Director, Institutional Growth

Solana Foundation • Full-time • New York • 3w ago

Who We Are

The Solana Foundation is a non-profit based in Zug, Switzerland, dedicated to the adoption, decentralization, and security of the Solana network. Solana is a high performance blockchain that can deliver a fast and friendly user experience, without sacrificing security. The Solana Foundation is working to realize a world where individuals own their data, use permissionless networks, and transfer information and value freely around the world. We are looking for talented people who are willing to jump right in and use their expertise to help the ecosystem build.

What We Do

The institutional growth team at the Solana Foundation focuses on ecosystem development and strategic relationships for Solana with respect to banks, asset managers, securities exchanges, capital markets, and RWA issuers (tokenized equities, commodities, bonds, etc.). Having grown the RWA ecosystem from zero to $2B+ in total value, our team specifically focuses on:

Accelerating ecosystem growth through strategic partnerships with tier-1 financial institutions
Supporting projects building on Solana with resources, connections, and guidance
Facilitating institutional adoption while maintaining Solana's decentralized ethos
Building bridges between traditional finance and Solana's technology

The Opportunity

Solana Foundation is seeking a highly independent, individual contributor to support the Head of Institutional Growth. You will support RWA issuers throughout the lifecycle and drive post-launch institutional product growth. While our team secures partnerships with major institutions like BlackRock, JPMorgan, and Fidelity to tokenize assets on Solana, you'll support the full institutional lifecycle — from identifying and cultivating new issuers and founders building in the ecosystem, to ensuring products thrive once they're live onchain.

You'll own the success metrics of tokenized institutional products—driving TVL growth, transaction volume, user adoption, and ecosystem integrations. This role requires someone who can work cross-functionally with issuers, market makers, custody providers, and DeFi protocols to create vibrant markets around institutional digital assets.

To be successful in this role

You will drive

Institutional Pipeline Development

Identify and engage banks, asset managers, and startups at early stages of their tokenization exploration
Build and maintain a pipeline of prospective issuers and evaluate fit for Solana
Support founders and early-stage startups building in the institutional/RWA space — including facilitating introductions to investors and strategic partners
Represent Solana at industry events to drive inbound interest from potential institutional partners

Post-Launch Product Growth

Drive adoption and TVL growth for live tokenized products (funds, treasuries, securities, etc.)
Develop and execute go-to-market strategies for newly launched institutional products
Create growth playbooks that can scale across different asset types and issuers
Monitor product performance metrics and identify growth bottlenecks

Ecosystem Development

Build liquidity strategies including market maker relationships and DeFi integrations
Coordinate with wallets, custody providers, and platforms to ensure seamless product access
Identify and facilitate secondary market development opportunities
Work with protocols to create yield opportunities and use cases for tokenized assets

Partner Success Management

Serve as primary post-launch contact for institutional issuers
Provide regular performance reporting and strategic recommendations to partners
Coordinate product enhancements based on market feedback
Ensure partner KPIs and success metrics are achieved

Market Development

Identify distribution channels and buyer segments for each product type
Develop relationships with wealth platforms, brokerages, and aggregators
Create educational content and sales enablement materials
Support product marketing initiatives and conference presentations

You ideally have:

3+ years experience in product growth or BD in a digital assets role responsible for TVL/AUM
Track record of driving adoption and growth metrics for financial products
Understanding of tokenization, RWAs, DeFi, yield strategies, and digital asset market structure
Experience with liquidity provision, market making, or trading operations
Strong analytical skills with ability to identify growth levers and optimization opportunities
Ability to manage multiple products and stakeholders simultaneously
Exceptional project management and communication skills
Experience working directly with founders or early-stage companies, including navigating the relationship between startup needs and institutional-grade requirements

Retail and technical understanding of Solana
Active in crypto communities and ecosystem building
Ability to travel 25-40% of the time for conferences, partner meetings, and ecosystem events