DeFi Quant Researcher

ALGOQUANT; United States; On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

AlgoQuant is seeking a DeFi Quant Researcher to design, test, and deploy systematic strategies native to decentralised markets. This role is deeply technical and research‑first, requiring on‑chain mechanics understanding from first principles to generate exploitable edge.

We prefer candidates based in Asia or US timezones to ensure key market hours are covered and research iterates quickly.

Qualifications

• Experience with DeFi protocols and on-chain market structure.
• Proficient in building research pipelines from on-chain data.
• Strong mathematical or scientific background with rigorous approach.

Responsibilities

• Research and develop systematic DeFi trading strategies across protocols.
• Build and validate alpha signals from on‑chain data.
• Analyse smart contract mechanics and tokenomics for edges.
• Run backtests and simulations accounting for gas costs and data issues.
• Collaborate with engineers to deploy strategies into live capital.
• Monitor live performance and iterate on results.
• Contribute to shared research infrastructure and tooling.

Skills

Python programming

Mathematical background

On-chain data familiarity

Self-directed

Research experience

Education

Top-decile graduates in maths/physics/CS

Tools

The Graph

Dune Analytics

Raw on-chain data

Job description

About AlgoQuant

AlgoQuant Asset Management is a multi-strategy digital asset manager allocating capital across UAE - USA - UK - EU- ASIA.

25+ internal and external quantitative trading pods. Founded in 2018, we have evolved into an institutional platform combining trading edge with strong governance and advanced technology, serving family offices and institutional investors globally.

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