Network Engineer
Optiver Services US
Chicago, IL · $200k a year · Posted October 20, 2026
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Where Chicago, IL ranks
Where Chicago, IL placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #1Best cities for government pay after cost of living$146k · of 18
- #1Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the Midwest684 jobs · of 51
- #1Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the Great Lakes684 jobs · of 36
- #1Best cities for software and engineering jobs in the Midwest1,140 openings · of 59
- #1Best cities for software and engineering jobs in the Great Lakes1,140 openings · of 48
- #1Best all-round cities for mid-career professionals in the Midwest80 / 100 · of 20
Rankings about engineering jobs
- Best cities for software and engineering jobs #1 San Francisco (3,412 openings)
- Best cities for engineering pay after cost of living #1 San Mateo ($216k)
- Most requested AI skills in engineering jobs #1 AI tools in daily work (6.1%)
- AI tools named most often in engineering jobs #1 Claude (1.7%)
- Employers with the most engineering jobs #1 Amazon (2,992 roles)
Pay compared with the market
This listing pays about $200,000 a year. Across 62 open network engineer listings that state pay, the middle half runs $102,000 to $151,500 and the median is $127,500. That is 57% above the median, above the middle half of those listings.
Listed pay is what employers advertise, not what people are paid.
How AI is used in this kind of work
Among network and computer systems administrators, AI is already used for a large share of the tasks. Measured exposure for network and computer systems administrators: 34% (high).
Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.
Skills this job asks for
Say which you have and which you want to build. We use it to match you to jobs like this one.
About the job
Optiver’s industry-leading proprietary trading systems depend on reliable and scalable networks to power our trading activities on financial exchanges around the world. As a Network Engineer, your job will be to ensure Optiver has the fast connectivity and physical infrastructure to allow our traders and engineers to get market data accurately and quickly, making a direct impact to our business.
What you’ll do:
Optiver’s bespoke trading infrastructure requires diverse network engineering experience. From low-latency, network automation and WAN technologies to data center and colocation design, you’ll l work on critical projects that will help us scale our trading business:
Deploy, monitor, troubleshoot and manage our network infrastructure
Work on designing new colocations and improving connectivity in existing colocations as well as our Data Center network
Identify, recommend and implement network system optimizations and focus on network solutions that provide fast information
Assist with planned maintenances (migrations, expansions, hardware and software upgrades)
Provide technical expertise and support to a high frequency trading floor in a competitive market-making environment
Ensure all aspects of our WAN network link together across our global data center presence
Contribute to capacity planning and traffic flow optimization
Help push us towards intelligent automation
Tackle technical debt while removing complexity
Who you are:
Strong network and performance monitoring skills and knowledge of network capacity planning
Experience working across LAN and global WAN networks
Cisco and Arista network equipment experience preferred
Experience troubleshooting network transport protocols – TCP/UDP
Deep understanding and experience with routing protocols (such as OSPF, BGP) and network protocols (such as Multicast, Spanning Tree, HSRP)
Network automation experience with strong Python scripting experience preferred
Networking monitoring and alerting systems experience
A belief that good documentation helps successful project delivery
A drive for improvement and motivation to push through friction
What You’ll Get:
You’ll join a culture of collaboration and excellence, 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, collectively tackling some of the toughest challenges in the financial markets.
In addition, you’ll receive:
The opportunity to work alongside best-in-class professionals from over 40 different countries
A highly competitive compensation package
Global profit-sharing pool and performance-based bonus structure
401(k) match up to 50%
Comprehensive health, mental, dental, vision, disability, and life coverage
25 paid vacation days alongside market holidays
Extensive office perks, including breakfast, lunch and snacks, regular social events, clubs, sporting leagues and more
Who we are:
At Optiver, our mission is to improve the market by injecting liquidity, providing accurate pricing, increasing transparency and stabilizing the market no matter the conditions. With a focus on continuous improvement, we prioritize safeguarding the health and efficiency of the markets for all participants. As one of the largest market making institutions, we are a respected partner on 100+ exchanges across the globe.
Our differences are our edge. Optiver does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, or other legally protected characteristics.
Below is the expected base salary for this position. This position will also be eligible for a discretionary bonus and Optiver’s benefits package with the benefits listed above.
Base Salary Range $200,000 — $200,000 USD