Head of DeFi

About the role

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Head of DeFi based in United States. This is a senior commercial leadership role working closely with executive and product leadership to drive growth across a DeFi-focused product portfolio. You’ll lead partnerships, DeFi integrations, strategic alliances, and business development initiatives across the broader on-chain financial ecosystem. The role combines commercial strategy with hands-on relationship building, market intelligence, deal execution, and product feedback. You’ll engage directly with crypto-native funds, DeFi curators, protocol founders, and other ecosystem participants to identify and develop high-value opportunities. Your understanding of liquidity, TVL, lending, borrowing, DEXs, stablecoins, governance, and on-chain capital flows will inform both partnerships and product strategy. This is an entrepreneurial, high-ownership environment suited to someone who can operate independently, build relationships quickly, and turn strategic opportunities into measurable growth.

Responsibilities

• Support senior leadership with business development across product verticals, including partner pipeline management, CRM updates, call notes, commercial materials, research, and project coordination.
• Develop and contribute a strategic perspective to the organization’s overall commercial and growth strategy.
• Identify market opportunities, partnership opportunities, and strategic alliances that can strengthen competitive positioning and accelerate market share.
• Build and maintain intelligence on target accounts, market developments, competitors, protocols, funds, and broader DeFi trends.
• Leverage an established professional network to create introductions, open strategic conversations, and accelerate commercial opportunities.
• Collaborate closely with leadership and product teams to develop and execute growth strategies across the product portfolio.
• Lead or support negotiations with strategic partners, helping move opportunities from initial engagement through agreement and integration.
• Build relationships with the broader DeFi community and existing customers to understand market needs, challenges, and emerging opportunities.
• Gather customer and ecosystem feedback and translate relevant insights into product roadmaps and development initiatives.
• Support DeFi integrations and strategic alliances that expand adoption, liquidity, and ecosystem participation.
• Monitor developments across lending, borrowing, CDPs, DEXs, yield-bearing stablecoins, and other on-chain financial applications to identify opportunities for growth.
• Contribute to an entrepreneurial, high-performance commercial culture through independent ownership, initiative, and execution.

Requirements

• Demonstrated commercial success, with a track record of closing significant deals and strategic alliances and the ability to clearly explain how opportunities were developed and successfully executed.
• Strong negotiation and closing skills, with the confidence to advocate for commercial terms, influence stakeholders, and drive deals forward.
• Deep, pre-existing relationships across liquid crypto-native funds, DeFi curators, and established protocol founders.
• Strong DeFi expertise and a demonstrated history of driving measurable growth in areas such as total value locked (TVL), liquidity, or protocol adoption.
• Deep understanding of value flows and business models across lending, CDPs, DEXs, and yield-bearing stablecoins, including the factors required for different categories to succeed.
• Practical knowledge of DeFi infrastructure and capital allocation, including experience working as or alongside curators, allocating capital into on-chain assets or vaults, and building or operating liquidity mining programs.
• Strong understanding of protocol governance and how major DeFi protocols make integration and strategic decisions.
• Experience taking an asset, product, or solution through governance or protocol decision-making processes to achieve integration.
• Deep understanding of the lending and borrowing product landscape.
• Entrepreneurial mindset and genuine interest in building and scaling on-chain financial applications.
• Independent, self-directed approach with a strong drive to identify opportunities and deliver results.
• Strong relationship-building, communication, strategic thinking, and commercial judgment.
• Technical experience or a technical background is a plus.
• Traditional finance (TradFi) experience is a plus.
• Experience with CRM platforms such as HubSpot is a plus.
• Willingness to work as a full-time employee; the role does not support contractor or B2B arrangements.

Benefits

• Full-time employment.
• Fully remote work arrangement.
• Opportunity to work closely with executive and product leadership.
• Senior-level ownership of commercial strategy, partnerships, and DeFi integrations.
• Exposure to leading participants across the crypto-native and broader DeFi ecosystem.
• Opportunity to influence product development through direct customer and market feedback.
• High-autonomy environment with significant entrepreneurial responsibility.
• Opportunity to contribute to the development and adoption of on-chain financial applications.
• Collaboration with experienced builders working across financial infrastructure, technology, crypto, banking, insurance, and financial services.
• Strategic exposure to emerging DeFi markets, liquidity mechanisms, governance, and on-chain capital markets.