Pros: Good food and large bonuses

Cons: Extremely political. The majority of where you must spend your time to survive at Optiver is politics. If you do not, you will be eaten by others that do. Management has zero interest in dissuading this behavior. Watch your commits, as large pieces of work will be quietly re-based into other developers' names. This is not by accident, as you'll start hearing word back that they're bragging about having written the code. Poor management promotes the worst people to management roles after seeing their own negative traits in them. Management is also gifted to long-term employees who cannot keep up with the technical work anymore. These managers all review each other, ensuring the quality stays low, as poor management has the majority and removes anyone that doesn't have the negative traits they hold up as ideal.

Pros: Great Culture: Strong focus on testing, clean code, and simplicity. There's a lot of close teamwork, and the senior developers set an example with humility and hard work. Smart People: You get to work with mostly A-players. Stable and Successful: The company has been profitable for over 25 straight years. Not many trading companies can say that, especially these days. Work/Life Balance: It is great.

Cons: - Lots of young talent in need of "professional development." There's still an unnerving number of face-palm moments. - Hit-or-miss management: Some managers are fantastic, others leave a bit to be desired.

Pros: Incredible business model, with stellar profitability. Smart, talented workforce. Open and transparent management team.

Cons: We still have people in the building who don't appreciate how great it is.