Business Development - DeFi

Interop Labs is seeking a Partnerships Manager to support and scale Axelar’s relationships with leading Layer 1s, Layer 2s, and appchain ecosystems. This role will focus on deepening engagement with blockchain foundations, ecosystem funds, and growth teams to ensure Axelar remains a trusted partner in driving multichain adoption.

The ideal candidate has a strong understanding of blockchain ecosystems and is a natural relationship builder with a service-oriented mindset. You’ll be responsible for managing day-to-day partner relationships, identifying opportunities to co-launch initiatives, and coordinating with internal teams to support successful integrations and ongoing collaborations.

Responsibilities

• Manage and nurture active relationships with blockchain foundations, ecosystem teams, and growth leads
• Support the BD lead in identifying high-priority partner chains and coordinating outreach, onboarding, and technical scoping
• Coordinate co-marketing campaigns, hackathon sponsorships, ecosystem incentive programs, and product launches in collaboration with partners
• Track key partner milestones and ensure timely execution of joint initiatives
• Act as the primary liaison for inbound partner needs and requests, triaging with product, engineering, and marketing teams
• Maintain a CRM of partner activity, relationship status, and engagement metrics
• Represent Axelar at blockchain-specific events and community touchpoints

Requirements

• 3–5 years of experience in partnerships, account management, or ecosystem development in Web3, fintech, or enterprise tech
• Familiarity with the major blockchain ecosystems and their organizational structures (foundations, DAOs, etc.)
• Exceptional interpersonal skills and a genuine interest in building long-term, trust-based relationships
• Highly organized with a strong ability to manage multiple partner tracks simultaneously
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly represent Axelar’s value to diverse audiences
• Self-starter with a collaborative mindset and an eagerness to learn in a fast-paced, decentralized environment

Bonus

• Prior experience working with blockchain foundations or ecosystem funds
• Exposure to cross-chain protocols, smart contract platforms, or Web3 infrastructure tools
• Comfort navigating DAO governance and community engagement channels

About Us

Interop Labs builds interoperability technology.

Interoperability between blockchains is crucial technology infrastructure for the growth of Web3 and the advancement of internet technology as a whole. Interop Labs is the initial developer of Axelar Network the programmable Web3 interoperability platform, scaling the next generation of internet applications to billions of users. Axelar network’s key attributes are programmability, security and scalability.

Axelar has raised over $100 million from leading VCs including DCVC, Galaxy, Polychain, Dragonfly, Coinbase, and more. Its diverse partner ecosystem spans industry heavyweights such as Ripple, Circle, dYdX, Uniswap, JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Microsoft, and others—underscoring Axelar’s unique market position and opportunity in unifying stacks between traditional finance and decentralized ecosystems. Axelar protocol was founded by Sergey Gorbunov (MIT PhD, UWaterloo Professor) and Georgios Vlachos (MIT MSc, Math Gold Medalist), who previously helped to build and launch Algorand.