Alpha Researcher

Defuse Labs develops NEAR Intents to enable seamless cross-chain interactions in an automated world—connecting AI, services, and financial applications. At Defuse Labs, we design intent-driven liquidity layers where smart contracts breathe, AI transacts, and chains sync in real time. With expertise in AI, cryptography, and decentralized finance, our team is redefining how intelligent agents interact across blockchain networks.

We are looking for a technically exceptional Alpha Researcher to help build and scale Defuse's quantitative strategies and infrastructure. This role sits at the intersection of market making, quantitative research, software engineering, and decentralized markets, working hands-on on systematic trading strategies, signal generation frameworks, and execution systems that power the next generation of intent-based liquidity. You will report to the Head of Alpha and work closely with protocol engineering, product, and ecosystem teams. The ideal candidate combines a strong quantitative and engineering background with hands-on trading experience and a track record of turning research into profitable production systems.

Responsibilities

Design game theoretical models of interaction between the NEAR Intents protocol, distribution channels, market makers and the end users

Research, design, test, and iterate quantitative trading strategies across on-chain and cross-chain competitive markets

Build frameworks for signal generation, alpha discovery, and performance attribution

Develop systematic trading and liquidity optimization capabilities for Defuse's Alpha Platform

Partner closely with protocol engineering to translate research into production-grade systems

Develop analytical infrastructure, simulation environments, and tooling for strategy research and execution

Monitor market conditions, execution quality, and portfolio performance, continuously improving trading models

Collaborate with product and ecosystem teams to identify new market opportunities and monetization strategies

Contribute to metrics, reporting, and experimentation frameworks to measure strategy effectiveness and business impact

Requirements

3+ years of experience in quantitative research, algorithmic trading, market making, or systematic investing (7+ years for the Senior level)

Strong background in mathematics, statistics, computer science, engineering, or a related quantitative field

Experience developing and deploying systematic trading strategies in crypto or traditional financial markets

Strong programming skills (TypeScript required; Rust, Python, or Go are a plus)

Deep understanding of market microstructure, execution algorithms, liquidity dynamics, and risk management

Experience working with large datasets and building analytical pipelines

Ability to collaborate effectively with software engineers and protocol developers

Strong commercial mindset with the ability to translate research into profitable strategies

Excellent communication skills and ability to explain complex quantitative concepts to both technical and business audiences

Nice to Have

Experience building alpha generation or signal discovery engines

Knowledge of MEV, cross-chain execution, and decentralized exchange infrastructure

Experience with high-frequency or low-latency trading systems

Familiarity with AI and machine learning techniques applied to quantitative trading

Experience operating market-making or liquidity provision strategies

Contributions to open-source quantitative or blockchain infrastructure projects

Experience with Apache Airflow and dbt (data build tool)

Basic understanding of ELT processes and how they differ from traditional ETL workflows

Recruitment Disclaimer

All personal data submitted by you as part of a job application, whether through our website, will be processed exclusively for recruitment and selection purposes. By submitting such data, you acknowledge and consent to its use for assessing your qualifications, contacting you regarding relevant opportunities, and maintaining a candidate profile for potential future openings.

For more detailed information about how your data is processed in the context of recruitment, including your rights under applicable data protection laws, please refer to our Privacy Policy , or contact us at [email protected]