Partnerships Lead, Blockchain Infrastructure

OP Labs•San Francisco, CA

10d•Remote

About The Position

OP Labs is the team building the technology behind Optimism , the leading blockchain infrastructure provider powering 65% of all Layer 2 transactions. Our open-source OP Stack enables developers and enterprises to launch scalable, secure, and customizable onchain networks with ease. Backed by a16z , Paradigm , and others, OP Labs has raised over $175M to drive the next generation of onchain innovation. Role and Responsibilities Infrastructure partnership development is vital for the Superchain. This role, the Partnerships Lead, Blockchain Infrastructure is about owning the entire lifecycle of critical partnerships for the OP Stack ecosystem. You will find opportunities, close deals, and manage relationships with key blockchain infrastructure providers. This requires a unique mix of commercial, strategic, and technical expertise to navigate the complex crypto landscape.

Requirements

Partnership & Business Acumen: Deep experience managing and scaling strategic partnerships in the crypto infrastructure space, with a track record of owning complex categories end-to-end.
Strong commercial skills in deal structuring and negotiation for multi-party or multi-chain deals, balancing partner economics with ecosystem objectives.
Systems-level reasoning, including an understanding of network effects, liquidity loops, and value exchange within the ecosystem.
Product & Technical Fluency: Domain technical fluency (infra or DeFi), comfortable engaging with protocol and infra engineers.
Strategic product thinking (build-partner-buy decisions) and the ability to run product discovery with partners.
Execution & Communication: High-agency cross-functional operator, proficient at driving work across internal teams and external partners to ship integrations and create measurable impact.
Clear written and verbal communicator, able to write concise strategy documents and integration plans to keep all stakeholders aligned.
Proven ability to manage multi-quarter partnership roadmaps and drive clarity in ambiguous environments.
A genuine passion for blockchain technology, decentralization, and the future of open systems.

Responsibilities

Own the end-to-end lifecycle (sourcing, deal negotiation, integration, and partner management) for critical ecosystem infrastructure partnerships, including: On/off ramps and payments. Compliance, insurance, and risk infrastructure. Market makers, liquidity infrastructure, and selected CEX relationships. Stablecoin and fiat-rail related partnerships.
Collaborate with the Product team to define and launch new products that leverage third-party capabilities/technology, specifically in areas like Privacy and CGT.
Create and own the strategic roadmap for this section of the infrastructure partner ecosystem.
Proactively communicate key ecosystem developments, potential partnership blockers, and strategic updates to executive leadership.