The Role
We're looking for a BD & Partnerships Lead to own ecosystem relationships for Shinzo. You'll be building the partnerships that bring Shinzo to every major blockchain ecosystem—starting with the supply side (foundations, core protocol contributors, validators) and expanding to builders as the product matures.
This is not a role for someone with a playbook they want to copy-paste. Shinzo is disrupting a critical piece of blockchain infrastructure that's been broken since the beginning. The partnerships motion needs to match that—experimental, adaptive, and grounded in what actually moves ecosystems rather than what worked somewhere else.
You need to be technical enough to represent Shinzo without a sales engineer in the room. Not necessarily a former developer, but someone who can credibly discuss protocol architecture, understand validator economics, and explain why trustless indexing matters to technical audiences. Think growth hacker mentality applied to BD—someone who explores, tests, iterates, and finds the unconventional angles that actually work.
You'll report directly to the CEO and own this function. As Shinzo grows, you may build a team, but right now we need someone who can do the work, not just manage it.
What You'll Do
Supply Side (Primary Focus):
- Build relationships with blockchain foundations and core protocol teams—the people who decide what infrastructure their ecosystems adopt
- Develop partnerships with validators across ecosystems to drive adoption of Shinzo indexer clients
- Collaborate with marketing on validator go-to-market strategy and execution
- Represent Shinzo at ecosystem events, governance discussions, and technical forums
Demand Side (Emerging):
- Nurture relationships with builders who want to be early adopters—don't let good opportunities slip because the focus is supply-side
- Gather builder feedback and funnel it back to product and engineering
- Lay groundwork for demand-side expansion as the product matures
Strategic:
- Develop partnership strategies from scratch—no templates, no cookie-cutter approaches
- Identify unconventional angles and opportunities that others miss
- Track ecosystem dynamics and adjust approach based on what's actually working
- Build repeatable processes as you learn what works, without becoming rigid
What We're Looking For
Required:
- 5+ years in BD, partnerships, or ecosystem development in crypto/blockchain
- Proven track record building relationships with foundations, protocol teams, or validators
- Technical credibility—you can discuss protocol architecture, consensus mechanisms, and infrastructure tradeoffs without support
- Hacker mentality—you experiment, iterate, and find unconventional paths rather than running the same playbook
- Strong network across blockchain ecosystems (not just one chain)
- Ability to represent a disruptive project authentically—you're not smoothing over what we're doing to make it palatable
- Comfortable owning a function end-to-end and reporting directly to the CEO
Strongly Preferred:
- Experience with validator relationships or infrastructure adoption motions
- Background working with or at blockchain foundations
- Understanding of blockchain indexing landscape and its problems
- Experience in early-stage projects where you built the BD function from scratch
- Track record of landing partnerships that others thought were impossible
Bonus Points:
- You've been frustrated by centralized indexers yourself and understand the pain firsthand
- You believe blockchain infrastructure should deliver on the ethos—trustless, verifiable, permissionless—or it's not worth building
- You've killed a partnership strategy that wasn't working rather than doubling down on sunk costs
What Success Looks Like
- Validators across major ecosystems running Shinzo indexer clients
- Foundation partnerships that accelerate Shinzo adoption within their ecosystems
- Early adopter builders actively using Shinzo and providing feedback
- A BD approach that's uniquely Shinzo—not a playbook imported from somewhere else
Why Shinzo
The Problem Is Real: Every blockchain ecosystem needs trustless data infrastructure. You'll be bringing them the solution, not selling vaporware.
The Timing Is Right: Shinzo is fixing something that's been broken since blockchains began. The industry is ready for this—you'll be opening doors, not convincing people they have a problem.
You'll Own It: This is a leadership role reporting to the CEO. You'll shape how Shinzo goes to market across ecosystems, not execute someone else's plan.
The Team Ships: We're product-led and open-source. You'll be representing technology that works, backed by a team that delivers.
Compensation & Benefits
- Competitive salary commensurate with experience
- Token allocation (subject to vesting)
- Remote-first with async-friendly culture
- Travel budget for ecosystem events and partner meetings
- Flexible time off
