Ecosystem Development Lead

The Open Source Team

The Open Source Team at OpenZeppelin builds and stewards the open-source libraries, tools and standards that power secure and scalable blockchain development. These resources form the backbone of many widely used onchain applications and continue to evolve as new use cases emerge.

Within this team, the Open Source Growth function is a technical growth team focused on expanding the footprint and strategic relevance of our open-source libraries across ecosystems. The team identifies where OpenZeppelin’s standards can advance security, developer experience, and ecosystem maturity, and forms partnerships with foundations, L1s, L2s, and grant programs to support and accelerate this work. The mission is to ensure OpenZeppelin’s open-source portfolio remains the trusted foundation for the next generation of protocols and onchain applications, including emerging areas like privacy, RWAs, payments, interoperability, smart accounts, and new developer tooling.

What you'll be doing

As the Ecosystem Development Lead, you will generate high-impact opportunities through ecosystem partnerships, open-source funding programs, and network grant initiatives. You will identify where OpenZeppelin’s open-source tools and libraries can help ecosystems grow securely, then shape and secure the strategic funding needed to support that work.

This role requires the ability to navigate complex technical ecosystems, understand protocol roadmaps, and build relationships with ecosystem teams, all while representing OpenZeppelin’s open-source mission with clarity and credibility. You will play a central role in ensuring that OpenZeppelin’s open-source portfolio continues to influence and elevate the next generation of blockchain platforms.

Drive ecosystem-facing partnerships and funding

• Identify, evaluate, and pursue grant and open-source funding opportunities with L1s, L2s, ecosystem foundations, protocol teams, and related programs.
• Develop a strong pipeline of ecosystem partnerships that align with OpenZeppelin’s open-source strategy and support the growth of our libraries, tooling, and standards.
• Build trust with ecosystem leaders, grant committees, and foundation stakeholders as a long-term representative of OpenZeppelin’s open-source mission.

Lead the grants and proposal lifecycle

• Create high-quality grant applications, technical proposals, and supporting materials tailored to ecosystem needs and funding priorities.
• Work closely with internal technical stakeholders for accurate scoping and alignment with the broader open-source strategy.

Expand OpenZeppelin’s open-source footprint

• Identify opportunities for deeper integration of OpenZeppelin’s libraries and standards across emerging areas such as privacy systems, stablecoin chains, RWA infrastructure, smart accounts, developer tools, and interoperability frameworks.
• Represent OpenZeppelin at ecosystem events, technical workshops, conferences, and community forums.

You have

• 3+ years in business development, ecosystem partnerships, grant management, or a similar role within Web3 or open-source technology.
• Strong understanding of how blockchain ecosystems operate, including their funding mechanisms, governance processes, and development priorities.
• Ability to understand core Ethereum and blockchain development concepts.
• Excellent strategic writing skills for grant applications, proposals, and ecosystem-facing communication.
• Strong relationship-building skills and a network across blockchain foundations, ecosystem funds, and protocol teams.
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail.
• Ability to combine technical understanding with strategic thinking and ecosystem insight.

Nice to have

• Experience with smart contract development or familiarity with Solidity.
• Prior experience working with or managing protocol grant programs.
• Skills with analytics tools such as Dune, Nansen, or blockchain explorers.
• Comfort with understanding technical specifications, EIPs/ERCs, and protocol architecture.
• Data analysis or research experience related to blockchain ecosystems.

Logistics

Our interview process takes place on Zoom and typically includes:

• Recruiter call (30 to 45 minutes)
• Hiring Manager call (30 to 45 minutes)
• Team member interview (30 to 45 minutes)
• Leadership interview (30 minutes)
• Paid work trial (10-20 hours of paid work)
• Reference checks

Please let us know if you require any accommodations for the interview process, and we’ll do our best to provide assistance.