DeFi Quant Researcher - AlgoQuant

OpenTalent; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 441,000 - 771,000; Full time

Job summary

AlgoQuant Asset Management in Dubai (preferred), with presence in London and New York, is seeking a DeFi Quant Researcher to design, test, and deploy systematic strategies in decentralised markets.

This highly technical role demands deep on-chain understanding, from signal generation to live deployment, and collaboration with engineers and PMs to iterate quickly across Asia and US market hours. You will own research end-to-end and contribute to core infrastructure.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or higher in maths/physics/computer science or equivalent
• Experience with on-chain data sources and building research pipelines
• Hands-on familiarity with DeFi protocols and on-chain market structure

Responsibilities

• Research and develop systematic trading strategies across DeFi protocols (AMMs, lending, perpetuals, yield vaults)
• Build and validate alpha signals from on-chain data (liquidity flows, wallet behavior, MEV dynamics)
• Analyze smart contract mechanics and tokenomics to identify edges
• Run backtests and simulations considering gas costs, slippage, and data availability
• Collaborate with engineers to deploy strategies into live capital
• Monitor live performance and iterate rapidly on results

Skills

Mathematical background

Python programming

DeFi protocol knowledge

On-chain data experience

Solidity familiarity

Statistical rigour

Self-directed

Education

Advanced degree in maths/physics/CS

Tools

The Graph

Dune Analytics

Blockchain node data

Job description

DeFi Quant Researcher

AlgoQuant Asset Management

Dubai (preferred) · London · New York – Reports to Head of Research – Rolling start

The role

We are hiring a DeFi Quant Researcher to design, test, and deploy systematic strategies native to decentralised markets. This is a deeply technical, research-first role for someone who understands on-chain mechanics from first principles — not just as a theme, but as a source of exploitable, measurable edge. You will generate alpha from DeFi-specific signals: liquidity dynamics, protocol incentive structures, on-chain order flow, and cross-protocol arbitrage. You will work directly with portfolio managers and engineers who move at your pace, and you will own your research end-to-end. We are looking for researchers based in Asia or US timezones to ensure coverage of key DeFi market hours and fast iteration on live strategy performance.

Responsibilities

• Research and develop systematic trading strategies across DeFi protocols — AMMs, lending markets, perpetuals, yield vaults, and cross-chain venues
• Build and validate alpha signals from on-chain data: liquidity flows, wallet behaviour, MEV dynamics, funding rates, and protocol-level incentives
• Analyse smart contract mechanics and tokenomics to identify structural edges
• Run rigorous backtests and simulations, accounting for on-chain-specific issues: gas costs, slippage, block timing, and data availability
• Collaborate with engineers to deploy strategies into live capital
• Monitor live performance and iterate rapidly on results
• Contribute to shared research infrastructure, on-chain data pipelines, and tooling

What we are looking for

• Strong mathematical or scientific background — top-decile graduates or postgraduates in maths, physics, computer science, or equivalent
• Deep, hands-on familiarity with DeFi protocols and on-chain market structure — you have spent meaningful time in these markets, not just read about them
• Experience working with on-chain data sources (e.g. The Graph, Dune, raw node data) and building research pipelines from them
• Strong Python programming; Solidity familiarity or smart contract auditing experience a plus
• Statistical rigour — a paranoid eye for lookahead bias, data leakage, and overfitting in on-chain research
• Self-directed and high-agency — comfortable owning research without hand-holding
• For junior candidates: strong research signal through projects, open-source contributions, or on-chain trading experiments
• For senior candidates: a live, attributable track record in DeFi or on-chain systematic trading
• Asia or US timezone strongly preferred for live market coverage