Who are we?
IOG, is a technology company focused on Blockchain research and development. We are renowned for our scientific approach to blockchain development, emphasizing peer-reviewed research and formal methods to ensure security, scalability, and sustainability. Our projects include decentralized finance (DeFi), governance, and identity management, aiming to advance the capabilities and adoption of blockchain technology globally.
We invest in the unknown, applying our curiosity and desire for positive change to everything we do. By fueling creativity, innovation, and progress within our teams, our products and services are designed for people to be fearless, to be changemakers.
What the role involves:
You will provide strategic insights, market and technology intelligence to shape the group's long-term strategy. Owning and signing off on IOG’s competitive-intelligence strategy and outputs, delivering decision-ready insights that enable informed build-versus-buy, partnership, and market-entry choices.
Bringing advanced strategic and systems thinking with strong business and commercial acumen, you will ensure that competitive intelligence is tightly integrated with corporate strategy and directly influences product, engineering, and venture creation. By continuously evaluating competitors, emerging protocols, and disruptive technologies and leveraging advanced analytics and AI-driven intelligence techniques - the VP shapes IOG’s understanding of key market movement and technology inflection points.
Externally, you will be a thought leader, through speaking engagements, white papers, and participation in global industry forums, strengthening the company’s reputation and ecosystem influence.
Internally, you will drive shared planning cycles and close collaboration with the VP of Engineering and the VP of Applied Research & Creative Engineering (ARC) to ensure market insights flow seamlessly into research, prototyping, and engineering standards.
Strategic & Technical Leadership
- Define and execute a multi-year competitive intelligence strategy aligned to IOG’s strategic priorities and the dynamics of the Web3 ecosystem.
- Provide authoritative build or buy assessments, partnership evaluations, and threat/opportunity analyses to guide C suite decisions.
- Anticipate market inflection points and advise on strategic pivots, product innovations, or investment opportunities.
- Ensure competitive intelligence informs corporate strategy and resource allocation at the highest level.
Market & Competitor Intelligence
- Monitor emerging protocols, industry trends, and technology advancements, including Layer 1/Layer 2 scaling, interoperability standards, tokenomics, cryptographic innovations, zero knowledge proofs, and smart contract security.
- Work in close alignment with the Research department to translate competitive intelligence into research priorities and technology roadmaps.
- Integrate primary and secondary sources to generate deep technical and market insights that guide research priorities and technology bets.
- Identify competitor development strategies, tactics, and potential positioning to act as an objective, critical, and strategic advisor on current and future competitive drivers.
- Direct the creation of internal intelligence resources such as detailed protocol assessments, market-landscape reports, and competitor profiles to inform executive decisions.
Insight Generation & Reporting
- Direct the continuous collection, validation, and synthesis of competitive and market data from multiple sources.
- Lead the development of timely and actionable competitive insights, including effective integration, consolidation, and communication of technical and market data analyses at both ecosystem and protocol levels.
- Deliver executive grade briefings, market landscape analyses, and special reports to the CEO, Executive Committee, and research leadership.
- Establish and maintain a cadence of regular intelligence updates and provide rapid ad hoc reports when significant market or regulatory events arise.
- Measure and continuously improve the accuracy, strategic depth, and business relevance of intelligence outputs.
Stakeholder Engagement and Cross Collaboration
- Partner closely with Research leadership to ensure competitive intelligence directly supports protocol evaluation, research planning, and technology selection.
- Collaborate across other critical functions including Product, Foresight, Engineering, Legal, Policy, and Business Development to embed competitive insights into company wide strategies, partnerships, and initiatives.
- Lead shared planning cycles with the VP of Engineering and VP of ARC to ensure that intelligence informs and accelerates innovation and engineering standards.
- Communicate complex technical findings in concise, strategic language tailored to C-suite and research stakeholders.
External Engagement & Industry Leadership
- Represent IOG at major Web3 and technology events, participate in global industry and standards forums, and contribute thought leadership through talks, white papers, and strategic collaborations.
- Partner with and support Research team in thought leadership activities across the Web3 industry - such as contributing to speaking engagements, white papers, and strategic collaborations to position IOG as a recognized technology and innovation leader.
Team Building & Operational Excellence
- Recruit, mentor, and lead a high performing technical intelligence team, fostering a culture of analytical rigor, curiosity, and proactive intelligence.
- Establish best practice intelligence tools, governance frameworks, and secure knowledge management processes to ensure repeatable, scalable impact.
- Align team objectives and deliverables with company strategy and evolving market conditions.
Requirements
Who you are:
- Typically 15+ years of progressive experience in competitive intelligence, technology strategy, or technical research, with significant time spent in Web3 or adjacent deep-tech sectors.
- Advanced degree in a relevant technical or business discipline (e.g., computer science, engineering, economics, or related field), or equivalent deep industry expertise;
- Familiarity with AI/ML techniques and their application to market and technology intelligence.
- Extensive senior leadership experience with a proven record of success in building, scaling, and leading high-performing teams.
- Strong track record of driving strategic impact and influencing major corporate decisions at C-suite or Executive-Committee level.
- Strong background in market and technology evaluation, with demonstrated ability to convert complex findings into strategic recommendations.
- Demonstrated ability to evaluate technology protocols and ecosystems and to convert complex findings into clear strategic recommendations.
- Strategic and systems thinking – Sees the broader ecosystem beyond immediate issues; anticipates market and technology shifts; connects diverse signals to shape long-term competitive strategies.
- Business and commercial acumen – Understands market economics, venture dynamics, and investment trade-offs to advise on strategic options.
- Advanced analysis and synthesis – Seeks and evaluates reliable, timely information from a wide range of sources; integrates complex technical and market data into clear, actionable insights; considers the applicability and limitations of information to make objective interpretations.
- Decisive judgement and risk management – Evaluates proposals using multiple criteria; weighs advantages and disadvantages; identifies the potential impact of decisions and offers contingency plans; takes calculated risks aligned with organisational strategy.
- Executive communication and influence – Communicates clearly and concisely with C-suite, board and research leaders; conveys complex technical and market insights in compelling narratives that drive action.
- Cross-functional leadership and collaboration – Builds strong partnerships with research, product, engineering and other senior functions; aligns intelligence with research priorities and organisational goals; manages complex stakeholder relationships.
- Innovation and foresight – Identifies disruptive trends early and translates them into opportunities for product direction, partnerships and technology bets.
- Organisational leadership – Builds and leads a high-performing intelligence organisation; mentors senior professionals; fosters analytical rigour and curiosity.
- Adaptability and resilience – Operates effectively in fast-moving, ambiguous environments; recalibrates strategy quickly as new intelligence emerges; maintains focus under pressure.
- Ethical and evidence-based decision making – Ensures competitive assessments and recommendations are objective, data-driven and aligned with organisational values and risk appetite.
Benefits
- Remote work
- Laptop reimbursement
- New starter package to buy hardware essentials (headphones, monitor, etc)
- Learning & Development opportunities
- Competitive PTO
At IOG, we value diversity and always treat all employees and job applicants based on merit, qualifications, competence, and talent. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
