Founding CTO (Web3)

We are partnering with a venture-backed, early-stage technology company building a programmable loyalty and rewards operating system for global consumer brands. The platform enables brands to launch white-label fan engagement and monetisation experiences—including predictions, quests, digital drops, auctions, and ticketing—without gambling mechanics. At its core, the platform combines consumer-grade applications with a tokenised exchange and settlement layer, enabling branded tokens to be issued, traded, and distributed at scale. Initial verticals are in global sports and entertainment, with expansion planned into additional IP-driven markets. The company is now seeking a Founding CTO to lead the architecture and build-out of its protocol, exchange infrastructure, and engineering organisation from day one. As Founding CTO, you will be responsible for designing, building, and scaling the full technical stack, with a particular focus on the exchange and protocol layer. You will oversee smart contract development, liquidity and market mechanics, wallet infrastructure, and the integration between on-chain systems and high-scale consumer products. This is a hands-on leadership role suited to a senior Web3 technologist who has shipped production protocols and wants full ownership of technical strategy in a greenfield environment. Responsibilities Exchange & protocol architecture Design and deploy a hybrid AMM / orderbook-based exchange for branded tokens Build liquidity pools, routing logic, and market-making infrastructure Define token economics, liquidity incentives, and trading mechanics Smart contracts Develop, test, and deploy core protocol contracts, including: Token standards Liquidity pools and staking Rewards distribution and governance Lead audit processes and ensure a strong on-chain security posture Wallet & settlement infrastructure Implement abstracted wallet solutions (e.g. smart accounts, MPC) Integrate fiat on/off-ramps and external custody providers where required Platform integration Oversee architecture connecting the protocol layer to: Engagement mechanics (predictions, quests, missions) Rewards and commerce systems (drops, auctions, ticketing, merchandise) Analytics and reporting dashboards Consumer products Guide development of mobile (iOS/Android) and web applications delivered under partner branding Leadership & strategy Hire, lead, and scale the engineering team across protocol, backend, and product Set engineering standards, development workflows, and technical roadmap Make strategic build-vs-buy decisions and select vendors and tooling Qualifications 5+ years building blockchain or crypto infrastructure Proven experience shipping at least one protocol or exchange to mainnet Deep understanding of DeFi mechanics (AMMs, liquidity mining, tokenomics) Strong production smart contract experience with a clean audit track record Experience working with L2s, rollups, or app-chains Familiarity with consumer-facing systems and real-time platforms Comfortable operating in early-stage, resource-constrained environments Able to balance protocol purity with product and user experience needs Strong communicator across technical and non-technical stakeholders Technical environment Smart contracts: Solidity (advanced), Foundry / Hardhat, formal verification fundamentals Languages: TypeScript/JavaScript, Rust or Go, Python Infrastructure: RPC operations, indexers/subgraphs, GCP, Docker/Kubernetes Security: Audit coordination, attack vector mitigation (reentrancy, flash loans, oracle risk), monitoring and incident response Product stack exposure: React Native or Flutter, PostgreSQL, Redis, event streaming (useful for protocol-to-product integration) Offices: United States ( United States);