Research Associate, BAC Agentic AI and Decentralized Finance

National University of Singapore; Singapore; On-site; SGD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

The National University of Singapore (NUS) invites applications for a Research Associate in the BAC: Agentic AI and DeFi project. The role focuses on designing autonomous AI agents that reason, plan, and interact with blockchain ecosystems, and on implementing secure, efficient DeFi workflows.

You will collaborate with faculty, industry partners, and graduate researchers to develop AI agent architectures for Web3 applications, covering LLMs, multi-agent systems, and security considerations.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in a relevant field.
• Experience with modern AI development frameworks.
• Good knowledge in blockchain, smart contracts, and DeFi.
• Proven experience delivering industry-facing or commercial AI solutions.
• Strong communication skills and ability to work with non-technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement AI agent frameworks using state-of-the-art Agentic AI technologies.
• Develop autonomous and multi-agent systems capable of planning, reasoning, and executing blockchain-based tasks.
• Build integrations between AI agents and blockchain infrastructures (e.g., Ethereum-compatible networks).
• Develop software modules for interacting with smart contracts, wallets, and DeFi protocols.
• Implement Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), memory systems, tool calling, and agent orchestration.
• Conduct literature reviews on AI Agents, LLMs, blockchain, and DeFi.
• Evaluate AI agent performance through benchmarking, experimentation, and security testing.
• Collaborate with industry partners to translate business requirements into research prototypes.
• Prepare technical reports, research publications, and project documentation.
• Support project demonstrations and technology transfer activities.

Skills

AI development frameworks

Blockchain & DeFi knowledge

Industry AI solutions

Communication skills

Education

Master's degree

Tools

Solidity

Hardhat/Foundry

Web3.py

Ethers.js

Job description

Job Title: Research Associate, BAC Agentic AI and Decentralized Finance

University-Level Unit: School of Business

Faculty/Department-Level Unit: Analytics And Operations

Employee Category: Research Staff

Location_ONB: Kent Ridge Campus

Posting Start Date: 10/07/2026

Job Overview

The NUS Business Analytics Centre (BAC), a joint initiative between NUS Business School and the School of Computing, oversees the Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) programme (https://msba.nus.edu.sg/), ranked No. 1 in Asia and among the top 10 globally. BAC has established strong partnerships with leading industry players and top academic institutions through collaborative education and real‑world projects. We are seeking a highly motivated Research Assistant to join an exciting research project on AI Agents and Decentralized Finance (DeFi). The project aims to develop next‑generation autonomous AI agents capable of reasoning, planning, interacting with blockchain ecosystems, and executing complex financial workflows securely and efficiently. The successful candidate will work closely with faculty members, industry collaborators, and graduate researchers to design, implement, and evaluate cutting‑edge AI agent architectures for Web3 applications.

Areas of Work

• Large Language Models (LLMs)
• AI Agents
• Multi‑agent systems
• Blockchain and Web3
• Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
• AI security and trustworthy AI

Duties And Responsibilities

• Design and implement AI agent frameworks using state‑of‑the‑art Agentic AI technologies.
• Develop autonomous and multi‑agent systems capable of planning, reasoning, and executing blockchain‑based tasks.
• Build integrations between AI agents and blockchain infrastructures (e.g., Ethereum‑compatible networks).
• Develop software modules for interacting with smart contracts, wallets, and DeFi protocols.
• Implement Retrieval‑Augmented Generation (RAG), memory systems, tool calling, and agent orchestration.
• Conduct literature reviews on AI Agents, LLMs, blockchain, and DeFi.
• Evaluate AI agent performance through benchmarking, experimentation, and security testing.
• Collaborate with industry partners to translate business requirements into research prototypes.
• Prepare technical reports, research publications, and project documentation.
• Support project demonstrations and technology transfer activities.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in a relevant field.
• Experience with modern AI development frameworks.
• Good knowledge in blockchain, smart contract, and DeFi.
• Proven experience delivering industry‑facing or commercial AI solutions.
• Strong communication skills and ability to work with non‑technical stakeholders.

Other Requirements

AI Agents

• Multi‑agent systems
• Agent orchestration
• Tool calling
• Function calling
• Workflow automation
• Planning and reasoning algorithms
• Retrieval‑Augmented Generation (RAG)
• Model Context Protocol (MCP)

Blockchain & Web3

• Ethereum ecosystem
• Solidity smart contracts
• Hardhat or Foundry
• Web3.py
• Ethers.js
• Wallet integration
• Smart contract interaction

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

• Experience with one or more of:
• Automated Market Makers (AMMs)
• Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs)
• Lending protocols
• Yield farming
• Staking
• Cross‑chain protocols
• Liquidity pools
• Tokenomics