Senior Software Engineer Interview Experience - United States
Process
The interview process includes one screening round with coding, followed by four more coding rounds and a one-on-one with an HR person.
All coding is done via CodePair, which is not a great platform, and the assignments use toy code. They will completely ignore everything else you've done so far.
Imagination is limited: two of the coding assignments were similar and focused on communicating with exchanges.
If you like LeetCode, go for it. If you loathe it, this is not the process or the environment for you.
Questions
Create functions that simulate communicating with exchanges and avoid short-selling.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 6 interview experiences for the Optiver Senior Software Engineer role in United States.
Success Rate
Optiver's interview process for their Senior Software Engineer roles in the United States is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very negative feelings for Optiver's Senior Software Engineer interview process in United States.
Optiver Work Experiences
- 5.0Nice, smart peopleSenior Software Engineer • Former EmployeeLondon, England, United KingdomMarch 31, 2025Pros: Everyone is nice, everyone is smart, [and has an] entrepreneurial attitude.Cons: Lots of engineers, even senior ones, lack outside experience. It's hard to get anything done outside of established boundaries. Lots of inertia around existing tech and a lack of outside perspective makes it hard to point out problems or suggest solutions outside of expectations.
- 4.0Good Balance, Needs ListeningSenior Software Engineer • Former EmployeeLondon, England, United KingdomSeptember 18, 2024Pros: Decent culture Good work-life balanceCons: Could listen to employees more.
- 1.0Double-edged swordSenior Software Engineer • Current EmployeeSydney, New South Wales, AustraliaSeptember 1, 2024Pros: A good learning experience with lots of hands-on projects. It can give you a good career in the HFT field in the long term. It is obviously very well-paid despite being stressful.Cons: Extremely stressful. Competitive internally. Lots of layoffs for employees with no career growth, especially those that have been around for longer than 3 years without a plan to become a senior developer. Direct feedback culture can be seen as toxic. Hire too much in the short term and now the growth does not cover the cost anymore. Be careful to join as a new grad.
Optiver Interview Questions
