Head of Risk & Governance for DeFi Protocol

Avara; New York (NY); On-site; USD 260,000 - 380,000; Full time

Job summary

Aave Labs is seeking a Head of Risk to lead the Risk team and own the risk-governance framework across its contributions to the Aave Protocol and its products. You will coordinate with external risk providers, set risk parameters, and provide final internal Risk sign-off on collateral onboarding, protocol-risk changes, and product launches.

You’ll work with embedded quantitative, product, and engineering specialists to ensure best-in-class risk posture as the protocol scales into new markets and

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in risk management, preferably in DeFi or crypto-native environments.
• Proven experience leading and managing a risk team.
• Deep understanding of the Aave Protocol, its markets and risk dynamics.
• Strong grasp of market structure, portfolio risk management and stress testing methodologies.
• Experience governing risk for composable DeFi products and external protocol dependencies.
• Experience working with external risk service providers.
• Excellent judgment and ownership mindset for high-stakes decisions.

Responsibilities

• Lead and build the Risk team, setting direction, priorities, and standards for the function.
• Own and evolve risk management frameworks and policies within the protocol ecosystem.
• Set minimum review standards and provide independent challenge for product-specific risk.
• Establish model-risk and data-governance standards for quantitative models and external inputs.
• Oversee risk governance processes and present risk analyses to the DAO.
• Approve collateral onboarding decisions and risk assessments; monitor liquidation performance.

Skills

Risk management

Team leadership

DeFi / crypto

Aave Protocol knowledge

Market risk

Stress testing

Governance

Job description

Aave Labs is seeking a Head of Risk to lead the Risk team and own the risk-governance framework across its contributions to the Aave Protocol and its products. You will coordinate with external risk providers, set risk parameters, and provide final internal Risk sign-off on collateral onboarding, protocol-risk changes, and product launches.

You’ll work with embedded quantitative, product, and engineering specialists to ensure best-in-class risk posture as the protocol scales into new markets and