Freelance Blockchain Developer Jobs in New York (NOW HIRING)

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.
Our Creative Team is looking for a collaborative, growth-minded Designer to help shape the next chapter of the Stellar brand. You'll join a kind and evolving team where curiosity is celebrated, and support is foundational. As you elevate our visual narrative across global digital and marketing channels, you'll partner closely with creative leadership and diverse stakeholders to bring the Stellar mission to life. This is a high-ownership role that offers the autonomy to manage production lifecycles and agency partnerships, while providing a clear space to hone your craft, innovate our design systems, and make a tangible impact alongside senior mentors.
In this role, you will:

• Brand & Content Design: Own end-to-end design across campaigns, product launches, and multi-channel marketing content (social, web, print, presentations), ensuring high-fidelity output that elevates the Stellar brand.
• Creative Strategy & Execution: Develop narrative-driven visual concepts and contribute to the evolution of our design system, extending new executions while maintaining a high standard of quality.
• Operational Autonomy: Independently manage the full production lifecycle-from scoping and revisions to delivery-while prioritizing concurrent projects with minimal day-to-day oversight.
• Collaboration & Agency Management: Partner with internal stakeholders, Creative leadership, and external agencies, providing constructive feedback and sharing design best practices to ensure consistent brand excellence.
• Team Leadership & Innovation: Lead creative development on high-visibility projects and actively improve team processes, including the introduction of scalable components and emerging AI tools to enhance creative output.

You have:

• 3-5 years of experience in brand design, with a strong mix of agency and in-house expertise.
• Robust portfolio demonstrating judgment, coherent visual systems, and clear brand thinking across digital (ads, web, social), motion, company merch (SWAG) and/or physical collateral.
• Design mastery in Figma and Adobe Creative Suite, with a forward-looking fluency in emerging AI design tools.
• Brand System Expertise: Proven ability to build upon and extend brand design systems, with a track record of defining and executing high-level creative direction.
• Production Independence: Experience managing end-to-end projects, including liaising with external agencies and freelance partners to ensure quality and timely delivery.
• Operational Agility: Proven capacity to manage multiple concurrent projects and deadlines with minimal day-to-day oversight.
• Collaborative Mindset: Strong interpersonal skills for partnering effectively across marketing, strategy, content, and communications teams.
• Communication & Advocacy: Ability to present work to senior stakeholders, clearly articulate rationale, and advocate for strong creative decisions.

Bonus Points if:

• AI Fluency: Experience integrating generative AI tools (e.g., Claude, Gemini, Midjourney, Envato) into creative and production workflows.
• Domain Expertise: Familiarity with the Stellar ecosystem, open-source software, decentralized finance (DeFi), or the broader fintech landscape.
• Mission Alignment: Passion for building accessible, equitable financial tools; prior experience with mission-driven or non-profit organizations.
• System Stewardship: Experience contributing to or evolving design systems within growing, fast-paced creative teams.

We offer competitive pay with a base salary range for this position of $100,000 - $130,000 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!
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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.