Platform Engineer Intern
Posted Aug 19, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
Likely interview questions for this role
Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.
About your past
The posting talks about the lifecycle of services from design through deployment, operation and refinement. Tell me about a project where you saw something through that full cycle.
What they are checking: Whether they have built and run something real, not just written code for an assignment.
Tell me about a bug that took you a long time to find. How did you finally track it down?
What they are checking: Persistence and a methodical debugging process, rather than random changes until the bug goes away.
What do you hope to learn during ten weeks on a platform team?
What they are checking: Clear goals and genuine interest in infrastructure work.
What would you do
You're stuck on a task and your mentor is busy. What do you do?
What they are checking: Balancing independence with knowing when to ask for help.
Your change to a shared system breaks something for another team. What do you do?
What they are checking: Ownership and quick communication when a mistake affects others.
About the work
What happens, step by step, when you type a URL in a browser and press enter?
What they are checking: Foundational knowledge of networking and systems that platform engineering builds on.
How would you find out why a Linux server is running slowly?
What they are checking: Basic troubleshooting instincts and familiarity with common Linux tools.
What does it mean for a system to be reliable and scalable? Give me an example.
What they are checking: Understanding of core concepts the posting names as the team's goals.
What scripting or automation have you done, and why did you automate it?
What they are checking: An automation mindset, which platform teams rely on to scale.
How would you explain containers to someone who's never used them?
What they are checking: Conceptual understanding and the ability to explain technical ideas clearly.
Practice this interview out loud.
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Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by DRW.
Our formula for success is to hire exceptional people, encourage their ideas and reward their results.
As a Platform Engineer Intern , you will be part of our advanced technology team focused on maintaining and improving the reliability and efficiency of our platform, including underlying systems at DRW. The platform engineer intern will work under the guidance of senior technologists to ensure our systems are highly reliable and scalable during your ten weeks. While your days will have you immersed in complex projects directly driving DRW’s progress, your evenings will be spent exploring the city with organized social events to truly discover what it is like to live and work in Chicago.
How you will make an impact…
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"> Engage in and improve the lifecycle of services—from inception and design, through deployment, operation, and refinement.
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"> Design, write, and deliver software to improve the availability, scalability, latency, and efficiency of DRW’s services.
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"> Manage service capacity, performance, and disaster recovery.
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"> Identify innovative solutions to complex problems and advocate for their implementation to your team by communicating your ideas in a clear and concise manner.
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"> Solve problems related to mission critical services and build automation to prevent problem recurrence.
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="1" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"> Collaborate with other systems and infrastructure engineers, software developers, quantitative traders, and researchers as well as business analysts in cross-functional team environments.
What you bring to the team…
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"> Are pursuing a bachelor’s, master’s, or PhD in computer science, electrical engineering, computer engineering, physics, mathematics or any related science discipline and have an expected graduation date between December 2027 and June 2028.
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"> Have exposure to any of the following: networking, Linux/Unix administration, systems performance, capacity planning, Kubernetes, Docker, CI/CD tools.
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"> Understand the fundamentals of large-scale distributed systems.
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"> Exhibit excellent scripting skills in languages like Python and Bash.
What to expect during the internship…
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"> Meaningful projects: You’ll receive a challenging project to complete during your time here. Each project, advised by a senior engineer, promotes a comprehensive learning experience and provides you with meaningful work experience.
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"> Community: Throughout the summer, we host a variety of educational, social and team-building activities to foster friendship and camaraderie.
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"> Housing: DRW provides fully furnished apartments located close to the office – making your morning commute as easy as possible.
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"> Mentorship: You’ll build a professional relationship with an experienced mentor in your field. Mentors and mentees meet to discuss goals, challenges and professional development and explore the city together at our mentor outings.
<li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="3" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"> Education: We believe in constant learning. To prepare you for the evolving landscape of technology in trading, you will complete courses that help you understand how your technology solutions will be used in real time. As the trading industry continually evolves, both in terms of new products and transaction methods, the future will present us with unique opportunities and challenges.
DRW is a diversified trading firm with over 3 decades of experience bringing sophisticated technology and exceptional people together to operate in markets around the world. We value autonomy and the ability to quickly pivot to capture opportunities, so we operate using our own capital and trading at our own risk.
Headquartered in Chicago with offices throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia, we trade a variety of asset classes including Fixed Income, ETFs, Equities, FX, Commodities and Energy across all major global markets. We have also leveraged our expertise and technology to expand into three non-traditional strategies: real estate, venture capital and cryptoassets.
We operate with respect, curiosity and open minds. The people who thrive here share our belief that it’s not just what we do that matters–it's how we do it. DRW is a place of high expectations, integrity, innovation and a willingness to challenge consensus.
The annual base salary for this position is $175,000.
For more information about DRW's processing activities and our use of job applicants' data, please view our Privacy Notice at https://drw.com/privacy-notice .
California residents, please review the California Privacy Notice for information about certain legal rights at https://drw.com/california-privacy-notice .
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