Director, DeFi Solutions and Partnerships Architect

About Figure

Figure (NASDAQ: FIGR) is transforming capital markets through blockchain. We’re proving that blockchain isn’t just theory - it’s powering real products used by hundreds of thousands of consumers and institutions. 

By combining blockchain’s transparency and efficiency with AI-driven automation, we’ve reimagined how loans are originated, funded, and traded in secondary markets. From faster processing times to lower costs and reduced bias, our technology is helping borrowers, investors, and financial institutions achieve better outcomes.

Together with our 170+ partners, we’ve originated over $17 billion in home equity loans (HELOCs) on our blockchain-native platform, making Figure the largest non-bank provider of home equity financing in the U.S. Figure’s ecosystem also includes YLDS, an SEC-registered yield-bearing stablecoin that operates as a tokenized money market fund, and several other products and platforms that are reshaping consumer finance and capital markets. 

We’re proud to be recognized as one of Forbes’ Most Innovative Fintech Startups in 2025 and Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in Finance and Personal Finance.

About the Role

We are looking for a deeply crypto native, DeFi obsessed operator to lead Business Development and Solutions Architecture for Democratized Prime and our broader crypto product suite with Web3 and crypto native institutions. This is a senior individual contributor role with the expectation of small team growth over time. You will own relationships with leading protocols, on chain funds, and other DeFi and crypto native players, and architect product and partnership solutions that combine our primitives with external DeFi infrastructure. You are the person who can sit down with a protocol such as a Bitcoin restaking platform, immediately understand their forward cost of capital and yield problems, and walk out with a structured solution that integrates on chain and off chain components, then drive that from idea to live partnership.

What You’ll Do

• Own Web3 business development and partnerships by identifying, prioritizing, and leading relationships with DeFi protocols, crypto native funds, market makers, restaking platforms, perpetuals venues, and other Web3 institutions. 


• Run the full business development cycle including target mapping, outreach, discovery, solution design, commercial negotiation, closing, and ongoing expansion. 


• Deeply understand our product primitives including Democratized Prime, crypto backed lending, and exchange connectivity, and design creative structures that solve partner problems. 


• Architect DeFi native solutions such as combining a crypto backed loan with Democratized Prime yield, swapping USD yield into BTC via exchange connectivity, and wrapping the structure into a DeFi native experience with ecosystem partners. 


• Proactively originate build ideas with specific protocols, structures, and partner stacks rather than only responding to inbound opportunities. 


• Translate partner needs into clear product requirements and work closely with Product, Risk, and Engineering to assess feasibility, risk, and implementation paths. 


• Co create narratives, decks, one pagers, and light product marketing materials for crypto native audiences. 


• Represent Democratized Prime across the Web3 ecosystem at conferences, hackathons, and industry events, turning conversations into concrete opportunities. 


• Confidently convey strategy set by the Head of Democratized Prime while adding your own informed perspective in client discussions. 


• Start as a hands on individual contributor and over time help recruit and mentor junior team members to scale coverage and execution.

What We Look For

• At least 5 years of professional experience in finance, fintech, trading, or crypto, including a minimum of 2 years in institutional crypto such as an exchange, lender, market maker, DeFi protocol, or institutional trading firm. 


• Prior institutional client facing experience in business development, sales, trading, investment banking, product marketing, or a similar role. 


• Deep lived DeFi experience including active personal use of DeFi products such as lending and borrowing, liquidity provision, perpetuals, restaking, yield strategies, and airdrop participation. 


• Strong understanding of the differences between major DeFi protocols, restaking platforms, and layer two ecosystems and the product gaps they face. 


• Strong finance and markets fluency with comfort discussing credit, leverage, yield, collateral, basis, treasury management, and risk with sophisticated institutions. 


• Demonstrated ability to design structured solutions rather than only selling existing products, including translating ambiguous client needs into concrete structures or integrated solutions. 


• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with the ability to create compelling narratives, decks, and memos and confidently lead conversations with new counterparties. 


• Self directed operator with a hunter mentality who thrives in ambiguous environments with limited guardrails. 


• High ownership mindset with willingness to work long hours when needed and travel regularly for clients, conferences, and team time in New York. 


• Low ego collaborator who works effectively across teams. 


• Experience at a leading DeFi protocol, crypto trading firm, exchange, or prime like business is a plus, as is prior involvement in token design, governance, DAO initiatives, or mentoring junior partnerships talent.

Salary

• Compensation Range: $172,000-$215,000/yr


• 25% annual bonus target, paid quarterly 


• Company equity in the form of RSUs


• This is the compensation range for the United States, actual compensation may vary based on individual candidate experience, location, or evolving business needs

Benefits

• Comprehensive health, vision, and dental insurance with 100% employer-paid premiums for employees and their dependents on select plans


• Company HSA, FSA, Dependent Care, 401k, and commuter benefits


• Employer-funded life and disability insurance coverage


• 11 Observed Holidays & PTO plan


• Up to 12 weeks paid family leave


• Continuing education reimbursement

Depending on your residential location certain laws might regulate the way Figure manages applicant data. California Residents, please review our California Employee and General Workforce Privacy Notice for further information. By submitting your application, you are agreeing  and acknowledging that you have read and understand the above notice.

Figure will not sponsor work visas for this position. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. 

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