Remote DeFi Architect — Lead Protocol Design

Placements24; Cape Town; Hybrid; ZAR 2,991,000 - 4,320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Significant equity options

Global health coverage

Flexible working hours

Professional development funds

Job summary

Placements24 in Cape Town is seeking a senior Lead DeFi Architect to design and implement next-generation decentralized finance solutions. You will spearhead architecture for scalable, secure DeFi protocols and mentor a team of blockchain engineers while collaborating with product and research groups.

This remote-first role offers flexible work arrangements and the opportunity to influence global financial infrastructure.

Qualifications

• Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science, Finance, Mathematics, or a related field.
• 10+ years of software engineering and architecture experience with a focus on blockchain/DeFi.
• Extensive experience designing and deploying complex smart contracts (Solidity preferred).
• Deep knowledge of DeFi primitives: AMMs, lending, yield farming, derivatives.
• Strong understanding of economic principles, game theory, incentive design in decentralized systems.
• Experience with Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, and Layer 2 scaling solutions.
• Security best practices for smart contract development and auditing.
• Strong leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, remote-first environment.

Responsibilities

• Architect and design DeFi protocols and applications.
• Lead development of smart contracts for lending, borrowing, trading, asset management.
• Define tokenomics models and incentives for decentralized ecosystems.
• Evaluate and integrate new blockchain technologies and DeFi protocols.
• Collaborate with engineering, product and research to translate requirements into designs.
• Conduct security audits and risk assessments for DeFi implementations.
• Develop documentation for architecture, protocols, and contracts.
• Mentor blockchain engineers and smart contract developers.
• Stay ahead of industry trends and regulatory changes.
• Present strategies and insights to stakeholders.

Skills

Blockchain architecture

Smart contract design

DeFi protocols

Leadership

Communication

Security best practices

Remote work

Education

Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science, Finance, Mathematics, or a related quantitative field

Tools

Solidity

Job description

Placements24 in Cape Town is seeking a senior Lead DeFi Architect to design and implement next-generation decentralized finance solutions. You will spearhead architecture for scalable, secure DeFi protocols and mentor a team of blockchain engineers while collaborating with product and research groups.

This remote-first role offers flexible work arrangements and the opportunity to influence global financial infrastructure.