Early Careers
Your career starts here! With over two decades of nurturing talent, we’ve consistently helped graduates forge successful career paths - you’re in safe hands.
What We Offer
Mako has multiple, early career pathways for aspiring traders and technologists, including summer internships for those in their penultimate year of study and graduate programmes for those looking to start their careers.
We have carefully designed our programmes to give participants the tools and knowledge they need to start their career journeys in the best possible way. Our internships are an opportunity to dip your toes into the complex world of options market making to see if it matches your aptitude and interest. Our graduate programmes are designed to support intelligent and driven students to take their first steps on the way to building a meaningful and engaging career in their chosen discipline.
Our one-month Summer internship runs annually from July and our 18-month Graduate Trader programme commences in late September, as does our 12-month Software Engineer graduate programme. Please check the opportunities page for any open applications.
“With our first intake in 2020, our graduate trader programme has built upon the long-standing trainee trader teaching that has been part of our DNA since our inception. The graduate trader programme runs alongside the software engineer programme and all candidates get the opportunity to learn about the business and experience some first class options theory training before they move into their own specific programmes. We place a great deal of emphasis throughout on the educational element of our programmes as well as the practical application.
Mako has always fostered a culture of learning and not being afraid to ask questions and make mistakes. I have always been impressed and humbled by the willingness of my colleagues who are passionate about sharing their experiences, teaching inquisitive minds and encouraging collaboration across the business. I take immense joy in seeing young people come into our industry and embrace the constant learning and excitement of financial markets that I have been lucky to be a part of since 1987!”
Graduate Programme for Aspiring Traders
The graduate programme will set you on a two-year trajectory to becoming an Options Market Maker. We have developed and iterated the structure over time to complement the changing face of the industry; it is fully immersive and can be a springboard to success for motivated candidates. We have several years of experience running the programme, and many of our senior traders have built the foundations of their careers with its invaluable support.
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Programme Highlights
Two-Week Intensive Course
Desk Rotations
Desk Assignment
Graduate Programme for Software Engineers
Our graduate programme for Software Engineers will put you straight to work, making an impact on projects directly tied to Mako’s revenue. For one year, you will be a part of a structured programme that will include rotations through our software teams as well as more formal classroom training. During this time, you will also be assigned a buddy, and within the first month, have the opportunity to work on meaningful tasks that plug directly into our trading system. The aim of the programme is not only to grow your software skills, but also to give you a broader understanding of our business and how you impact it as part of the development team.
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At Mako, the integration of technology and trading is fundamental to how we operate. From day one, our graduate traders and software engineers are brought together through shared option theory classes and collaborative training projects as part of their induction. This early alignment is intentional and reflects how closely these disciplines work together across the firm.
Our graduate programmes in trading and software engineering are designed to build strong technical capability alongside a solid understanding of trading fundamentals. We place particular emphasis on enabling graduates to communicate effectively across teams, as this is essential to delivering robust, high-quality systems. Collaboration and teamwork are central to our approach and underpin the innovation we see across the business.
On the engineering side, we apply a pragmatic, data-driven development methodology, using Agile practices to deliver value in short, iterative cycles. Graduate engineers are given real responsibility early, with the expectation that they contribute production features within their first six weeks. By combining theoretical training with hands-on development, our graduates are well equipped to play an active role in the continued evolution of our front-office trading platform.
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Programme Highlights
Training
Mentorship
Team Rotations
Application Process
Internship Programmes
The internship provides an introduction to what it takes to become a trader or technologist in one of the most complex markets. You’ll get a taste of options theory, price discovery and financial modelling. You will also be introduced to the technical side of what we do by learning about coding, data analysis and systems engineering to name a few. Successful interns have a direct path to the graduate programmes.
Programme Highlights
Trading
Technology
Entry Requirements
Recommended Reading
Mako recommends the following titles. Our reading list is valuable for new joiners and seasoned professionals alike.
