Ecosystem Development Jobs in Lake Forest, IL (NOW HIRING)

zerohash is hiring a VP of Ecosystem and Product Partnerships to own the company's point of view on where onchain infrastructure is going, and to turn that view into the partnerships that put zerohash at the center of it. Reporting directly to the Chief Business Officer, this role owns the full arc of ecosystem development: forming the thesis, sourcing and negotiating the partnerships that follow from it, and driving them through product and engineering to launch.

This is a role for someone who is genuinely fluent in both rooms. You should be able to sit with a protocol founder or a foundation's leadership and debate token design, sequencer economics, or bridging risk on the merits, then sit with the leadership of a global bank or exchange and explain why any of it matters to their business, in their language. zerohash's partners include Morgan Stanley, Interactive Brokers, Stripe, Franklin Templeton, BlackRock, and Worldpay. The person in this seat represents zerohash at that altitude and is credible there on day one.

Most of the counterparties are protocol-side: chains, foundations, token issuers, and infrastructure providers. What makes this hire different from a conventional partnerships leader is the ability to translate that world for institutions, publicly and privately, with the credibility to be taken seriously by both.

• Own zerohash's ecosystem thesis: which chains, tokens, standards, and infrastructure layers matter, why, and what zerohash should build toward as a result. Defend that view with the CBO, the Executive Team, and the board.
• Lead all sourcing, evaluation, and negotiation for new chain, token, and strategic product partnerships, from first conversation to signed agreement.
• Structure and close complex, multi-party commercial frameworks: incentive programs, milestone structures, co-marketing commitments, and long-term strategic agreements.
• Build and manage a pipeline of ecosystem opportunities that maps directly to zerohash's product roadmap and revenue plan.
• Shape joint product strategy with blockchain foundations, token issuers, and infrastructure partners to unlock capabilities zerohash could not build alone.
• Partner with Product and Engineering leadership to scope, prioritize, and drive delivery of every ecosystem integration. You are accountable for whether they ship, not just whether they are signed.
• Serve as one of zerohash's most visible external voices on onchain infrastructure: published points of view, institutional conferences and panels, industry working groups, and direct engagement with the leadership of banks, exchanges, and asset managers.
• Create an operating rhythm that gives the Executive Team clear visibility into ecosystem strategy, integration progress, and partner performance.
• Build a small team over time as the function scales. This role starts hands-on.

• 8 to 12 years of experience across crypto, fintech, or financial infrastructure, with a track record of ecosystem development and strategic product partnerships.
• Deep, current onchain knowledge. You understand L1 and L2 architectures, consensus and execution tradeoffs, token models and incentive design, foundation and DAO economics, bridging and settlement risk, and the stablecoin landscape, at a level where protocol teams treat you as a peer.
• Proven track record owning and closing complex, multi-party commercial agreements material to the business, and driving them through product and engineering to delivery. This is a hard requirement.
• Institutional credibility and presence.
• A recognized voice in the space: published writing, speaking, or industry standing that gives partners and institutions a reason to take the meeting.
• You may have come from a leading crypto fund's platform or investment team, a global bank or exchange, a top-tier strategy firm, or a crypto-native infrastructure company, and you have been in this industry since well before the current cycle.
• Strong working understanding of zerohash's infrastructure: API-based custody, wallet creation, transaction processing, settlement workflows, and stablecoin and token movement.
• Fluency in the compliance and regulatory dimensions of listing assets and integrating networks, and the judgment to know which opportunities are not worth the risk.

• zerohash has a clear, defensible ecosystem thesis that the Executive Team and the market both recognize.
• zerohash expands its supported ecosystem with multiple new chains, tokens, and strategic partners each year, on terms that hold up commercially.
• Strategic partnerships translate into new product capabilities used across core customers and platforms.
• zerohash is a first call for major blockchain ecosystems looking for institutional distribution, and for institutions looking for a credible onchain partner.
• Product, Engineering, and the Ecosystem function operate with tight alignment and predictable delivery.
• Partners view zerohash as a strategic, long-term collaborator with clear value creation and follow-through.

• Healthcare Insurance: zerohash covers roughly 100% of employee premiums as well as a portion of spouse/children (U.S. only)
• Vision & Dental Insurance (U.S. only)
• Chance to earn equity
• Maternity & Paternity leave (after 6 months)
• WeWork All Access Membership
• WFH Yearly Stipend
• L&D Yearly Stipend (after 6 months)

zerohash is the leading crypto and stablecoin infrastructure platform and the operating system for digital money, powering the next generation of financial services. Founded in 2017, zerohash enables banks, brokerages, fintechs, and payment companies to offer crypto trading, stablecoin payments, and tokenized assets without having to build or manage complex blockchain infrastructure on their own.
The zerohash platform supports three core pillars: Trade, Transact, and Tokenize. Through a single integration, customers can launch regulated crypto buy, sell, and custody services; enable 24/7 stablecoin-based funding, payouts, and settlement; and issue and manage tokenized assets with built-in compliance, risk controls, and reporting. By abstracting away technical, regulatory, and operational complexity, zerohash allows partners to treat digital assets as just another financial primitive: fast, programmable, and global.
zerohash is trusted by some of the world's most recognized financial and consumer brands, including Interactive Brokers, Morgan Stanley, Stripe, Franklin Templeton, BlackRock, DraftKings, Gusto, Worldpay, Kalshi, One Pay, among others. Today, zero infrastructure supports millions of end users across brokerage, wealth, payments, and marketplace platforms globally.
The company is deeply regulated and compliance-first, operating across the U.S. and internationally with licenses and approvals that allow partners to enter crypto and stablecoins with confidence. zerohash has become a trusted partner for enterprises seeking to modernize financial products while meeting the highest standards for security, risk management, and regulatory oversight.
To date, zerohash has raised over $280 million in funding from a mix of leading venture firms and strategic investors, including Morgan Stanley, Interactive Brokers, SoFi, Point72 Ventures, Bain Capital Crypto, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and more.
zerohash has been featured in top-tier media outlets such as Bloomberg, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Reuters, Forbes, and CoinDesk, and its leadership team regularly contributes to global conversations on the future of payments, investing, and financial infrastructure.
At zerohash, we're building the infrastructure that makes digital money work securely, compliantly, and at global scale.

All zerohash employees are guided by the following characteristics and core principles:

• Independence/Ownership - An ability to work autonomously. Join zerohash, pitch ideas, and shape the work you do.
• Passion - We are innovating quickly and challenging the status quo. We want you to think big, be creative and make a difference every day.
• Collaborative - A good attitude and respect for others. We're teammates, not co-workers. Everything we do is a shared success and equally a shared failure - we talk in terms of "we" not "me".
• Initiative - An ability and passion for learning and asking questions. We will champion you, challenge you and push you to achieve your best - and we expect you to do the same.
• Empathy - An ability to listen, respect, and understand your co-workers, customers, and everyone you interact with no matter how different they are to you.
• Adaptability - An ability to respond quickly. We are in a fast-paced industry and so we expect you to be creative when solving a new problem and comfortable under pressure.
• Transparency - We believe that transparency is critical to empowering everyone to make the best decisions, both the company to its people and vice versa.
• Integrity - Integrity creates trust. As both an organization collectively and as individuals, it is our most valuable asset.

Follow us

Twitter

LinkedIn

Youtube

For candidates based in Colorado, please contact colorado-wages @zerohash.com to request compensation and benefits information regarding a particular role(s). Please include with your email the city you reside (or intend to reside in Colorado) and the title/link to the roles you're interested in.

**We've recently seen an increase in individuals impersonating zerohash recruiters to target job seekers. Please stay vigilant and keep the following in mind to ensure you are communicating with the real zerohash team:

• Verified Emails Only: Official outreach will only come from a @zerohash.com email address.
• No Messaging Apps: We will never contact you via unsolicited text messages, WhatsApp, or Telegram.
• Official Applications: Only apply directly through our careers webpage (zerohash.com/careers) or zero-hash.breezy.hr.

See something suspicious?
If you want to verify an interview request or report a fake job posting or suspicious communication, please contact us immediately at talent @zerohash.com. This email is for fraud reports only. Candidate application inquiries will not be responded to.