About the Role
Ready to do the most impactful work of your career? This position is at the center of the company's effort to build its regulated presence in the Middle East. You will drive the company's regional crypto strategy, manage critical regulatory relationships, and build the operational foundation for our growing business in a strategically important financial center. Expect to collaborate intensely with your team and stakeholders as you shape how crypto capital markets develop in this crucial region.
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The company is a remote-first, but not remote-only company, and you can expect to gather quarterly for intense in-person working sessions called “surges.”
What You'll Do
- Build and lead the locally based Abu Dhabi team, managing the company's Middle East crypto business and ADGM legal entity while engaging senior regulators, clients, and industry stakeholders.
- Drive the development and execution of the company's UAE crypto strategy in close collaboration with the Dubai/VARA team.
- Develop operational capacity to grow the company's tokenization business and adjacent opportunities under ADGM.
- Oversee strategic budgeting and resourcing to optimize business impact and ensure alignment with local and global financial frameworks.
- Establish robust governance structures, including controls, compliance programs, and ethical leadership practices that align local operations with global standards.
- Lead ongoing engagement with ADGM and FSRA, cultivating trusted relationships with senior regulators and key external stakeholders.
- Champion the company's culture within the entity, ensuring customer interests are appropriately prioritized and strategy aligns with the company's global business model.
Required Skills & Experience
- 7+ years of senior-level experience in financial services, including experience with securities.
- Deep understanding of ADGM/FSRA regulatory requirements covering best execution, client assets, custody, market conduct (FSMR, COBS, MIR), and AML frameworks.
- Proven track record in operational oversight, including policies and procedures development and monitoring of day-to-day business activities.
- Strong understanding of how regulated financial services functions operate (Compliance, Finance, Risk, Treasury, Audit, Outsourcing).
- Demonstrated ability to influence and drive alignment across senior, peer, and junior stakeholders regionally and globally.
- Sound judgment in assessing and escalating risk, with excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills.
- Experience building and maintaining strong relationships with regulators, specifically ADGM and FSRA.
- Familiarity with the crypto/Web3 landscape, including tokenization, DeFi, and digital asset markets.
- Utilizes AI responsibly, maintaining human oversight to deliver business-ready outputs and drive measurable improvements in workflow efficiency, cost, and quality.
Pay Transparency Notice
The target annual base salary for this position can range as detailed below. Total compensation may also include equity and bonus eligibility and benefits (including medical, dental, and vision).
- Annual base salary range (excluding equity and bonus): 730,000 د.إ—730,000 د.إ AED
Equal Opportunity Employer
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or genetic information. Applicants with criminal histories will be considered consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws.
