Role in brief
Kraken is seeking a Senior Associate for Business Development & Liquidity to expand its tokenized equities (xStocks) offering. This role involves managing relationships with external market makers, optimizing market quality, and supporting global expansion. Candidates with experience in crypto or traditional finance market making, strong negotiation skills, and an understanding of liquidity dynamics should apply.
About the role
This role focuses on scaling liquidity for Kraken's tokenized equities product, xStocks. The Senior Associate will be responsible for cultivating and expanding relationships with external market makers, from sourcing and onboarding new partners to managing ongoing commercial terms and service level agreements. A core part of the work involves monitoring and enhancing market quality, including aspects like spread, depth, and fill rates, across various trading venues.
The position requires close collaboration with internal teams such such as Trading, Product, and Business Development to align on liquidity strategy. A significant objective is to support the expansion of xStocks into new markets, particularly in Europe and Asia, and to grow the market maker network from its current size to a more diverse and robust group of partners. This individual will be instrumental in evolving xStocks from an early-stage offering to a fully scaled product.
Success in this role means effectively growing the market maker network and ensuring optimal market quality for xStocks. It involves skillfully structuring partnerships, negotiating terms, and managing relationships to drive performance. The ideal candidate will be a proactive operator capable of building and iterating in a dynamic environment, contributing directly to Kraken's mission of accelerating crypto adoption and financial inclusion.
The salary for this position ranges from $76,000 to $100,000 annually.
Skills that matter here
- market making: Experience in market making, either in crypto or traditional finance, is essential for understanding liquidity provision and partner management.
- market structure: A strong grasp of market structure and liquidity dynamics is necessary to optimize market quality and execution.
- negotiate terms: The ability to negotiate commercial terms and structure partnerships is key to onboarding and managing market makers effectively.
- data and KPIs: Comfort working with data and key performance indicators will be used to drive performance and inform decision-making regarding market quality.
- crypto markets: Familiarity with various crypto market segments, including spot, perps, and on-chain, is preferred for this role focused on tokenized equities.
Who this role suits
- Someone with at least four years of experience in market making, trading, or exchange environments.
- An individual who excels at building and maintaining professional relationships with external partners.
- A person who is comfortable using data to make decisions and drive performance.
- A proactive operator who can adapt and contribute effectively in a rapidly evolving business area.
From the employer
Responsibilities
- Own and grow relationships with external market makers to scale liquidity across xStocks
- Source, onboard and manage new market makers across spot, perps and RFQ-style liquidity
- Structure commercial terms, SLAs and proposals with partners as the ecosystem expands
- Monitor and optimise market quality (spread, depth, fill rates) across on-chain and off-chain venues
- Partner closely with internal teams (Trading, Product, BD) to drive liquidity strategy
- Support expansion of xStocks across new markets and assets, particularly in Europe and Asia
- Help scale the market maker network from a small base to a diversified, high-quality set of partners
- Act as a key operator in taking xStocks from early stage (1→10) to scaled product
Requirements
- 4+ years experience in crypto or TradFi market making, trading, or exchange environments
- Strong understanding of market structure, liquidity dynamics, and execution quality (spreads, depth, slippage)
- Experience managing or working closely with market makers or liquidity providers
- Ability to structure partnerships, negotiate terms and manage ongoing relationships
- Comfortable working with data and KPIs to drive performance and decision-making
- High agency operator — able to build, iterate and scale in a fast-moving environment
- Strong communication skills, able to work cross-functionally with technical and commercial teams
- Familiarity with crypto markets (spot, perps, on-chain) preferred
Conditions
- Full-time remote position
- Salary range: $76,000 - $100,000
- Equal opportunity employer, committed to diversity and inclusion
Questions about this role
What is the remote work policy for this role?
This is a full-time remote position, and Kraken operates as a fully remote company with employees in over 70 countries.
What level of seniority is this position?
This role is for a Senior Associate, which is considered a middle-level seniority position.
What are the key skills required for this role?
Key requirements include experience in crypto or TradFi market making, understanding market structure and liquidity, experience managing market makers, ability to structure partnerships, and comfort with data analysis.
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