Building the Future of Open Finance
Payward - the parent company behind Kraken, NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Payward Services and CF Benchmarks - has spent the last 15 years building one of the most modern and globally accessible financial infrastructure platforms in the industry, built to advance an open, global financial system.
Before you apply, we encourage you to explore our culture page to understand what drives us and how we work.
The Team
Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the world's longest-standing crypto platforms, trusted by over 10 million individuals and institutions across the globe. It offers spot trading, margin, futures, staking, and OTC services, with products built for both individual investors and institutional clients.
Kraken is entering one of the most acquisitive phases in our history, and we're building the deal team to match. As a Business Operations & Integration Lead, you'll work across the full integration lifecycle — from acquisition due diligence and transaction execution through integration strategic planning and integration execution. This is a high-impact, hands-on role for someone who has driven integration projects in fast-moving, high-growth companies, ideally within fintech or other rapidly growing tech industries.
The Opportunity
- Execute integration programs across multiple acquisitions per year using Kraken's M&A Integration playbook
- Lead the full integration lifecycle—from early diligence through 12–24 months post-close
- Drive workstream execution across product engineering, G&A, and value creation tracks
- Translate deal thesis into detailed operational plans aligned to synergy targets and milestones
- Maintain synergy tracking systems and hold functional teams accountable to execution timelines
- Identify and own extraction of emerging synergy opportunities post-close
- Partner with executive stakeholders across Corp Dev, Product, Engineering, Finance, Operations, Compliance, and Legal
- Maintain visibility into risk, timeline, interdependencies, and value realization across active integrations
- Contribute to the continuous improvement of integration frameworks, templates, and operating rhythm
What You Bring
- Hands-on experience driving M&A integrations at a fast-paced, high-growth company — managing multiple workstreams simultaneously
- Fluency in integration methods, synergy frameworks, and governance models; experience contributing to or improving them is a plus
- Demonstrated ability to coordinate and manage complex projects across product, engineering, finance, and G&A workstreams
- Proven ability to drive stakeholder engagement throughout complex and/or lengthy integrations (6-18 months post-close) to ensure deal value realization
- Proven ability to communicate clearly and directly across all levels, and a track record of keeping large cross-functional teams aligned and moving
- Hands-on exposure to IT/systems integration (identity, endpoint management, ERP/finance platforms, collaboration tools) and HR/people integration (employment transitions, compensation harmonization, HRIS migration)
- Experience with Corporate Development / M&A processes and due diligence is preferred
- General management and/or startup experience is preferred
- High-growth fintech or tech background preferred; crypto experience a plus
Unless a specific application deadline is stated in the job posting, applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.
Please note, applicants are permitted to redact or remove information on their resume that identifies age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution.
We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, assessing candidates in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.
Our commitment
Payward is powered by people from around the world and we celebrate the diverse talents, backgrounds, contributions, and unique perspectives that everyone brings to the table. We hire based on merit, seeking out people with the right abilities, knowledge, and skills for the job. We encourage you to apply for roles where you don't fully meet the listed requirements, especially if you're passionate or knowledgeable about crypto.
We may ask candidates to complete job-related skills or work-style assessments as part of our hiring process. These assessments evaluate competencies relevant to the role and are applied consistently across candidates for similar positions. Results are considered alongside experience and interviews, and are not the sole basis for any employment decision.
As an equal opportunity employer, we don't tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind, whether based on race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, citizenship, religion, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.
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Compensation Range: $127.2K - $254.4K
