Director, Ecosystem Product Security

**Stellar** Director, Ecosystem Product Security; $225,000 - $335,000 base salary + lumen‑denominated grants; San Francisco or NYC, Hybrid

**About Company** Stellar is a decentralized, public blockchain that gives developers the tools to create experiences that are more like cash than crypto. The network is faster, cheaper, and far more energy-efficient than most blockchain-based systems. It's designed so Stellar's ecosystem can make a real-world, lasting impact.

**About the Role** We're hiring a Director, Ecosystem & Product Security to lead security strategy across the Stellar ecosystem and directly own security outcomes for Foundation-developed systems, Foundation-operated infrastructure, and treasury-related security responsibilities. This role is focused on raising the practical security baseline across a decentralized financial ecosystem that includes wallets, infrastructure providers, custodians, issuers, validators, and other critical participants. Success means reducing real-world security risk and financial loss through clear standards, effective coordination, and practical improvements that are adopted in production.

The role is both strategic and hands-on. It requires deep technical judgment across decentralized systems, product security, and operational risk, along with the ability to work across teams and influence independent ecosystem participants without direct authority. This is a highly cross-functional and externally visible leadership role. The right candidate will combine technical credibility, sound judgment, and strong execution to help make security a durable strength of both the Foundation and the broader Stellar network.

**Responsibilities**

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

**Required Skills** A. 10+ years of experience in security, including significant experience in senior leadership roles B. 5+ years leading security programs, teams, or functions with meaningful scope C. A track record of owning security outcomes for complex, high-consequence systems in production D. Deep experience in product and application security, with hands-on judgment in real-world environments E. The ability to assess and prioritize risk across areas such as protocol design, smart contracts, wallets, validators, dependencies, and governance mechanisms F. Experience driving security improvements across multiple teams, organizations, or ecosystem participants, including in environments where you do not have direct authority

**Bonus Skills** - Strong familiarity with blockchain and decentralized system security - Experience operating in environments where security failures could lead to financial loss, operational disruption, or loss of trust - Strong incident judgment, including experience handling high-severity incidents and disclosure processes - A pragmatic approach to security, with the ability to make tradeoffs that reduce real-world risk rather than optimize for theoretical completeness - 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

**Logistical Info** - **Location:** Based in NY/SF or willing to relocate (in-person collaboration is critical). In-person component is important (if in NYC/SF, 3 days a week; if within 30 miles outside the city - 1 day a week) — Travel: ad hoc for partner engagements (not a regular cadence). - **Compensation:** $225,000 - $335,000, depending on job‑related knowledge, skills, experience, and location; in addition, lumen‑denominated grants are offered. - Number of openings: 1 - **Other:** Can do visa transfer or provide TN visa, but not fresh visa or OPT

**Interview Process** - Recruiter screen - Hiring manager interview - Panel interviews (security / engineering focus, non-coding) - In-person onsite panel (CTO + team) - Final