In a remarkable achievement that has set a new benchmark for campus placements, Edward Nathan Varghese, a final-year Computer Science Engineering student at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH), has secured a job offer worth a staggering ₹2.5 crore. The offer comes from Optiver, a leading international trading firm headquartered in the Netherlands.
A Historic Milestone for IIT Hyderabad
This placement is not just a personal triumph for Varghese but a historic moment for the institute. The ₹2.5 crore package is the highest salary offer received by any student since IIT Hyderabad was established in 2008. It shatters the previous record of ₹1.1 crore set in 2017 and significantly surpasses the top offers of ₹90 lakh and ₹66 lakh in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years, respectively.
Varghese, who is set to join Optiver's Netherlands office in July 2025, described the moment he received the offer as unforgettable. "This was the first and only company I interviewed for. I was ecstatic when my mentor indicated that the firm would be extending me an offer. So were my parents," he told Times of India.
The Journey to a Record-Breaking Offer
The 21-year-old Hyderabad native, who completed his schooling from Class 7 to 12 in Bengaluru, attributed his success to a combination of focused preparation and the institute's supportive ecosystem. He credited IIT Hyderabad's flexible academic structure, which allowed him to choose from a wide range of courses, for helping him excel in the rigorous interview process.
Varghese's academic and extracurricular profile is exceptionally strong:
- He secured an All India Rank (AIR) of 1100 in JEE Main and AIR 558 in JEE Advanced in 2022.
- He scored an impressive 99.96 percentile in the 2025 Common Admission Test (CAT), achieving an all-India rank of 120.
- He has been deeply involved in competitive programming since his first year, ranking among the top 100 programmers in the country.
- He served as the Overall Head of the Office of Career Services at IIT Hyderabad, leading a large team to manage placements and internships.
Varghese received a Pre-Placement Offer (PPO) from Optiver after a successful summer internship. The internship involved two weeks of intensive training followed by a six-week project, which evidently left a lasting impression on the firm.
Confidence Amidst a Challenging Market
What makes this achievement even more notable is the broader context of a slowdown in the job market. Despite the challenging environment, Varghese remained confident. He stated that he knew the IIT tag would continue to attract top recruiters and that the effect of the market would be minimal for premier institutes.
Coming from a family of engineers, Varghese's story is one of strategic preparation and self-belief. His journey underscores the value of competitive programming and hands-on leadership experience, gained through his pivotal role in the campus career services office, in standing out to global employers.
This record-breaking placement at IIT Hyderabad signals strong demand for top-tier tech talent from India's premier engineering schools, even from international finance and trading giants, setting an inspiring precedent for future batches.
