Web3 Strategic Partnerships Manager, DeFi

Mysten Labs believes that decentralized and open protocols are the bedrock of the internet of value. This is why at Mysten Labs, we are creating foundational infrastructure to accelerate the adoption of decentralized protocols based on blockchain technologies.

As Strategic Partnerships Manager, DeFi, you will be responsible for sourcing, vetting, and structuring partnerships among builders and developers in the DeFi space. In addition, you will be responsible for driving Mysten Labs’ engagement strategy, market mapping, and prioritization frameworks for DeFi builders globally.

This role requires a crypto-native understanding of the market structure of decentralized finance, its existing market participants across chains, as well as individual developers and their reputations within the web3 community. This is a mid-level to a senior position that will play a key role within the strategic partnerships team to spearhead the growth of the Sui blockchain and its broader ecosystem.

You will partner closely with developer relations and product, and engineering teams to support the sourcing and selection of key defi partners. By leveraging your existing network or building new connections, you will be responsible for sourcing, vetting, and diligence with key partners in the DeFi ecosystem. This will include vetting individual developers, supporting KYC / KYB efforts for partners, and assessing the impact of past projects. You will also assist with the framing of a variety of partnership structures including equity investments, token swaps, and other forms of strategic agreements.What You'll Do:

• Source, vet and perform due diligence on partners, builders and developers with a specific focus on staking, lending, swaps, liquidity, oracles and other evolving categories in DeFi
• Track relevant projects and industry developments in DeFi, TradFi, and crypto in general
• Define, develop and lead strategic and commercial frameworks for Mysten Labs and Sui’s growth within the DeFi ecosystem
• Build a complete understanding of the builders’ needs, both existing and potential, and use that knowledge to advocate for and drive growth of Sui
• Manage and monitor a portfolio of DeFi partners via regular 1:1 engagement, helping them drive long-term sustainable growth on Sui
• Lead complex activations with high-profile partners with marketing and community teams
• Provide a strategic perspective to the product and engineering teams, delivering critical business insights and launching initiatives that impact the market
• Work closely with Developer Relations to resolve technical issues in a timely manner
• Collaborate with legal and operations to ensure compliance across the ecosystem
• Managing relationships with partners across the DeFi ecosystem

Our Ideal Candidate Would Have:

• Deep, crypto-native understanding of the DeFi ecosystem
• Excellent DeFi ecosystem network with developers, builders and partners
• Proven track record of successful deals, projects or investments
• High ethical standards
• Experience in banking, finance fintech or web3
• Strong interpersonal skills suited to long-term relationship building
• Strong analytical capacity to understand and explain crypto-based solutions
• Self-starter with strong verbal and written communication skills
• Preference given to applicants with prior experience at a DeFi project, a crypto-focused investment fund, or another layer-1 protocol

Our team is 100% remote and we are hiring across the world. Here at Mysten Labs, you’ll be joining a world-class team with tremendous growth potential as we bring the next billion users to web3. We raised a $300M Series B round from top Silicon Valley-led venture funds like FTX, Jump Crypto, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Binance Labs, Redpoint, Lightspeed, Coinbase Ventures, Electric Capital, Standard Crypto, NFX, Slow Ventures, Scribble Ventures, Samsung Next, Lux Capital, among other investment firms and strategic partners. Come join us and build the future of web3!