Manager Crypto Business Development Jobs in Chicago, IL

Your Role

Alpaca is seeking a Head of Business Development - Crypto to help lead our commercial expansion in the tokenized equity space. You'll sit at the center of one of the fastest-growing frontiers in capital markets — working directly on the relationships and infrastructure that connect issuers, market makers, and exchanges to Alpaca's Instant Tokenization Network.

This is a rare opportunity to help build and scale the commercial backbone of a genuinely new market category, at the firm that pioneered it. You'll work cross-functionally with Sales, Customer Success, Product, Engineering, Legal, and Compliance to bring new partners onto the network and help define how tokenized equities trade globally.

This role reports into the Director of Business Development and offers significant scope for ownership and growth as the Instant Tokenization Network scales.

Things You Get To Do

Issuer & Market Maker Relationships

• Identify, develop, and manage relationships with issuers, liquidity providers, and market makers looking to participate in the tokenized equity ecosystem
• Act as a trusted point of contact for prospective and existing partners, understanding their goals and matching them to Alpaca's tokenization infrastructure
• Support commercial negotiations and structure partnership terms in collaboration with Legal and Compliance

Onboarding & Network Growth

• Own the end-to-end onboarding process for new issuers and market makers joining the Instant Tokenization Network, ensuring a smooth, well-coordinated experience
• Work closely with Sales, Customer Success, Product, and Engineering to translate partner requirements into onboarding workflows and technical integrations, and to ensure a seamless handoff post go-live
• Track and report on pipeline, onboarding status, and network growth metrics to senior leadership

Instant Tokenization Network Development

• Play a hands-on role in growing Alpaca's Instant Tokenization Network, helping define the partnership models, liquidity structures, and go-to-market approach for on-chain equities
• Build and cultivate partnerships across the broader digital asset ecosystem — including wallets, custodians, exchanges, and other crypto-native infrastructure — to expand Alpaca's footprint beyond tokenized equities alone
• Identify and qualify prospects for Alpaca's Broker API where relevant, working closely with Sales to hand off and progress opportunities that extend beyond the tokenization network
• Represent Alpaca at industry events and in partner conversations as a knowledgeable voice on tokenized equities and market structure
• Stay closely tuned to the regulatory and competitive landscape for digital assets and tokenized securities, feeding insights back into strategy

Who You Are (Must-Haves)

• 5+ years of experience in business development, partnerships, or institutional sales within financial services, fintech, capital markets, or crypto/digital assets
• Familiarity with market maker, liquidity provider, or issuer relationships — ideally within equities, ETFs, or digital asset markets
• Strong understanding of (or strong appetite to quickly learn) tokenization, blockchain-based settlement, and digital asset market structure
• Working knowledge of crypto and digital asset regulations (e.g., licensing regimes, custody requirements, securities classification issues) and how they shape partnership and go-to-market decisions
• Excellent relationship management and negotiation skills, with the ability to manage multiple partner relationships and onboarding workstreams simultaneously
• Comfortable working cross-functionally with Sales, Customer Success, Product, Engineering, Legal, and Compliance teams in a fast-moving, remote-first environment
• Self-starter mentality with strong organizational skills and a bias toward action

Nice-to-Haves

• Prior experience at a broker-dealer, exchange, market maker, or crypto-native firm
• Existing network of relationships among issuers, market makers, or liquidity providers
• Experience working on tokenization, RWA (real-world asset), or on-chain market infrastructure projects
• Familiarity with broker API or brokerage-as-a-service business models