Portfolio Manager

Head of Defi | $250k | Equity | PnL | Dubai/RemoteOur client is a specialist institutional asset manager operating at the intersection of traditional and on-chain finance. The firm issues fixed-coupon, exchange-traded notes that convert volatile DeFi yield into the steady, predictable profile of institutional fixed income, giving banks, endowments, foundations, and family offices exposure to on-chain returns without direct crypto exposure.The firm is best understood as a blue-chip DeFi hedge fund built for a TradFi audience: rigorous credit risk scoring applied to on-chain markets, grounded in published academic research, and delivered through a regulated, securitised note structure (ISIN, exchange-tradeable) that institutional allocators already know how to buy.The RoleWe're hiring a Head of DeFi to design, build, and run the firm's DeFi yield strategy book. This is a founding-desk role: you will define the strategy mix, build the research and allocation process, and represent the strategy to the institutional investors who allocate to it. You'll be paired with a junior hire, and together you'll cover both research and capital allocation.This isn't a single-strategy mandate. The market has largely converged on delta-neutral, market-neutral yield, and we want the other side of that: a bundled, diversified portfolio of DeFi strategies spanning the full risk spectrum, from delta-neutral carry through to higher-conviction, alpha-generating positions. Think of it as building a private-banking-style diversified allocation, but constructed entirely from on-chain building blocks.What you'll ownDesign and run 3–4 core DeFi strategies spanning stablecoin lending, optimised/leveraged yield, on-chain bonds, and RWA (real-world asset) DeFi exposure.Build a bundled portfolio approach, combining delta-neutral and higher-risk, alpha-generating strategies, rather than defaulting to a single market-neutral book.Own capital allocation decisions as well as the underlying research; you'll need to be comfortable doing both, not just one.Develop the firm's RWA DeFi strategy as a priority growth area.Act as a credible, commercially-minded face of the strategy to TradFi investors, private banks, and institutional allocators evaluating on-chain products.Work with compliance and product teams to ensure strategies operate within the firm's regulated, securitised note framework.Build out and mentor a junior team member as the desk scales.What We're Looking For:EssentialGenuine, hands-on experience in DeFi, not a TradFi background looking to learn on the job.A track record across DeFi yield strategies, ideally spanning both market-neutral and higher-conviction approaches.Commercially minded: comfortable in front of investors, able to sell a strategy and a thesis, not purely a back-office researcher.Able to combine research and allocation: we need someone who can do the analysis and then act on it.A builder's mindset: motivated by the opportunity to construct something of their own, rather than execute someone else's playbook.Strong cultural fit. We weight this as heavily as the CV: how you work matters as much as where you've worked.Good to haveExperience at a recognised digital asset manager or DeFi-native fund, particularly candidates ready to step out and build their own book.Exposure to RWA (real-world asset) protocols and strategy design.Prior experience navigating compliance and product structuring alongside portfolio management.What we're not looking forYou do not need to be the most senior person in the market: we're optimising for ownership, hunger, and cultural fit over pure seniority or pedigree.Pure quants with no allocation or client-facing instinct.Pure allocators/salespeople with no genuine DeFi research depth.Please apply with your CV.