DeFi Specialist

About Monad Foundation

The Monad Foundation is a team of dedicated ecosystem and community builders focused on massively growing the impact of decentralized technology. We believe that the Monad blockchain – the performant and parallel EVM Layer 1 – will enable decentralized applications to achieve widespread adoption.

The Role of a DeFi Specialist

Monad Foundation, a core contributor to the Monad protocol, is seeking a DeFi Specialist to be the operational backbone for DeFi growth across the Monad network. This is a hands-on, execution-heavy position for an individual with encyclopedic knowledge of DeFi protocols, deep opinions on asset quality, and the coordination skills necessary to onboard new protocols and assets from initial conversation to live, liquid market.

You will collaborate directly with builders deploying on the Monad network, offering advice on protocol mechanics, identifying product gaps, and helping them ship superior products. Your responsibilities include evaluating assets suitable for the ecosystem, assessing hidden risks, and coordinating with oracles, liquidators, DEX pools, curators, and bridges to ensure seamless onboarding. Furthermore, you will monitor the real-time state of DeFi on the Monad network, proactively identifying issues and recommending optimal allocation of time or incentives for maximum impact.

If you can be handed a protocol frontend you've never encountered and swiftly produce a sharp, actionable teardown within 30 minutes, this role is for you.

What You Will Do

• Advise DeFi builders on the Monad network with succinct, impactful feedback on protocol design, UX, market positioning, and competitive gaps. You should be able to quickly analyze any Monad-native protocol's site and generate an actionable list of strengths and weaknesses.
• Execute the end-to-end onboarding of new protocols and assets, coordinating with oracles, liquidation infrastructure, DEX pool setup, curators, and bridging providers to bring new markets live.
• Prioritize which assets to introduce to the Monad network based on market demand, composability value, and rigorous risk assessment. Research new assets, evaluating bridging mechanics, relative interest rates, liquidity depth, redemption windows, reserve transparency, and issuer controls.
• Monitor the state of DeFi on the Monad network, flagging gaps, imbalances, or inefficiencies. Recommend where to allocate time or incentive spending to resolve ecosystem-level problems.
• Inform incentive strategy with grounded opinions on what types of programs attract durable Total Value Locked (TVL) per unit of expenditure versus those that generate mercenary capital.
• Drive substantial DeFi growth on the Monad network, measured by TVL, volume, stablecoin market cap, Real-World Asset (RWA) market cap, and fees generated.

Who You Are

• Encyclopedic DeFi knowledge: You can explain the value flow in leading lending protocols (e.g., Aave, Morpho, Euler), articulate how CDPs, DEXs, or yield-bearing stablecoins succeed or fail, and identify critical success factors for each protocol category.
• Opinionated on asset quality: You closely track interest-bearing assets, stablecoins, and RWAs. You understand prevailing market opinions on key assets and can independently assess new ones for strengths and pitfalls.
• Operationally rigorous: You can manage the entire coordination chain for onboarding new protocols or assets, including oracles, liquidation infrastructure, DEX liquidity, curators, and bridges, ensuring no detail is overlooked.
• Sharp protocol instincts: Given any DeFi protocol's frontend or documentation, you can rapidly identify what works, what is broken, and what needs fixing. Your advice is specific and actionable.
• Opinionated on incentive efficiency: You possess a framework for evaluating growth programs, distinguishing between those that create flywheels and those that burn capital, and can support your framework with data and examples.
• Strong communicator: You deliver concise, high-signal analysis and recommendations. Builders and internal stakeholders trust your judgment due to your transparent and well-supported reasoning.

Nice to Haves

• Strong knowledge of trading and markets; able to think in expected value (EV) terms and apply that lens to DeFi strategy.
• Experience at a DeFi protocol in a growth, strategy, or protocol operations capacity.
• Familiarity with the Monad network's architecture, performance characteristics, and ecosystem.
• Comfort reading Solidity and understanding smart contract risk at a conceptual level.

Why Work with Us

• Challenging problems: You’ll tackle extremely challenging problems with significant impact.
• Huge opportunity: The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) standard is widespread, yet current EVM-compatible chains are often slow and bandwidth-constrained. Monad’s core innovations offer developers both portability and performance, representing a game-changer for mass user adoption in crypto.
• The right team: You’ll be part of an exceptional and highly-motivated team.
• Culture: We are a lean team working collaboratively towards ambitious goals. Our culture emphasizes collaboration, low ego, and high-quality output. As an early team member, you will contribute to shaping our culture.

Key skills/competency

• Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
• Blockchain Ecosystems
• Protocol Design
• Asset Evaluation
• Risk Assessment
• Market Analysis
• Incentive Strategy
• Operational Coordination
• Smart Contracts
• EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine)