Product CTO — CEX (Crypto Exchange)

DISCOVERED; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 350,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

DISCOVERED in the UAE seeks a Product CTO to own the exchange's architecture from matching engine to custody, ensuring scale, security, and regulatory readiness. You will design real-time trading systems, settlement, and liquidity infra while coordinating with compliance and executive teams to meet VARA and international requirements.

This hands-on leader will build an institution-grade platform and guide a high-performing engineering organization across trading, infrastructure, and security

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience building and scaling trading systems across exchanges or high-performance financial platforms.
• Deep expertise in high-performance order matching engines, order books, and exchange architecture.
• Real-time, low-latency system design with WebSockets, event-driven architectures, and high-throughput APIs.
• Custody, wallet infrastructure, blockchain integrations, deposits/withdrawals, and digital asset settlement.
• Knowledge of market surveillance, trade monitoring, and manipulation detection.

Responsibilities

• Own the CEX technical architecture and end-to-end technology strategy.
• Lead design and development of order book, matching engine, trade execution, and settlement infra.
• Define scalable, low-latency architecture for high transaction volumes.
• Own real-time trading infrastructure (WebSockets, data feeds, APIs, event-driven systems).
• Oversee custody/wallet infrastructure and provider integrations (Fireblocks/Copper/BitGo).
• Support UAE VARA license tech requirements with compliance/legal teams.
• Design systems for asset lifecycle, deposits/withdrawals, token listings, and liquidity management.
• Define market surveillance and detection capabilities with platform integrations.
• Collaborate with liquidity providers and trading partners for robust execution.
• Establish security, reliability, observability, and disaster recovery standards.
• Translate product requirements into scalable architectural roadmaps.
• Build and lead a high-performing engineering organization.
• Drive due diligence and architecture decisions with vendors and partners.
• Ensure regulatory compliance and readiness for expansion.

Skills

Trading systems

Low-latency architecture

Architecture leadership

Regulatory compliance

Crypto exchanges

Stakeholder management

Tools

Fireblocks

Copper

BitGo

Job description

Discover the Opportunity

We are hiring a Product CTO to lead the technology strategy and execution of a next-generation centralized crypto exchange.
This is a highly strategic leadership role for an experienced trading systems engineer and technology executive who has built and scaled high-performance exchange infrastructure.
You will own the technical architecture of the exchange end to end, from the matching engine and order book through custody, settlement, market surveillance, liquidity infrastructure, and regulatory technology.
Working closely with the executive team, product, compliance, and commercial functions, you will play a critical role in building a secure, institutional-grade trading platform designed for scale, performance, and regulatory readiness.

Discover the Role

As Product CTO, you will be the technical owner of the CEX platform, defining the architecture, technology roadmap, engineering standards, and infrastructure required to operate a high-volume digital asset exchange.
You will lead the design of core trading infrastructure, including high-performance order matching, real-time market data, settlement, custody integrations, and liquidity systems.
You will also work closely with compliance and legal teams on the technical requirements associated with the UAE's VARA framework and other relevant international regulatory regimes.
This is a hands-on technology leadership position suited to someone who combines deep engineering expertise with the ability to make high-impact architectural and product decisions.

Discover the Responsibilities

• Own the CEX technical architecture and technology strategy end to end.

  
  

• Lead the design and development of the order book, high-performance matching engine, trade execution, and settlement infrastructure.

  
  

• Define scalable, low-latency architecture capable of supporting high transaction volumes and institutional trading requirements.

  
  

• Own real-time trading infrastructure, including WebSockets, market data feeds, APIs, and event-driven systems.

  
  

• Design and oversee custody and wallet infrastructure, including integrations with providers such as Fireblocks, Copper, and BitGo.

  
  

• Lead the technical architecture and requirements supporting the UAE VARA Exchange License application, working closely with compliance and legal stakeholders.

  
  

• Define systems and processes for trading-pair management, token listings, deposits, withdrawals, and asset lifecycle management.

  
  

• Design and implement market surveillance and manipulation detection capabilities, including integrations with platforms such as Solidus Labs and Chainalysis.

  
  

• Work with liquidity providers, market makers, and trading partners to build robust liquidity and execution infrastructure.

  
  

• Establish security, reliability, observability, disaster recovery, and business continuity standards across the exchange technology stack.

  
  

• Translate product and commercial requirements into scalable technical architecture and engineering roadmaps.

  
  

• Build and lead a high-performing engineering organization across core trading, infrastructure, security, and platform engineering.

  
  

• Drive technical due diligence and architecture decisions across third-party vendors, custody providers, liquidity partners, and technology platforms.

  
  

• Ensure the platform is designed for regulatory compliance, operational resilience, and future international expansion.

  
  

Discover the Requirements

• 5+ years of experience building and scaling trading systems across centralized exchanges, decentralized exchanges, traditional financial exchanges, or comparable high-performance financial platforms.

  
  

• Deep expertise in high-performance order matching engines, order books, trade execution, and exchange architecture.

  
  

• Strong experience designing real-time and low-latency systems using technologies such as WebSockets, event-driven architectures, distributed systems, and high-throughput APIs.

  
  

• Proven experience with custody, wallet infrastructure, blockchain integrations, deposits, withdrawals, and digital asset settlement.

  
  

• Strong understanding of market surveillance, trade monitoring, manipulation detection, and transaction monitoring.

  
  

• Experience working with crypto regulatory frameworks, particularly VARA, MAS, FCA, or comparable digital asset regulations.

  
  

• Demonstrated ability to architect secure, highly available systems handling significant financial transaction volumes.

  
  

• Strong understanding of liquidity management, market making, smart order routing, or liquidity aggregation.

  
  

• Experience working with senior stakeholders across product, compliance, legal, risk, security, and commercial functions.

  
  

• Proven ability to lead engineering teams and make complex architectural decisions in high-growth environments.

  
  

• Strong commercial and product mindset, with the ability to balance technical excellence, speed to market, regulatory requirements, and business priorities.

  
  

Nice to Have

• Experience taking a crypto exchange from 0 to 1.

  
  

• Experience operating infrastructure supporting $100M+ in daily trading volume.

  
  

• Background in market making, algorithmic trading, quantitative trading, or institutional execution.

  
  

• Experience with smart order routing and multi-venue liquidity aggregation.

  
  

• Experience integrating institutional custody providers such as Fireblocks, Copper, or BitGo.

  
  

• Familiarity with market surveillance platforms such as Solidus Labs and blockchain intelligence platforms such as Chainalysis.

  
  

• Experience working directly on exchange licensing or regulatory technology requirements.

  
  

• Experience building institutional-grade trading infrastructure for professional or high-frequency market participants.

  
  

Must be willing to work on site in the UAE with regular collaboration across product, engineering, compliance, and executive teams.