Strategy & Business Development Associate

Aave Labs; New York (NY); On-site; USD 135,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Aave Labs is looking for a Strategy & BD Associate to join their team in New York. This role involves working closely with leadership on strategic initiatives to expand the company's DeFi ecosystem. You will be responsible for coordinating cross-functional efforts, conducting market research, and developing strategic partnerships.

The ideal candidate will have 3–5 years of experience in strategy or business development, a strong understanding of crypto and DeFi, and possess exceptional communication and analytical skills. The position offers a salary range of $135,000 to $170,000 per year.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of experience in strategy or business development.
• Intellectual curiosity for decentralized finance.
• Ability to manage multiple workstreams.

Responsibilities

• Support development of strategic growth initiatives.
• Conduct market research and competitive analysis.
• Assist in developing strategic partnerships.

Skills

Experience in strategy, business development, or partnerships

Strong understanding of crypto and DeFi

Exceptional communication skills

Strong analytical skills

Ability to operate autonomously

Team player in collaborative environments

Job description

About Us

Aave Labs began with a simple question: how do we make financial services like borrowing, saving, and earning more accessible globally?

We built the Aave Protocol, now the world’s largest and most trusted onchain lending market, connecting decentralized finance with individuals, traditional finance, and fintech.

Today, we build trusted, high-quality products that expand access to lending, credit, and savings globally.

Our culture

We build trusted products that help people access and discover economic opportunities. We hold a high bar for quality and craftsmanship. No detail is too small. Trust depends on it. We’re a global team building products people can actually use, turning complex technology into something simple and reliable. We stay aligned, move quickly, and think long term, while keeping teams lean and focused on impact.

About The Role

We are looking for a highly driven Strategy & BD Associate to work closely with Aave Labs’ leadership team on high‑impact strategic initiatives across ecosystem growth, product expansion, and institutional adoption. This is a unique opportunity to operate at the intersection of strategy, business development, and execution within one of the most influential organizations in decentralized finance. The role is designed for someone who thrives in fast‑moving environments, enjoys solving complex problems, and is excited to help shape the future of on‑chain finance.

You will support and help drive a broad range of initiatives across Aave Labs, reporting to the Chief Strategy & Business Officer, working cross‑functionally with product, engineering, legal, marketing, ecosystem, and external partners. This role is intentionally designed with broad exposure across strategy, ecosystem growth, and execution. For the right person, it represents a significant opportunity to grow within Aave Labs’ business development and strategic functions over time, take ownership of key initiatives, and help shape the evolution of the team as the organization continues to scale.

How You Can Make An Impact

• Support the development and execution of strategic growth initiatives across Aave Labs’ ecosystem and products
• Work closely with leadership to help identify and evaluate new market opportunities and expansion strategies
• Coordinate cross‑functional initiatives across product, engineering, legal, marketing, and ecosystem teams to drive execution and alignment
• Assist in developing and managing strategic partnerships across DeFi, fintech, infrastructure, and institutional ecosystems
• Conduct market research, competitive analysis, and ecosystem mapping to support business and strategic decision‑making
• Help prepare strategic materials including partnership proposals, market overviews, presentations, and ecosystem analyses
• Support business development efforts including outreach coordination, pipeline management, partner tracking, and stakeholder communication
• Monitor trends across DeFi, stablecoins, tokenization, institutional adoption, and digital asset infrastructure to identify emerging opportunities
• Contribute to internal strategic planning and operational initiatives as Aave Labs continues to scale globally

Let’s Connect If You Have

• 3–5 years of experience in strategy, business development or partnerships, and digital assets
• Strong understanding of crypto, DeFi, and the evolving digital asset ecosystem
• Intellectual curiosity and a genuine passion for decentralized finance and emerging financial infrastructure
• Exceptional communication, organizational, and project management skills
• Ability to operate autonomously and manage multiple workstreams in fast‑moving environments
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking capabilities with high attention to detail
• Comfortable working cross‑functionally with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders
• High‑agency mindset with a willingness to take ownership and drive initiatives forward
• Strong team player who thrives in collaborative and globally distributed environments

$135,000 - $170,000 a year

Haven’t quite met all the criteria? Let’s not miss out on the chance to speak. Whilst you might not meet every single requirement, you might bring other, more exciting skills to the company.

Equal Opportunities Statement

Aave Labs celebrates diversity and views each and every team member as a separate individual with their own unique identity. No matter your race, religion, gender, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation or even the wallet you use, we welcome you at Aave Labs. As an equal opportunities employer, we take accountability and believe in everyone's potential to build, create and inspire changes. With a mission to build a diverse workforce, we are proud to foster a working environment in which everyone can feel safe and valued for who they are.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.