Edward Nathan Varghese, a final-year computer science engineering student, has set a new benchmark at the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IITH) by securing a record job offer of ₹2.5 crore from Optiver, a global trading firm based in the Netherlands. He is expected to join the company’s Netherlands office as a software engineer in July, after converting his two-month summer internship there into a pre-placement offer. This is the highest salary package recorded at IITH since its inception in 2008.
Speaking to the Times of India, Varghese said the moment he learned about the offer is one he will always remember, adding that Optiver was the first and only company he interviewed with during placements. “I was ecstatic when my mentor indicated that the firm would be extending me an offer. So were my parents,” he said. He believes the strong pull of the IIT brand ensures recruiters continue to visit campus despite a weak job market and noted that he has been active in competitive programming since his first year, consistently ranking among the top 100 in India.
Varghese also credited IIT Hyderabad’s flexible curriculum for his success, explaining that the freedom to choose from a wide range of courses helped him excel during interviews. The internship itself comprised two weeks of training followed by a six-week project, after which his performance earned him the PPO. With both parents working as engineers, he said he feels fortunate to have received such an opportunity.
Path to Success
Edward credits his achievement to IIT’s prestigious brand, flexible curriculum, and early emphasis on coding and competitive programming.
Born to engineer parents, he earned AIR 1100 in JEE Main 2022 and AIR 558 in JEE Advanced, plus a 99.96 percentile CAT score (rank 120 in 2025).
Leadership Role
At IIT Hyderabad’s Office of Career Services, Edward served as Overall Head, managing eight student managers and 250 coordinators for placements and internships. He previously coordinated the Internship Cell for 11 months.
His interests include algorithms, competitive programming, finance, and management.
Originally from Hyderabad, the 21-year-old completed his schooling in Bengaluru from Class 7 to 12 and remained confident of securing a top offer even amid a broader hiring slowdown. He achieved an All India Rank (AIR) of 1100 in JEE Main and AIR 558 in JEE Advanced in 2022, and later scored 99.96 percentile in the 2025 Common Admission Test (CAT), earning an all-India rank of 120. According to his LinkedIn profile, he has served as Overall Head of the Office of Career Services at IIT Hyderabad, leading eight student managers and 250 coordinators across multiple cells, and previously worked nearly eleven months as an Internship Cell Coordinator.
Until this offer, the highest package at IIT Hyderabad was ₹1.1 crore in 2017, while the top offers for the 2023–24 and 2024–25 academic years stood at ₹90 lakh and ₹66 lakh, respectively. Varghese’s ₹2.5 crore package now resets the institute’s placement record and underscores its growing appeal to global recruiters.