Optiver Quantitative Analyst Interview Questions
& Process
Real candidates share what happened, how many rounds they had,
and how the experience turned out.
Based on 180 interview experiences · FREE TO READ
Candidate interview experiences
First-hand accounts from people who interviewed at Optiver.
Optiver
Quantitative Researcher
Mid Difficult Positive experience Decline offer 3 rounds
Interview process
Take home Technical screen Onsite
Interview formats
Technical Coding Behavioral
You'll typically start with an online assessment or initial screening. After that, it's usually 1–2 interviews with Quant Researchers or Traders. These interviews will cover probability and statistics, linear algebra and calculus, brain teasers and mathematical puzzles, reasoning under uncertainty, and your ability to think clearly and structurally under pressure.
Confirmed questions4 questions
- There's a big focus on probability, expectation, and reasoning.
- Coding is not as important as in some other quant firms.
- We really value speed, correctness, and clarity.
Optiver
Quantitative Researcher
Intern Average Neutral experience No offer 3 rounds
Interview process
Take home Technical screen Phone screen
Interview formats
Technical Coding Other
The interview process started with a 3-hour online assessment that included coding challenges, probability questions, and some games. This was followed by a 1-hour Zoom interview involving a betting game with a trader. Next, there was another 1-hour Zoom interview with a senior researcher where I was asked technical questions. Finally, I had to complete a take-home data project where I had to predict profits from features. Unfortunately, I failed after submitting the data project.
Confirmed questions5 questions
- Questions about probability and games, including coding
- A betting game with a trader
- Questions about marble games
Optiver
Quantitative Analyst
Entry Difficult Positive experience No offer 1 round
Interview process
Recruiter call Technical screen
Interview formats
Technical Coding
The job application went smoothly and HR was communicative and professional. The first step was an online test that focused on mental math and logic problems, all under tight deadlines. It was tough, as expected for a trading company, but the questions were appropriate for the role. Even though I didn't advance, the company was transparent and provided clear feedback, making the process efficient. It really showed their high standards. To prepare, I'd suggest using mental math practice tools and brushing up on probability problems.
Confirmed questions3 questions
- A key question involved a timed mental math problem, for instance: “What is 73 × 87?” — to be solved without a calculator.
- Logic puzzles were also included.
- Additionally, there were probability questions, such as: “What is the probability of drawing exactly two aces from a shuffled deck of cards?”
Optiver Quantitative Analyst Interview Questions
Quoted word for word from Optiver interview reports.
“When rolling six dice simultaneously, what's the chance the sum of the numbers shown is even?”
Read reports →“For a random number selected between 1 and 1 million, what is the probability that the digit 7 appears at least once?”
Read reports →“If 10 cards are removed randomly from a deck, what's the probability that the next card drawn is red?”
Read reports →“For a particular node in a recombining binomial tree with n steps, how many distinct paths lead to it?”
Read reports →“For N variables that follow iid~N(0,1), what is the expected value of the sum of (Xi+..+Xn) being greater than 1?”
Read report →“In a sequence of fair coin tosses, given outcomes H or T, what's the probability that HHH appears before HTH?”
Read report →“What is the probability that the sum of 3 cards is greater than 20?”
Read report →“What is the probability that a randomly placed 3-legged table on a circle will not fall off?”
Read report →“What is the expected number of moves required to exit the center of a 10x10 grid?”
Read report →Formats, difficulty and experience
Across all 180 Optiver interview reports.