Optiver Career Kickstarter 2026-Cognitive Interview-Real Questions

I recently went through the Optiver Career Kickstarter 2026 recruitment process and wanted to share some concrete, first-hand information about the Cognitive Interview stage, since there isn’t much detailed material online.

This interview happens after passing the OA and is a 1-on-1 session with an interviewer, focused almost entirely on game-based and reasoning tasks rather than traditional behavioral questions.

What the cognitive interview actually looks like:

• Fully 1-on-1, live with an interviewer

• Structured around interactive games (not LeetCode, not probability puzzles from textbooks)

• Heavy focus on decision-making under uncertainty, logic, and how you explain your thinking

• Interviewer actively reacts to your moves and reasoning, not just final answers

Candidates who perform well are invited to Amsterdam (March) for a ~1 week on-site academic/trading program, and top performers may receive a full-time offer on the spot for September 2026.

Hope this helps someone — happy to answer general questions in the comments.