The Optimism Foundation's mission is to seed and grow an ecosystem of projects and infrastructure that drives global adoption of the Optimism protocol.

United States

San Francisco

Optimism Foundation

As the Director, Partnerships, you will lead and scale our partner ecosystem, working cross-functionally to identify, structure, and manage high-impact relationships across the Web3 and Web2 crypto landscape — including layer 1 and layer 2 blockchains, DeFi protocols, wallets, infrastructure providers, developer platforms, fintechs, and institutional players exploring digital assets. You’ll be responsible for expanding our strategic footprint and driving measurable value through collaborations and integrations. ***Please note, this role must be based in the US***<h2>What are the role responsibilities? </h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Design and execute the company’s comprehensive partnership roadmap aligned with strategic business goals</li><li>Proactively source, evaluate, and prioritize new and existing partnerships across the crypto ecosystem with en emphasis on OP’s T1 and T2 partners</li><li>Lead the full lifecycle of partnership engagements, from initial outreach and deal structuring through onboarding, enablement, and long-term relationship management</li><li>Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, Legal, and Marketing teams to ensure seamless integration, launch, and partner success</li><li>Build and nurture strong relationships with core stakeholders across L1s/L2s, DeFi protocols, wallets, developer tools, custodians, and other crypto-native platforms</li><li>Represent the company externally at events, conferences, and in partner-facing communications to elevate brand awareness and thought leadership</li><li>Establish and monitor KPIs to assess the health and impact of each partnership, and iterate on approach based on measurable outcomes</li></ul><h2>What skills do you bring? </h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>7–10+ years of experience in partnerships, business development, or strategic alliances — ideally with 3+ years in crypto / Web3</li><li>Deep understanding of the blockchain and Web3 landscape — including L1s/L2s, DeFi, infrastructure tooling, and developer ecosystems</li><li>Proven ability to close and scale high-value partnerships and joint ventures</li><li>Excellent strategic thinking and analytical skills — able to assess trade-offs, structure complex deals, and align incentives</li><li>Strong interpersonal and communication skills — able to influence both internally and externally at all levels</li><li>Highly autonomous and adaptable in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment</li></ul><h2>What you'll like about us:</h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>We take care of our employees with competitive compensation and benefits. Learn more about our <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://plaid-cement-e44.notion.site/Working-at-Optimism-F-Unlimited-1855831e345280b680ffc0330fb21979">benefits, culture, and recruiting process here</a>.</li><li>We take pride in the accomplishments of our teammates and support each other in doing the best work of our careers.</li><li>Our team is a diverse group of people from varied backgrounds. We cherish our eclecticism and consider it a great strength.</li><li>We’re fully remote, deeply engaged, highly skilled, and like to have fun.</li><li>We think long-term. Our founders have been scaling Ethereum since 2015.</li></ul>

Full Time

Regular employment

Business, Management & Consulting

Director, Partnerships

English

Analytical Skills

Business Development

Partnerships

Remote work

Infrastructure partnership development is a critical role for the Superchain - you’ll be working directly with the biggest and most strategic partners in the industry to develop partnerships that turn the OP Stack from a product into an end to end solution. You’ll be devising solutions strategics, identifying opportunities, and be the closest touchpoint to the leadership team of some of the biggest names in this space. You’ll have a unique mix of partnership experience, long term and strategic thinking, as well as technical and ecosystem knowledge.***Please note, this role must be based in the US***<h2>What are the role responsibilities?</h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Deliver tangible business value to chain and app developers by cultivating and scaling high-impact infrastructure partnerships</li><li>Design and implement strategic, customer-centric solutions that align with both partner objectives and core business priorities</li><li>Act as a strategic thought partner to Product and Engineering teams, translating ecosystem signals and partner feedback into actionable insights that inform roadmap decisions and drive product excellence</li><li>Communicate partner needs and insights to executive team and to cross-functional stakeholders </li><li>Maintain a deep understanding of the OP Stack and its roadmap to ensure our partners are always equipped with the most up-to-date features</li></ul><h2>What skills do you bring?</h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Deep experience managing and scaling strategic partnerships in the crypto ecosystem or within cutting-edge infrastructure technology sectors</li><li>Exceptional interpersonal and negotiation skills, with a strong track record of sourcing, closing, and expanding complex partner relationships</li><li>A genuine passion for blockchain technology, decentralization, and the future of open systems — coupled with the technical fluency to engage with both builders and business leaders</li><li>Adept at driving internal alignment across cross-functional teams to support partnership execution and strategic prioritization</li><li>Thrive in ambiguity with the ability to operate with clarity + confidence amid the complexity of the crypto landscape</li></ul><h2>What you'll like about us:</h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>We take care of our employees with competitive compensation and benefits. Learn more about our <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://plaid-cement-e44.notion.site/Working-at-Optimism-F-Unlimited-1855831e345280b680ffc0330fb21979">benefits, culture, and recruiting process here</a>.</li><li>We take pride in the accomplishments of our teammates and support each other in doing the best work of our careers.</li><li>Our team is a diverse group of people from varied backgrounds. We cherish our eclecticism and consider it a great strength.</li><li>We’re fully remote, deeply engaged, highly skilled, and like to have fun.</li><li>We think long-term. Our founders have been scaling Ethereum since 2015.</li></ul>

Strategic Partner Lead

Negotiation

Product Strategy

Blockchain

Optimism is seeking a Vice President, Partnerships, to lead our global partnerships team, driving growth, revenue, and network activity across the Superchain. This role will be responsible for scaling OP Stack adoption, growing high-value partnerships, and establishing new revenue streams across crypto-native, institutional, and infrastructure ecosystems.<h2>What are the role responsibilities?</h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Drive revenue &amp; P&amp;L growth for the OP Stack and Superchain ecosystem</li><li>Lead, scale, and mentor a high-performing global partnerships team</li><li>Own growth of our partner ecosystem (currently $25 million today with a goal to grow to $250 million)</li><li>Expand our high-impact partnerships across DeFi, institutional finance, and infrastructure</li><li>Navigate complex multi-stakeholder relationships across the Optimism Collective</li><li>Work closely with product, marketing, and governance teams to shape and execute go-to-market strategies</li></ul><h2>What skills do you bring?</h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>15+ years in partnerships in crypto, fintech, or financial services</li><li>Successfully led teams cross-functionally and with partners</li><li>Demonstrated best in class partnerships experience </li><li>You know crypto but also relevant verticals like fintech, institutions, or payments</li><li>Strong culture &amp; values alignment w/ Optimism; critical to your success here</li><li>Active crypto user—you understand DeFi, on-chain mechanics, and crypto-native growth levers.</li><li>Ability to lead &amp; scale teams globally, driving alignment across sales, BD, and partnerships.</li><li>Strong executive presence—capable of negotiating deals at the highest levels while deeply understanding technical and market nuances</li></ul><h2>What you'll like about us:</h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>We take care of our employees with competitive compensation and benefits. Learn more about our <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://plaid-cement-e44.notion.site/Working-at-Optimism-F-Unlimited-1855831e345280b680ffc0330fb21979">benefits, culture, and recruiting process here</a>.</li><li>We take pride in the accomplishments of our teammates and support each other in doing the best work of our careers.</li><li>Our team is a diverse group of people from varied backgrounds. We cherish our eclecticism and consider it a great strength.</li><li>We’re fully remote, deeply engaged, highly skilled, and like to have fun.</li><li>We think long-term. Our founders have been scaling Ethereum since 2015.</li></ul>

Sales and Trade

VP Partnerships

Afghanistan

Aland Islands

Albania

Algeria

American Samoa

Andorra

Angola

Anguilla

Antarctica

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Armenia

Aruba

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Bahamas

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Barbados

Belarus

Belgium

Belize

Benin

Bermuda

Bhutan

Bolivia

Bonaire

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Botswana

Bouvet Island

Brazil

British Indian Ocean Territory

British Virgin Islands

Brunei

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

Cape Verde

Cayman Islands

Central African Republic

Chad

Chile

China

Christmas Island

Cocos Islands

Colombia

Comoros

Cook Islands

Costa Rica

Croatia

Cuba

Curacao

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Denmark

Djibouti

Dominica

Dominican Republic

East Timor

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Estonia

Ethiopia

Falkland Islands

Faroe Islands

Fiji

Finland

France

French Guiana

French Polynesia

French Southern Territories

Gabon

Gambia

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Gibraltar

Greece

Greenland

Grenada

Guadeloupe

Guam

Guatemala

Guernsey

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Guyana

Haiti

Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Honduras

Hungary

Iceland

Worldwide

Financial Services

P&L Management

Team Leadership

Fintech

We’re looking for an entrepreneurial, highly strategic Director, BD Fintech &amp; Payments to drive adoption of the Superchain across global payments and fintech companies. You’ll be responsible for identifying, closing, and scaling high-impact partnerships with major financial institutions, payments companies, neobanks, stablecoin issuers, embedded finance platforms, and custody providers. Your mandate: unlock the next wave of onchain finance by making the Superchain the go-to platform for global fintech innovation.This role is both strategic and executional. You’ll work directly with protocol leadership, product, marketing, and partner engineering to shape new financial primitives that are only possible onchain. You will bring them to market through deep partnerships with the world’s most ambitious builders in fintech.<h2>What are the role responsibilities?</h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Own and execute strategy<ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Define and lead the Superchain’s BD strategy for payments and fintech end-to-end</li><li>Identify high-leverage market entry points (e.g., stablecoin corridors, embedded finance use cases, B2B/B2C rails)</li><li>Translate protocol advantages into compelling narratives tailored to fintech decision-makers</li></ul></li><li>Originate and close deals<ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Source, structure, and close high-impact partnerships with payments companies, neobanks, custodians, and financial infra platforms</li><li>Drive adoption of onchain wallets, stablecoins, and embedded finance SDKs (e.g. Verbs) Negotiate complex commercial agreements involving multiple stakeholders</li></ul></li><li>Drive product alignment<ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Collaborate closely with product, engineering, and partner teams to ensure successful integration and onboarding</li><li>Channel market feedback to influence roadmap decisions (e.g., compliance features, wallet UX, account abstraction)</li><li>Shape internal Superchain offerings (e.g., SDKs, liquidity support, ecosystem programs) to better meet fintech partner needs</li></ul></li><li>Scale ecosystem adoption<ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Accelerate partner usage post-integration via co-marketing, user incentives, and technical support</li><li>Build replicable GTM playbooks and case studies that make it easy for new fintech partners to onboard</li></ul></li><li>Lead externally<ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Represent the Superchain at industry events, fintech conferences, and global policy forums</li><li>Publish thought leadership on programmable money, composable compliance, and the future of payments infrastructure</li><li>Build and maintain strong relationships with ecosystem players (wallets, stablecoin issuers, banking-as-a-service providers, L2s)</li></ul></li></ul><h2>What skills do you bring?</h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Experience<ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>7+ years of experience in business development, partnerships, or corporate development—ideally in fintech, crypto, or financial infrastructure</li><li>Proven track record of closing and scaling complex deals with payment platforms, neobanks, custodians, or embedded finance providers</li><li>Deep understanding of fintech infrastructure: wallets, custody, card issuing, stablecoins, compliance tooling, and developer platforms</li><li>Familiarity with crypto infrastructure—especially Ethereum, Layer 2s, and wallet abstraction concepts</li></ul></li><li>Skills &amp; Approach<ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Sharp strategic thinker who can map fragmented fintech value chains and craft compelling BD theses</li><li>Independent deal-closer who’s comfortable interfacing with C-level stakeholders and navigating multi-party partnerships</li><li>High agency operator who can build 0→1 partnerships, GTM strategies, and partner programs with minimal oversight</li><li>Strong communicator who can translate between business, technical, and ecosystem stakeholders across varying levels of crypto fluency</li><li>Comfortable navigating ambiguity in a fast-moving, frontier market and iterating quickly based on learnings </li></ul></li><li>Culture &amp; Mindset<ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>Deeply mission-aligned—motivated to rebuild the global financial stack on open, composable rails</li><li>Low-ego and execution-oriented; you value results over recognition</li><li>Thrive in collaborative, cross-functional teams but can also move quickly on your own</li><li>Obsessed with leverage—always looking to create scalable impact via product, partnerships, or ecosystems</li></ul></li></ul><h2>What you'll like about us:</h2><ul style="min-height:1.5em"><li>We take care of our employees with competitive compensation and benefits. Learn more about our <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://plaid-cement-e44.notion.site/Working-at-Optimism-F-Unlimited-1855831e345280b680ffc0330fb21979">benefits, culture, and recruiting process here</a>.</li><li>We take pride in the accomplishments of our teammates and support each other in doing the best work of our careers.</li><li>Our team is a diverse group of people from varied backgrounds. We cherish our eclecticism and consider it a great strength.</li><li>We’re fully remote, deeply engaged, highly skilled, and like to have fun.</li><li>We think long-term. Our founders have been scaling Ethereum since 2015.</li></ul>

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