges across the globe.
What you'll get
You’ll join a culture of collaboration and excellence, where you’ll be surrounded by curious thinkers and creative problem solvers. Motivated by a passion for continuous improvement, you’ll thrive in a supportive, high-performing environment alongside talented colleagues, working collectively to tackle the toughest problems in the financial markets.
In addition, you’ll receive:
- A performance-based bonus structure, enabling all of our employees to benefit from our global profit pool.
- The opportunity to work alongside best-in-class professionals from over 50 different countries.
- 25 paid vacation days in your first year, increasing to 30 from your second year onwards.
- Training opportunities, discounts on health insurance, and fully paid first-class commuting expenses.
- Extensive office perks, including breakfast, lunch and dinner, world-class barista coffee, in-house physio and chair massages, organized sports and leisure activities, and Friday afternoon drinks.
- Training and continuous learning opportunities, including access to conferences and tech events.
How to apply
Apply directly via the form below. If you have any questions feel free to contact our Recruitment team via our recruitment inquiry form.
Please note:
- We do not require any assistance from third-parties including agencies in the recruitment of this role
- We cannot accept applications via email
Diversity statement
Optiver is committed to diversity and inclusion.