The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering the growth and development of the Stellar network. Stellar is a decentralized, fast, scalable, and sustainable blockchain network designed for financial products and services. Its mission is to unlock the world’s economic potential by providing a platform for builders and financial institutions to issue assets, send, and convert currencies in real-time with speed and low costs. Founded in 2014, SDF supports the Stellar ecosystem through tooling, funding, strategic collaborations, grants, investments, and other awards to builders and organizations. As a non-profit, SDF prioritizes the health of the Stellar network, its ecosystem, and its mission to create equitable access to the global financial system through blockchain technology. We believe Stellar is where blockchain truly meets the real world.

About the Position

Introduction

Are you passionate about cutting-edge blockchain technology and creating equitable access to the global financial system? The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is seeking a highly experienced and strategic Director, Ecosystem Product Security to lead our security initiatives across the Stellar ecosystem.

Since 2014, SDF has been instrumental in the growth of the Stellar blockchain network, an open-source platform operating at high scale. This role is pivotal in enhancing the practical security baseline for a decentralized financial ecosystem, including wallets, infrastructure providers, custodians, issuers, and validators. You will be responsible for reducing real-world security risks and financial loss through clear standards, effective coordination, and impactful improvements.

This position requires deep technical judgment across decentralized systems, product security, and operational risk, combined with the ability to influence independent ecosystem participants without direct authority. It is a highly cross-functional and externally visible leadership role, seeking a candidate with strong technical credibility, sound judgment, and excellent execution skills to strengthen the security posture of both the Foundation and the broader Stellar network.

Responsibilities

Define and lead the Foundation’s security strategy for both the Stellar ecosystem and Foundation-owned systems.
Elevate the practical security baseline for key ecosystem participants, including wallets, infrastructure providers, custodians, issuers, and validators.
Publish actionable guidance, reference patterns, and security expectations to drive adoption across the ecosystem.
Establish coordination mechanisms for shared risks, incident response, and cross-ecosystem security improvements.
Own security outcomes for Foundation-developed software, Foundation-operated infrastructure, and treasury/custody-related responsibilities.
Partner with Engineering, Finance, Legal, IT, and Corporate Security teams to implement security controls and secure operating practices.
Lead secure development efforts, including architecture reviews, threat modeling, vulnerability management, and bug bounty programs.
Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing security team, translating strategic goals into measurable execution plans.
Represent the Foundation externally as a credible technical leader and convener on ecosystem security.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in security, with significant experience in senior leadership roles.
5+ years leading security programs, teams, or functions with meaningful scope.
Proven track record of owning security outcomes for complex, high-consequence production systems.
Deep experience in product and application security, with hands-on judgment in real-world environments.
Strong familiarity with blockchain and decentralized system security.
Ability to assess and prioritize risk across protocol design, smart contracts, wallets, validators, dependencies, and governance mechanisms.
Experience driving security improvements across multiple teams, organizations, or ecosystem participants, including in environments without direct authority.
Strong incident judgment, including experience handling high-severity incidents and disclosure processes.
A pragmatic approach to security, capable of making tradeoffs that reduce real-world risk.
Experience building, leading, and developing high-performing security teams.
Ability to set strategy, translate it into execution, and deliver measurable outcomes.
Clear communication skills and the credibility to work effectively with engineers, executives, and external ecosystem participants.
Experience operating in environments where security failures could lead to financial loss, operational disruption, or loss of trust.

Nice to Have

Experience with secure development frameworks such as NIST SSDF.
Familiarity with Web3 security frameworks such as OWASP SCSVS or SEAL.
Experience in financial infrastructure, payments, custody, or tokenized finance.
Experience with large-scale platform or ecosystem security architecture.
Experience in identity, trust, encryption, or internet-scale systems.

Benefits

We offer competitive pay with a base salary range of $225,000 - $335,000 per year, depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and location. In addition, we offer lumen-denominated grants along with the following perks and benefits:

Competitive health, dental & vision coverage (most plans 100% covered for employee + dependents).
Flexible time off + 15 company holidays including a company-wide holiday break.
Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for non-birthing and birthing parents, and up to 14 weeks of paid pregnancy leave for birthing parents.
Gym reimbursement ($80 per month).
Life & ADD (up to $50K).
Short & Long term disability.
401K with 4% match.
Health & Dependent Care FSA Accounts.
Commuter benefits with $250/month employer contribution.
Health Savings Account (HSA) with monthly employer contribution.
Family building benefits through Kindbody.
Wellbeing benefits (One Medical, Rightway, Headspace).
L&D budget of $1,500/year.
Daily lunch and snacks in office.
Company retreats.

About Company

Founded in 2014, SDF supports the Stellar ecosystem through tooling, funding, strategic collaborations, grants, investments, and other awards to builders and organizations. As a non-profit, SDF prioritizes the health of the Stellar network, its ecosystem, and its mission to create equitable access to the global financial system through blockchain technology. We believe Stellar is where blockchain truly meets the real world.