Stellar Development Foundation

Interested in working on cutting-edge blockchain technology and creating equitable access to the global financial system? Since 2014, the mission-driven team at the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has helped fuel the tremendous growth of the Stellar blockchain network, an open-source platform that operates at high-scale today. Developers and companies around the world build on it, and the SDF team is expanding to support the rapidly growing and changing Stellar ecosystem. As a Senior Technical Recruiter, you will be a trusted hiring partner to Engineering and Product leaders across Stellar Development Foundation. You’ll support hiring across all levels of engineering and product roles, bringing strong sourcing instincts, thoughtful stakeholder partnership, and a commitment to equitable hiring. Alongside a small, high-performing recruiting team, you’ll help evolve how we attract, assess, and hire exceptional talent while delivering an outstanding candidate experience. You may also support occasional non-technical roles as business needs evolve In this role, you will: - Partner closely with Engineering and Product leaders to understand hiring needs, role scope, and long-term team goals. - Lead recruiting efforts for roles across all levels of Engineering and Product, from early-career to senior and specialized positions. - Proactively source, engage, and close high-quality technical talent using creative, relationship-driven, and data-informed approaches. - Act as a strong candidate advocate, ensuring a respectful, transparent, and high-touch interview experience. - Champion equitable and inclusive hiring practices, including diverse sourcing strategies and unbiased interview processes. - Advise hiring managers on interview design, calibration, leveling, and decision-making best practices. - Continuously identify opportunities to improve recruiting workflows, tools, and processes to increase efficiency and quality of hire. - Maintain high data integrity in our ATS and leverage recruiting metrics to share insights with leadership. - Contribute to broader recruiting initiatives such as hiring manager enablement, interview training, and process documentation. - Support occasional non-technical hiring as needed to meet organizational priorities. You have: - 5+ years of recruiting experience, with a strong focus on technical roles. - Demonstrated success hiring across Engineering and Product functions at multiple levels. - Strong sourcing expertise using tools such as LinkedIn Recruiter, Gem, GitHub, and other technical sourcing platforms. - Deep commitment to diverse, equitable, and inclusive hiring. - Ability to manage multiple searches simultaneously while maintaining a high bar for quality and candidate experience. - Data-driven mindset with experience using recruiting metrics to inform decisions and improve outcomes. - Excellent written and verbal communication skills; confident engaging with candidates and stakeholders at all levels. - Strong relationship-building skills and comfort operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment. - High ownership, sound judgment, and the ability to thrive amid ambiguity. - A positive attitude, sense of humor, and collaborative mindset. Bonus Points if: - Interest in blockchain, crypto, fintech, or financial inclusion. - Existing network of engineers and product professionals with experience in Golang, Python, Rust, C++, JavaScript, or modern product development. - Experience recruiting in high-growth or mission-driven organizations. We offer competitive pay with a base salary range for this position of Base: $120,000 - $170,000 depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, we offer lumen-denominated grants along with the following perks and benefits: USA Benefits/Perks: - Competitive health, dental & vision coverage with most plans covered at 100% for the employee + any dependents - Flexible time off + 15 company holidays including a company-wide holiday break - Generous paid parental leave for all parents, plus paid pregnancy disability leave for birthing parents. - Gym reimbursement ($80 per month) - Life & ADD (up to $50K) - Short & Long term disability - 401K with 4% match - Health & Dependent Care FSA Accounts - Commuter benefits with $250/month employer contribution - Health Savings Account (HSA) with monthly employer contribution - Family building benefits through Kindbody - Wellbeing benefits (One Medical, Rightway, Headspace) - L&D budget of $1,500/year - Daily lunch and snacks in office - Company retreats About Stellar Stellar is more than a blockchain. Powered by a decentralized, fast, scalable, and uniquely sustainable network made for financial products and services and a thriving and passionate ecosystem that includes a non-profit organization driven by a mission, Stellar is paving the path to unlock the world’s economic potential through blockchain technology. Built with speed and low costs in mind, the Stellar network provides builders and financial institutions worldwide a platform to issue assets, and to send and convert currencies in real time creating real world utility. Founded in 2014, the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) supports the continued development and growth of the Stellar network and also serves the ecosystem of NGOs, corporations, universities, small businesses, governments, and solo entrepreneurs building on the Stellar network through tooling, funding and strategic collaborations. Together, Stellar is where blockchain meets the real world. About the Stellar Development Foundation The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is a non-profit organization focused on working with and supporting change-makers to create equitable access to the global financial system through blockchain technology. SDF provides grants, investments, funding, and other awards to builders and organizations. SDF also develops resources and tooling on the Stellar network to help unlock real world utility. As a nonprofit foundation, SDF puts the health of the Stellar network and the Stellar ecosystem and its mission above all else. We look forward to hearing from you! Privacy Policy By submitting your application, you are agreeing to our use and processing of your data in accordance with our Privacy Policy https://www.stellar.org/privacy-policy?locale=en. SDF is committed to diversity in its workforce and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. SDF does not make hiring or employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other basis protected by applicable local, state or federal law.

Interested in working on cutting-edge blockchain technology and creating equitable access to the global financial system? Since 2014, the mission-driven team at the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has helped fuel the tremendous growth of the Stellar blockchain network, an open-source platform that operates at high-scale today. Developers and companies around the world build on it, and the SDF team is expanding to support the rapidly growing and changing Stellar ecosystem. You’ll join a team of talented engineers designing APIs, backend services, and tools that serve a diverse range of users—from individual developers to institutions. Whether you're passionate about infrastructure, scaling systems, or shaping the developer and end-user experience, you'll be working on high-impact projects at the intersection of blockchain and finance. In this role, you will: - Drive end-to-end development of backend services and APIs that support the Stellar ecosystem. - Build, maintain, and scale reliable infrastructure and web services in support of mission-critical applications. - Collaborate cross-functionally to understand developer or end-user needs and translate them into pragmatic solutions. - Optimize backend systems for performance, scale, and maintainability. - Contribute to our open-source efforts, including SDKs, libraries, and tools. - Engage in architectural design discussions, write detailed technical specifications (RFCs), and contribute to SDF’s engineering best practices. - Participate in code reviews and knowledge sharing across teams. You have: - 4+ years of experience as a software engineer - Strong computer science fundamentals: data structures, algorithms, distributed systems, and software design patterns. - Proficiency in backend development with languages such as Go, Python, Rust, Java, C++, or similar. - Experience deploying and operating production web services at scale. - Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to lead technical discussions. - A product-driven mindset with an interest in improving the developer or user experience. Bonus Points if: - Have experience working on blockchain or financial technology. - Are passionate about open-source software and have contributed to open-source projects. - Have worked on products where developers or builders are the primary users. - Have experience with Go. We offer competitive pay with a base salary range for this position of $185,000 - $275,000 depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, we offer lumen-denominated grants along with the following perks and benefits: USA Benefits/Perks: - Competitive health, dental & vision coverage with most plans covered at 100% for the employee + any dependents - Flexible time off + 15 company holidays including a company-wide holiday break - Generous paid parental leave for all parents, plus paid pregnancy disability leave for birthing parents - Gym reimbursement ($80 per month) - Life & ADD (up to $50K) - Short & Long term disability - 401K with 4% match - Health & Dependent Care FSA Accounts - Commuter benefits with $250/month employer contribution - Health Savings Account (HSA) with monthly employer contribution - Family building benefits through Kindbody - Wellbeing benefits (One Medical, Rightway, Headspace) - L&D budget of $1,500/year - Daily lunch and snacks in office - Company retreats #LI-Hybrid About Stellar Stellar is more than a blockchain. Powered by a decentralized, fast, scalable, and uniquely sustainable network made for financial products and services and a thriving and passionate ecosystem that includes a non-profit organization driven by a mission, Stellar is paving the path to unlock the world’s economic potential through blockchain technology. Built with speed and low costs in mind, the Stellar network provides builders and financial institutions worldwide a platform to issue assets, and to send and convert currencies in real time creating real world utility. Founded in 2014, the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) supports the continued development and growth of the Stellar network and also serves the ecosystem of NGOs, corporations, universities, small businesses, governments, and solo entrepreneurs building on the Stellar network through tooling, funding and strategic collaborations. Together, Stellar is where blockchain meets the real world. About the Stellar Development Foundation The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is a non-profit organization focused on working with and supporting change-makers to create equitable access to the global financial system through blockchain technology. SDF provides grants, investments, funding, and other awards to builders and organizations. SDF also develops resources and tooling on the Stellar network to help unlock real world utility. As a nonprofit foundation, SDF puts the health of the Stellar network and the Stellar ecosystem and its mission above all else. We look forward to hearing from you! Privacy Policy By submitting your application, you are agreeing to our use and processing of your data in accordance with our Privacy Policy https://www.stellar.org/privacy-policy?locale=en. SDF is committed to diversity in its workforce and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. SDF does not make hiring or employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other basis protected by applicable local, state or federal law.

Are you interested in advancing open technology that supports equitable access to the global financial system? The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is expanding its scientific and technological research efforts and looking for someone to help guide that growth with purpose, depth, and a commitment to the public good. Since 2014, SDF has stewarded the development of the Stellar network, an open-source, large-scale blockchain platform that enables inclusive, efficient financial infrastructure around the world. SDF Research plays a critical role in this mission, focusing on both practical and long-term challenges in distributed systems, cryptography, mechanism design, and the broader societal impact of decentralized technologies. We believe open research, open standards, and open-source software are essential to building trustworthy and accessible systems. In this role, you’ll help define and grow a research agenda rooted in these values, working closely with academic and industry partners, guiding and supporting a team that brings together diverse technical and disciplinary perspectives, and contributing to the technical foundations that power a more inclusive financial future. This is a unique opportunity to apply deep research experience in a mission-driven environment where thoughtful, collaborative work has real-world impact. In this role, you will: - Shape the research vision: Define and lead a long-term scientific research agenda that supports SDF’s mission while contributing to broader conversations in computer science and decentralized systems. Identify both mission-aligned applied challenges and foundational open problems to guide internal research and community engagement. - Foster deep academic and industry collaboration: Build strong, lasting partnerships with top researchers, labs, and institutions. Support initiatives that lead to joint publications, open-source contributions, and shared advancement of knowledge—both within and beyond the Stellar ecosystem. - Balance innovation with exploration: Oversee a portfolio of research efforts ranging from mission-critical applications to blue-sky investigations in areas such as cryptography, distributed systems, and incentive design. Champion rigorous thinking that leads to practical outcomes and advances the state of the art. - Build and support a strong, mission-driven research team: Recruit and develop a diverse group of research scientists and applied researchers, from early-career PhD interns to experienced domain experts. Create a supportive environment where a range of perspectives, backgrounds, and research styles can thrive. - Translate insights into real-world impact: Ensure that research outcomes inform product strategy, ecosystem standards, and protocol development—helping strengthen Stellar’s role in building accessible, resilient financial infrastructure. - Engage with the global research community: Represent SDF at conferences, academic workshops, and standards bodies. Contribute to the broader discourse on decentralized systems and financial inclusion through publications, presentations, and thought leadership. You have: - PhD in Computer Science, Cryptography, Distributed Systems, or a related field. - 10+ years of research experience in academia (e.g., tenured or tenure-track faculty) or industry (e.g., senior research scientist or director-level role). - Strong track record of high-impact contributions, such as peer-reviewed publications, patents, open-source projects, or foundational technical work. - Demonstrated experience leading research programs or teams, including setting strategy and managing multi-year initiatives. Bonus Points if (optional): - Experience working in both academic and applied research settings, with an ability to translate deep technical insights into practical impact. - Familiarity with open-source software development practices and/or participation in open standards communities (e.g., IETF, W3C). - Proven ability to collaborate across disciplines and institutions, including with academic labs, research consortia, and industry partners. - Strong communication skills, with the ability to engage technical and non-technical stakeholders, represent the organization publicly, and contribute to technical and policy discussions. - Commitment to mentoring and supporting researchers across career stages, and to fostering a collaborative and inclusive research culture. - Interest in or experience with the societal, economic, and ethical dimensions of decentralized systems, particularly in the context of financial access and inclusion. We offer competitive pay with a base salary range for this position of $210,000 - $365,000 depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, we offer lumen-denominated grants along with the following perks and benefits: USA Benefits/Perks: Competitive health, dental & vision coverage with most plans covered at 100% for the employee + any dependents Flexible time off + 15 company holidays including a company-wide holiday break Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for both non-birthing and birthing parents, as well as up to 14 weeks of paid pregnancy leave for birthing parents Gym reimbursement ($80 per month) Life & ADD (up to $50K) Short & Long term disability 401K with 4% match Health & Dependent Care FSA Accounts Commuter benefits with $250/month employer contribution Health Savings Account (HSA) with monthly employer contribution Family building benefits through Kindbody Wellbeing benefits (One Medical, Rightway, Headspace) L&D budget of $1,500/year Daily lunch and snacks in office Company retreats About Stellar Stellar is more than a blockchain. Powered by a decentralized, fast, scalable, and uniquely sustainable network made for financial products and services and a thriving and passionate ecosystem that includes a non-profit organization driven by a mission, Stellar is paving the path to unlock the world’s economic potential through blockchain technology. Built with speed and low costs in mind, the Stellar network provides builders and financial institutions worldwide a platform to issue assets, and to send and convert currencies in real time creating real world utility. Founded in 2014, the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) supports the continued development and growth of the Stellar network and also serves the ecosystem of NGOs, corporations, universities, small businesses, governments, and solo entrepreneurs building on the Stellar network through tooling, funding and strategic collaborations. Together, Stellar is where blockchain meets the real world. About the Stellar Development Foundation The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is a non-profit organization focused on working with and supporting change-makers to create equitable access to the global financial system through blockchain technology. SDF provides grants, investments, funding, and other awards to builders and organizations. SDF also develops resources and tooling on the Stellar network to help unlock real world utility. As a nonprofit foundation, SDF puts the health of the Stellar network and the Stellar ecosystem and its mission above all else. We look forward to hearing from you! Privacy Policy By submitting your application, you are agreeing to our use and processing of your data in accordance with our Privacy Policy https://www.stellar.org/privacy-policy?locale=en. SDF is committed to diversity in its workforce and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. SDF does not make hiring or employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other basis protected by applicable local, state or federal law.