Data Center Engineering Lead - Europe

Data Center Engineering Lead - Europe

At Optiver, world-class trading relies on world-class infrastructure. As the EU DCE Lead, you'll own the operational and project delivery layer for our European data center engineering team — spanning Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and London. You'll drive major infrastructure projects end-to-end, build the team's capability, and ensure we execute consistently to standard. If you're 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 you'll 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 you'll 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.