Founding DevRel Lead

Crypto Pro Network; United States; Remote; USD 134,000 - 298,000; Full time

Job summary

Kraken is seeking a Founding DevRel Lead to build the Developer & Agent Interface from the ground up, defining how developers discover our platform and how agents retrieve and interact with our services.

You will partner closely with engineering teams and product, shaping the developer experience, launch strategy, and technical storytelling to make Payward a leading platform for crypto developers.

Qualifications

• Experience building developer platforms at early stage or from inception.
• Able to read OpenAPI specs, ship code, review integrations, and engage engineers as a peer.
• Proven track record of owning adoption outcomes, not just awareness or engagement metrics.
• Exceptional storyteller capable of writing launch posts, delivering keynotes, creating demos, and making complex products intuitive.
• Builder mentality with a bias toward shipping and experimentation.
• Deep understanding of modern developer ecosystems and workflows.
• Agent-era literacy — worked with MCP servers, agent tooling, or AI-native dev experiences.

Responsibilities

• Own developer activation end-to-end across APIs, SDKs, CLIs, MCP servers, wallets, and agent interfaces.
• Partner with Product and Engineering to ensure launches are developer-ready and agent-friendly.
• Help define the developer experience itself, not just messaging around it.
• Carry keynotes, live demos, and technical presentations at industry events and conferences.
• Represent developers internally by surfacing ecosystem needs and influencing product direction.

Skills

Developer adoption

Technical credibility

Adoption outcomes

Storytelling

Builder mindset

Developer ecosystems

Agent-era literacy

Engineering/product collaboration

Tools

OpenAPI specs

MCP servers

Agent tooling

Job description

Our Krakenites are a world-class team with crypto conviction, united by our desire to discover and unlock the potential of crypto and blockchain technology.

What makes us different?

Kraken is a mission-focused company rooted in crypto values. As a Krakenite, you’ll join us on our mission to accelerate the global adoption of crypto, so that everyone can achieve financial freedom and inclusion. For over a decade, Kraken’s focus on our mission and crypto ethos has attracted many of the most talented crypto experts in the world.

Become a Krakenite and build the future of crypto!

Proof of work

The team

Payward has world-class engineering, products, infrastructure, and regulatory assets. We’re building APIs, wallets, payment capabilities, developer tooling, and agent-native interfaces that can power the next generation of financial applications.

What we don’t yet have is the function responsible for making Payward the default choice for developers and AI agents building in financial services.

We’re looking for the founding leader of that effort.

This role sits at the intersection of Engineering, Product and Growth. Your job will be to help create a new Developer & Agent Interface capability from the ground up - defining how developers discover our platform, how agents retrieve and interact with our services, and how we bring new infrastructure products to market.

This isn’t a traditional DevRel role.

You won’t inherit a mature playbook, established team, or existing motion. You’ll help create them.

You’ll partner closely with engineering teams building APIs, SDKs, wallets, payments infrastructure, and agent-facing products. You’ll help shape the products themselves, not just the documentation around them. You’ll establish the standards for developer experience, launch strategy, technical storytelling, and ecosystem engagement.

Our mission is simple: Make Payward the default infrastructure an AI agent selects when a developer asks for trading, payments, wallets, or financial services.

We’re looking for someone who wants to help build that capability for the long term - and who can grow into the leader of the organization that emerges from it.

The opportunity

Own developer activation end-to-end across APIs, SDKs, CLIs, MCP servers, wallets, and emerging agent interfaces

Drive adoption metrics that matter: API usage, SDK installs, production integrations, GitHub engagement, and agent retrievals

Build quickstarts, reference implementations, SDKs, CLIs, MCP servers, and developer tooling that make Payward easy to integrate with

Partner directly with Product and Engineering to ensure every launch is developer-ready and agent-friendly on day one

Help define how developers and AI agents discover, understand, and interact with Payward infrastructure

Create technical narratives, launch content, demos, and documentation that establish Payward as a leading developer platform

Carry keynotes, live demos, and technical presentations at industry events and developer conferences

Represent developers internally by identifying friction, surfacing ecosystem needs, and influencing product direction

Help build the long-term DNA, processes, and culture of a world-class Developer & Agent Interface organization

Skills you should HODL

Built and scaled developer adoption at a top-tier developer platform company such as Stripe, Vercel, Cloudflare, Anthropic, GitHub, OpenAI, Twilio, Stainless, or equivalent

Strong technical credibility - you can read OpenAPI specifications, ship code, review integrations, and engage engineers as a peer

Proven track record of owning measurable adoption outcomes, not just awareness or engagement metrics

Exceptional storyteller capable of writing launch posts, delivering keynotes, creating demos, and making complex products feel intuitive

Builder mentality with a bias toward shipping and experimentation

Deep understanding of modern developer ecosystems and workflows

Agent-era literacy - you’ve worked with MCP servers, agent tooling, structured retrieval, or AI-native developer experiences and understand where retrieval beats SEO

Experience working closely with engineering and product teams to shape the developer experience itself, not just the messaging around it

Nice to haves

Experience building developer platforms from an early stage rather than joining an already mature DevRel organization

Understanding of wallets, identity, authentication, and agent-native transaction flows

Unless a specific application deadline is stated in the job posting, applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.

Please note, applicants are permitted to redact or remove information on their resume that identifies age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution.

We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, assessing candidates in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.

Kraken is powered by people from around the world and we celebrate all Krakenites for their diverse talents, backgrounds, contributions and unique perspectives. We hire strictly based on merit, meaning we seek out the candidates with the right abilities, knowledge, and skills considered the most suitable for the job. We encourage you to apply for roles where you don't fully meet the listed requirements, especially if you're passionate or knowledgable about crypto!

We may ask candidates to complete job-related skills or work-style assessments as part of our hiring process. These assessments are designed to evaluate competencies relevant to the role and are applied consistently across candidates for similar positions. Assessment results are considered alongside other relevant information, such as experience and interviews, and are not the sole basis for any employment decision.

As an equal opportunity employer, we don’t tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind. Whether that’s based on race, ethnicity, age, gender identity, citizenship, religion, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, veteran status or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state or local laws.

How much does the Founding DevRel Lead role at Kraken pay?

The Founding DevRel Lead position at Kraken pays $134k-298k/year. Compensation may vary based on experience and location.

Is the Founding DevRel Lead role at Kraken remote?

Yes — Kraken is hiring this Founding DevRel Lead as a remote role, with a preference for candidates in United States. You can apply from anywhere unless the listing specifies a region.

What skills are required for the Founding DevRel Lead role at Kraken?

This Founding DevRel Lead role is associated with the following skills and technologies:

• Full Time
• Remote
• Developer
• Trading

Read the full job description above for the complete list of requirements.

Is the Founding DevRel Lead role at Kraken full-time or contract?

Kraken is hiring this Founding DevRel Lead as a full time position.