About the company
Interested in working on cutting-edge blockchain technology and creating equitable access to the global financial system? Since 2014, the mission-driven team at the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has helped fuel the tremendous growth of the Stellar blockchain network, an open-source platform that operates at high-scale today. Developers and companies around the world build on it, and the SDF team is expanding to support the rapidly growing and changing Stellar ecosystem. The launch of Soroban, the new smart contracts platform designed to work well with Stellar, brings a wealth of opportunity for innovation. When you join SDF as a Community Manager, you will be a part of a team that’s leveraging that opportunity to increase developer participation in order to bootstrap the ecosystem of tools, protocols, dapps, and educational resources necessary for Soroban to succeed.
Job Summary
In this role, you will:
📍Shape the research vision: Define and lead a long-term scientific research agenda that supports SDF’s mission while contributing to broader conversations in computer science and decentralized systems. 📍Identify both mission-aligned applied challenges and foundational open problems to guide internal research and community engagement. 📍Foster deep academic and industry collaboration: Build strong, lasting partnerships with top researchers, labs, and institutions. Support initiatives that lead to joint publications, open-source contributions, and shared advancement of knowledge—both within and beyond the Stellar ecosystem. 📍Balance innovation with exploration: Oversee a portfolio of research efforts ranging from mission-critical applications to blue-sky investigations in areas such as cryptography, distributed systems, and incentive design. Champion rigorous thinking that leads to practical outcomes and advances the state of the art. 📍Build and support a strong, mission-driven research team: Recruit and develop a diverse group of research scientists and applied researchers, from early-career PhD interns to experienced domain experts. Create a supportive environment where a range of perspectives, backgrounds, and research styles can thrive. 📍Translate insights into real-world impact: Ensure that research outcomes inform product strategy, ecosystem standards, and protocol development—helping strengthen Stellar’s role in building accessible, resilient financial infrastructure. 📍Engage with the global research community: Represent SDF at conferences, academic workshops, and standards bodies. Contribute to the broader discourse on decentralized systems and financial inclusion through publications, presentations, and thought leadership.
You have:
đź“ŤPhD in Computer Science, Cryptography, Distributed Systems, or a related field. đź“Ť10+ years of research experience in academia (e.g., tenured or tenure-track faculty) or industry (e.g., senior research scientist or director-level role). đź“ŤStrong track record of high-impact contributions, such as peer-reviewed publications, patents, open-source projects, or foundational technical work. đź“ŤDemonstrated experience leading research programs or teams, including setting strategy and managing multi-year initiatives.
If you’re passionate about blockchain and decentralized technologies, explore more opportunities in web3 and cryptocurrency careers.
