Data Center Engineering Lead - Europe

Location: Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

Department: Infrastructure

At Optiver, world-class trading relies on world-class infrastructure. As the EU DCE Lead, youll own the operational and project delivery layer for our European data center engineering team — spanning Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and London. Youll drive major infrastructure projects end-to-end, build the teams capability, and ensure we execute consistently to standard. If youre a proven people leader who thrives on delivery, accountability, and building high-performing teams in fast-paced environments, this role puts you at the centre of our physical infrastructure.

What youll do 

• Lead a team of 8 data center engineers across 3 European locations, providing day-to-day direction and career development;

• Own delivery of major infrastructure projects (colocation builds, site migrations, capacity expansions) from conception to completion;

• Drive operational improvement — reduce toil, standardise processes, and ensure consistent execution across sites;

• Coordinate cross-team dependencies with Networks, Platform, and Linux teams to deliver integrated infrastructure outcomes;

• Align EU DCE operations with the global DCE mandate, working as a peer to US and APAC leads;

• Manage vendor and third-party relationships for physical infrastructure delivery;

• Make prioritisation calls on competing demands and communicate trade-offs clearly;

• Build a culture of ownership, quality, and continuous improvement within the team.

Who you are

Technical Skills

• Experience managing or leading a technical infrastructure team;

• Understanding of physical infrastructure, not necessarily as a Data Center Engineer — or demonstrated ability to learn a technical domain fast;

• Familiarity with project delivery in physical infrastructure environments;

• Ability to engage credibly with network engineers, systems engineers, and platform teams on cross-functional work.

Non-Technical Skills

• Proven track record leading people through delivery;

• Operates independently;

• Strong prioritisation and communication skills;

• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and competing stakeholder demands;

• Willingness to travel within Europe to support regional data center operations

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 youll 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 unmatched anywhere in the industry. We combine our profits across desks, teams and offices into a 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.
• Competitive relocation packages and visa sponsorship where necessary for expats.

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.