Valuations Specialist

What you’ll do:

OTC exotics valuations, IPV and methodology

• Own and manage IPV for OTC exotic equity derivatives, including structured notes, cap/floor products, barrier and digital options, autocallables and other bespoke payoffs.
• Lead the development, validation and enhancement of IPV methodologies, in close collaboration with the OTC trading desk.
• Design and implement a globally consistent valuation approach for OTC instruments, covering operating model (ownership and validation), valuation methodology, fair value hierarchy and XVA impacts. The design should focus on building a systematic and automated approach to IPV and model validation, limiting manual workflows.
• Define and implement prudential and fair valuation adjustments — including barrier shifts, bid/offer vs mid pricing, reserve methodologies and valuation uncertainty — consistent with market practice and applicable accounting standards.
• Leverage on internal and external resources to source, validate and maintain independent market data used for valuation and IPV.
• Own Optiver's external market-data and consensus-pricing relationships for OTC valuation — including Bloomberg, IHS Markit / Totem, ICE and comparable vendors — covering data sourcing, quality challenge, coverage gaps, and vendor evaluation as the OTC book scales.
• Work to develop a P&L attribution framework for Level 3 valuations, defining sensitivities to individual inputs, establishing Day 1 P&L reserve frameworks, and producing outcomes consistent with IFRS 13 levelling standards.
• Lead Optiver's approach to IFRS fair value levelling for Level 3 derivatives, working with colleagues in regional teams and external auditors.
• Define and track valuation KPIs, including IPV coverage, break resolution times, and reserve movements — with a focus on building Optiver-native frameworks rather than importing bank-style approaches.
• Support new product and new trade onboarding, including pricing model verification, market data configuration and sign-off of initial valuations.
• Partner with functions across the OTC trade lifecycle — Middle Office, Operations, Risk, Legal, Compliance, Tax and Finance — to embed valuation controls into confirmation, collateral, reporting and financial-close workflows, and to align IPV outputs with downstream consumers.

• 8+ years’ experience in valuations control, product control or quantitative finance, with a focus on OTC derivatives — structured products, exotics, or comparable complexity.
• Deep technical understanding of exotic option pricing: pricing models, calibration methods, Greeks attribution, hedging frameworks and the risk sensitivity of model-dependent payoffs.
• Hands-on IPV experience across a range of derivative instruments, with the ability to challenge and validate model outputs independently.
• Strong knowledge of accounting standards as they apply to derivatives valuation, including IFRS 13 (fair value hierarchy, Level 1/2/3 classification), IFRS 9, CVA/FVA and broader XVA frameworks.
• Strong market data literacy — curves, volatility surfaces, consensus marks, broker data — with experience using providers such as Bloomberg (and/or Refinitiv, ICE, Markit/Totem-style services).
• Exceptional ability to translate complex quantitative analysis for non-technical audiences.
• A proactive, practical mindset — with demonstrable experience building robust controls, improving workflows, reducing manual intervention and delivering in a fast-moving environment.

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.

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…