Head of DeFi

Particula is the prime ratings provider for digital assets, now bringing trusted, data-driven ratings on-chain. As DeFi matures and converges with Trad Fi, we’re building the rails that help institutions, protocols, and builders use ratings to unlock safer, more efficient capital flows.

We’re hiring a Head of DeFi to lead our on-chain strategy - shaping the product, technical integrations, and go-to-market with leading ecosystems and protocols. If you have a strong DeFi network, a track record of building and shipping in crypto, and the ability to bridge Trad Fi and DeFi, this role offers the chance to define how ratings become a foundational primitive for the on-chain economy.

Tasks

• Own the end-to-end DeFi strategy for bringing Particula's ratings on-chain: architecture, product roadmap, integration pipeline, revenue models, commercialization, and market positioning.

• Design on-chain product primitives that make ratings composable across protocols, chains, and ecosystems.

• Oversee cross-chain rating infrastructure design, strategy, protocol integration roadmap, institutional partnerships (L1/L2s, oracles, lending markets, custodians), security frameworks, and multi-chain operational reliability.

• Coordinate with protocol engineering teams on rating consumer interface implementation and smart contract integration patterns.

• Partner with BD to source, structure, negotiate, and close strategic partnerships; establish joint GTMs with ecosystems, infrastructure providers, and protocols.

• Navigate governance forums, technical working groups, and standards bodies to drive adoption and ecosystem alignment.

• Define and validate business cases for ratings usage (pricing, risk parameters, collateral eligibility, governance automation, compliance tooling) to drive revenue growth.

• Own market intelligence: track ecosystem evolution, regulatory dynamics, protocol trends, and risk developments to inform strategic priorities.

• Collaborate with engineering to ship secure, production-grade smart contracts and robust APIs; set engineering standards for gas efficiency, data freshness, reliability, auditability, and SLAs.

• Manage integration lifecycle from technical design through audit completion to mainnet deployment; coordinate audit processes and security configuration.

• Represent Particula publicly: conferences, governance forums, ecosystem calls, and thought leadership.

• Build and mentor a high-performing team across product, solutions engineering, and partnerships; drive technical decisions and guide the team on protocol mechanics, security patterns, and integration architecture.

Requirements

• 5+ years in crypto/DeFi with a deep, active network across protocols, L1/L2s, oracles, market makers, asset managers, and infrastructure providers.

• Proven track record shipping technical DeFi products: smart contracts (Solidity/Vyper), oracle integrations, data pipelines, indexers, and/or risk tooling.

• Multi-chain deployment experience across EVM ecosystems with understanding of bridge security models, verification mechanisms, latency trade-offs, and cross-chain data integrity patterns.

• Strong product sensibility: translate market needs into technical specs, prioritize roadmaps, deliver iterative value, and architect protocol integration patterns that drive adoption.

• Commercial acumen: demonstrable BD/partnership success - structuring deals, negotiating integrations, designing monetization models, and closing revenue-generating partnerships.

• Deep fluency in DeFi mechanisms: collateralization models, risk parameters, liquidation systems, governance frameworks, MEV considerations, cross-chain bridges, staking economics, yield strategies, and liquidity incentives.

• Understanding of oracle security patterns, ZK proof verification, data feed consumption, and cross-chain messaging protocol evaluation (security assumptions, verification models, gas optimization, failure modes).

• Comfort with reliability engineering: SLAs, data integrity monitoring, incident response protocols, audit coordination, and operational excellence.

• Excellent stakeholder management: operate effectively from C-suite executives to protocol…