Tech Observer is hiring a

Blockchain Lead (Local)

Job Description:

BLOCKCHAIN ARCHITECT

Jersey City, NJ

Fulltime

Primary Responsibilities:

• Define and drive technical architecture and strategy for digital asset platform components across smart contracts, integrations, and infrastructure
• Lead design reviews, establish coding standards, and ensure architectural consistency across the digital asset technology stack
• Mentor and develop team members across blockchain engineering, QA, and platform development disciplines
• Serve as escalation point for complex technical issues spanning smart contracts, blockchain integrations, and platform services
• Collaborate with enterprise architecture, security, and infrastructure teams to ensure alignment with RBC standards
• Research, evaluate and recommend blockchain protocols, consensus mechanisms, custody solutions, and related technologies
• Interface directly with business leaders, product managers, and stakeholders to translate business requirements into technical roadmaps
• Lead technical due diligence for vendor selections, protocol evaluations, and technology partnerships
• Establish and enforce security practices including threat modeling, code review processes, and secure development lifecycle
• Drive DevOps maturity, CI/CD pipeline optimization, and operational excellence across environments
• Participate in cross-functional working groups, architecture review boards, and regulatory/compliance discussions
• Own technical planning, sprint planning coordination, and delivery forecasting in partnership with Project Managers

Key Relationships:

• Engineering team members across smart contracts, blockchain integration, QA, and platform development
• Enterprise Architecture, Security Architecture, and Infrastructure teams
• Product Managers, Business Analysts, and Executive Stakeholders
• Production Support, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), and Operations teams
• Vendor technical teams and blockchain protocol foundations
• Regulatory, Compliance, and Legal teams
• PMO, Finance, and Budgetary teams
• External consultants and technology partners

Required Education/Experience:

• University degree in Computer Science, Engineering or equivalent work experience
• 8+ years software engineering experience with 3+ years in technical leadership roles
• Deep technical expertise across distributed systems, blockchain technologies, and platform engineering
• Proven track record leading complex technical initiatives from conception through production
• Start-up Experience

Preferred Education/Experience:

• Degree in Computer Science or related field
• Extensive experience with blockchain protocols (Ethereum, Canton, Solana, or similar)
• Experience in financial services, capital markets, or regulated environments
• Track record building and scaling engineering teams
• Familiarity with regulatory frameworks (MiFID II, EMIR, CFTC, SEC requirements for digital assets)

Behavioral Competencies:

• Strategic thinking with ability to balance long-term vision with short-term delivery
• Exceptional communication skills with ability to articulate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders
• Strong leadership and mentoring capabilities
• Proven ability to influence without direct authority across organizational boundaries
• Entrepreneurial mindset with comfort operating in ambiguous, rapidly evolving environments
• Excellent judgment in risk assessment and technical trade-off decisions

Technical Competencies:

• Blockchain architecture patterns and protocol design
• Smart contract platforms and security (Solidity, Rust, Move, DAML, etc.)
• Distributed ledger technologies and consensus mechanisms
• Digital asset custody solutions and key management systems
• API design and event-driven systems
• Security best practices including cryptography, secure coding, and threat modeling
• Performance optimization and scalability patterns

Regulatory technology considerations for digital assets

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