Director, Capital Markets Growth

About us

Aave Labs began with a simple question: how do we make financial services like borrowing, saving, and earning more accessible globally?

We built the Aave Protocol, now the world’s largest and most trusted onchain lending market, connecting decentralized finance with individuals, traditional finance, and fintech.

Today, we build trusted, high-quality products that expand access to lending, credit, and savings globally

Our culture

We build trusted products that help people access and discover economic opportunities.

We hold a high bar for quality and craftsmanship. No detail is too small. Trust depends on it.

We’re a global team building products people can actually use, turning complex technology into something simple and reliable.

We stay aligned, move quickly, and think long term, while keeping teams lean and focused on impact.

About the role:

This role focuses on driving institutional adoption of Aave's products, including Horizon, Aave's institutional offering designed to enable compliant access to DeFi for regulated financial institutions. Working closely with leadership, product, engineering, and risk teams, you will build strategic relationships with key partners, identify growth opportunities, and help shape product direction based on market and client needs.

Success in this role requires both strategic thinking and the ability to dive deep into technical, operational, and market considerations to support partner engagement and execution.

How you can make an impact:

• Become a leading expert in Aave’s DeFi product suite including both the Aave Protocol, Horizon and GHO
• Develop and execute Aave’s institutional DeFi business development strategy, balancing near-term commercial opportunities with longer-term market development
• Partner closely with the CSBO, leadership, growth, product, engineering, risk, and marketing teams to shape institutional offerings, support go-to-market plans, and bring new products to market
• Build and deepen relationships with financial institutions and institutional partners, translating their needs into meaningful commercial, product, and ecosystem opportunities
• Work with key large scale collaborators within the ecosystem including DeFi projects, CeFi exchanges, blockchain protocols and other key industry players to grow distribution and market share
• Represent Aave Labs at key industry events and conferences, enhancing its presence in the ecosystem. Serve as a PR representative and spokesperson for Aave in the region with institutional partners

Let's connect if you have:

• 7+ years of business development, partnerships, or strategic growth experience within financial services, digital assets, fintech, or a related industry
• Demonstrated success building and managing strategic partnerships, including structuring and negotiating complex commercial agreements with senior stakeholders across business, legal, product, and technical teams
• Strong understanding of DeFi, digital assets, and blockchain technology, with a genuine passion for the role decentralized infrastructure can play in the future of financial services
• Knowledge of institutional DeFi and the evolving regulatory landscape affecting digital asset adoption by financial institutions
• Ability to identify, prioritise, and execute against high-impact opportunities, balancing strategic thinking with hands-on execution
• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills to advance deals and projects
• Strong reputation and extensive network with industry leaders across capital markets