Principal DeFi Quant Developer

Job Description: The Role

We are seeking a DeFi Quantitative Developer with strong engineering skills to join our London-based team. This role is ideal for a technically strong developer who combines deep experience in DeFi markets and on-chain analytics with the ability to adapt and extend backtesting systems for DeFi as well as ideate on scalable strategies.

You will work closely with quant researchers and analysts to build research infrastructure, design, test, and deploy strategies that capitalize on opportunities across decentralized markets.

Key Responsibilities Strategy Research & Implementation

• Research and develop yield-generating strategies across DeFi protocols (staking, LPs, lending, re-staking, etc.)
• Extract, clean, and analyze on-chain data to identify inefficiencies, arbitrage opportunities, and risk-adjusted return profiles
• Design and execute robust backtests to validate strategy performance

System Adaptation

• Work with existing research frameworks to integrate DeFi-specific functionality
• Extend and optimize components for on-chain analysis, risk management, and simulated connectivity to decentralized venues
• Implement enhancements in Rust and Python for performance, reliability, and security

Monitoring & Troubleshooting

• Develop metrics and dashboards to monitor strategy performance and market conditions
• Troubleshoot unexpected behaviors and refine strategies based on real-time feedback
• Continuously iterate on models and assumptions to adapt to evolving DeFi ecosystems

Cross-Team Collaboration

• Work closely with the Head of Quant Strategies to align strategy development with business goals
• Present research findings and performance metrics to team and internal stakeholders
• Contribute to thought leadership and internal knowledge sharing on DeFi trends and innovations

The Expertise and Skills You Bring Technical Expertise

• Strong proficiency in a systems language such as C++/Rust etc.
• Advanced skills in Python, relational databases and SQL/Snowflake
• Experience working with blockchain data (e.g., The Graph, Dune, custom node queries) and trading platforms
• Strong understanding of portfolio construction, risk modeling, and statistical analysis

DeFi & Market Knowledge

• Deep experience with DeFi protocols, protocol mechanics, and smart contracts
• Understanding of liquidity provisioning, staking, lending, and governance mechanisms
• Experience with systematic trading or investment strategies in digital assets

Analytical & Research Skills

• Ability to design statistically sound experiments and backtests
• Skilled at extracting signal from noisy, imperfect datasets
• Structured approach to hypothesis generation, model building, and validation

Professional Experience

• Typically, 5+ years of experience in quantitative development/research
• Prefer 2+ years of experience in digital assets and/or DeFi
• Advanced degree (MSc or PhD) in a quantitative discipline (e.g., Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, Statistics)
• Experience working in a collaborative, cross-functional environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience adapting or extending trading systems
• Familiarity with MEV, gas optimization, and Layer 2 scaling solutions
• Experience with trading infrastructure and execution in decentralized markets
• Demonstrated initiative in research, strategy development, and process improvement

The Team

Fidelity Digital Assets is dedicated to building products and services that help institutions adopt digital assets and innovate within the increasingly digital world of finance. Fidelity Investments began researching blockchain technology and digital assets solutions in 2014, and years of research and development have provided us with the deep expertise necessary to build the future of finance.

Come join the Quantitative Strategies team within Fidelity Digital Assets to help grow our business initiatives within DeFi and contribute to our research and product capabilities using your insights.

Certifications: Category:

Information Technology